New Apartment/hunting tips & tricks

[sam_gordon]

DS & GF plan to start hunting for an apartment. DS will be a Junior in college next year and GF gets her associate degree in December. They have two basset hound pups.

DS has already said they want to come to me for advice. It's been ~25 years since I've gone apartment hunting. Here's what I can come up with...

* Budget for rental insurance (no idea what that costs).
* What's the rent?
* When's it available (they don't plan to move until the end of July/August)?
* Find out what it will take just to get IN the apartment (1st month/last month/security deposit)?
* What extra charges are there for the pups?
* What utilities (electric, water, internet, phone, TV), if any, are included in the rent?
* What if there's a maintenance issue outside of "office hours", is there someone on call?
* How long is the lease?
* What's the penalty for breaking the lease (don't expect it, but good to know)?
* If not an apartment complex, who's responsible for mowing the grass/shoveling walk?
* Are there assigned parking spots? How many? Is parking an extra charge?
* Can we talk to either past or current renters?
* How to access any shared facilities (pool, game room, laundry room, etc)? Are they 24/7/365 for residents?

Any other suggestions?

TIA

 

[Southernmiss]

Location to their activities

Safety of area and apartments.

How well lit are paths to and from unit and parking?

Last remodel/carpet paint update

Has anyone smoked in the unit

How often might rent go up

Furnished? Appliances? Amenities? Work out room, pool, etc.


Those are things our son looked for or discovered about his apartment

 

[tvguy]

What costs will the tenant be expected to pay when they move out? I say this because apparently it is common now for the TENANT to have to pay to have carpets cleaned after they move out. I only was a renter for a year and it was 41 years ago and in those days the LANDLORD paid to clean carpets because it was considered a normal cost of business for a landlord.

 

[NYCgrrl]

What costs will the tenant be expected to pay when they move out? I say this because apparently it is common now for the TENANT to have to pay to have carpets cleaned after they move out. I only was a renter for a year and it was 41 years ago and in those days the LANDLORD paid to clean carpets because it was considered a normal cost of business for a landlord.

Looking at it a different way. Firstly, the tenant is going to pay for the carpet cleaning one way or the other- this is just a new way that might make for more responsibility on the renter’s side.

It’s a landlord’s market on my end (and has been for decades) so I can only marvel at the depth of the well thought out questions. Shows a true interest in the process and can’t think of anything further to ask.

The prospective landlord might require a guarantor or a lease rental bond depending on the credit history of the applicants. Annual premium for rental insurance is about $500.00 this way. Adding riders will increase the cost but of course gives more protection.

Good luck!

 

[GreatLakes]

You have most of what I would say but I would add tour the exact unit you will rent, not just one with the same floorplan.

Also they need a written arrangement between the 2 of them if the relationship ends before the lease does. Who is responsible for what, who stays, stuff like that.

For my first post collegiate department I was renting with one of my friends and we basically set a budget, picked an area, worked out some details, and then flip through one of those old apartments rental magazines. Apartments com Will do some of that now by allowing you to set a rent range, number of rooms, and select an area to at least weed out things that are too expensive or don't fit basic criteria so you're not wasted your time.

 

[mikehn]

Its been about 4 years since I last rented. You can find reviews on Yelp and so on. But usually they are mixed at best. For me the biggest thing to get used to are the tenents. Tenents come from all walks of life. They all come with their cultures, quirks, and habits, good and bad, and you have to share that building with them. Just about anything and everything goes. Nowadays its about what restaurants and bars are on the ground level.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Is it a private landlord or a corporation? A private landlord is generally going to be more responsive to issues.

 

[NotUrsula]

While it depends on the market, if they are looking more for places from private landlords such as duplexes or granny flats, what I would suggest is that once they have narrowed down the neighborhood, looking on foot or on a bicycle if possible may be optimal. I always found my best places that way back before we bought our own house, and it still worked for me 3 years ago when I helped find a place for DS while he had unexpected surgery.

The benefit of looking on foot or on a bicycle is that you have a better chance to see signs that are put up in unit windows. Many private landlords want to be pickier about tenants than they can be if they actually advertise, and the only real way to do that is to just put a sign in the window. (Yes, I know that sometimes their reasons for that are not strictly egalitarian, but I'm pragmatic enough that if small-scale discrimination of whatever type puts me at a financial advantage, I'll take it as long as it isn't overtly racist.) Also, you can see the unit and the info at the same time, and don't spend as much effort chasing down leads only to not like the look of the outside of the place or the neighborhood.

DS' present place (a 10-unit building) does advertise, but wasn't yet advertising that unit; I saw the property mgmt. company truck there when they were having it cleaned, got an early tour, and we got it before it went onto the open market.

 

[tvguy]

Looking at it a different way. Firstly, the tenant is going to pay for the carpet cleaning one way or the other- this is just a new way that might make for more responsibility on the renter’s side.

True, but another thing to consider is how old the carpet is. All the Judges on Daytime TV seem to feel the life of carpet in a rental is 5 years and won't allow a departing tenant to be penalized for carpet damage if it is that old. And a friend who is Office Manager for a guy who owns several hundred apartments has told me that they schedule carpet replacement every five years.

 

[kdonnel]

Many apartments around here require you to use their utility payment service. If that is the case count on $20-$50 a month in extra fees.

Many apartments around here will offer you a credit building program where they will report your payment history to one or more of the credit bureas. I don't know it is really a help or not, I just know for sure that it is potentially another $6-$10 a month if selected.

As for insurance, they are going to want your kids to have individual liability coverage. They don't care if your kids get rental insurance but will most likely want a minimum of $100,000 in liability. The complex will offer to charge extra each month to include the required insurance but I have found it cheaper at https://www.lemonade.com/ . If they get it on your own it will be renters insurance with liability so their possessions are covered as well.

Be sure to price out the different lease periods. Now it is common for complexes to try and stagger their leases. They might offer a better deal on a 8 month lease vs a 12 month lease because they are trying to ensure they don't have too many apartments due to turnover the same month. The renter has to ask each renewal period if there is a shorter or longer lease that offers a lower price.

 

[sam_gordon]

All the Judges on Daytime TV

I'm sorry, I had to laugh at this as an "authoritative source".

 

[NYCgrrl]

True, but another thing to consider is how old the carpet is. All the Judges on Daytime TV seem to feel the life of carpet in a rental is 5 years and won't allow a departing tenant to be penalized for carpet damage if it is that old. And a friend who is Office Manager for a guy who owns several hundred apartments has told me that they schedule carpet replacement every five years.

Makes sense; another regional difference as it’s rare for rentals to have carpeting here. Pre war, it’s hardwood floor as the norm but of course there are much newer needle towers being built now and no idea what kind of flooring they have. Probably less expensive covering than hardwood.

My beginnings in corporate America was in hotels. Useful life for the rooms carpeting was 3 to 5 years depending on overall room rate or star system.
Wondering how a consumer determines the age of housing flooring. Regulated by government regulation or what?
Waldorf/Regis, et. al, kept extensive records of purchases that were shared throughout the Rooms Division. Business/corporate hotels like Hilton, Marriot retained the info in one department (usually Housekeeping or Property Development) but computers were not as extensive then.

Property management is a derivative of hotels so they probably follow the deluxe hotel model as more informative to all in the organization. Thinking more on it…guess the info you seek should be readily available.

 

[Travel60]

When DS moved across the country for grad school, we found what looked like the ideal apartment. It was very near the edge of campus where his department was located, had off-street assigned parking, and not on the side of campus where most undergrads lived. Within a month he hated it.

Several of his neighbors were stoners and the building ventilation was not great. He said "Mom, I get high sitting in my living room. And going outside is worse because they all hang out." He ended up staying on campus 15-16 hours a day and only coming home to shower/sleep. I told him "your job this year is to find other grad students you could live with and find a house". Four of them moved in together about a mile from campus and mostly stayed together until they finished their PhDs.

So check out the neighbors.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Carpet!!! I've been searching local apartments for my son and his GF as they will need one soon. He's sharing a 3BR with 2 other graduate students right now but ends come JUL.
I see NO carpet in anything I look at. I think it's wonderful. Sure you might have to spend $ on an area rug but at least it's your choice (and your grime)

 

[NYCgrrl]

I see NO carpet in anything I look at.

What part of the country is your coed going to school in? This is a question I never even thought of!?

Of course times were different when my kiddos were in college and they stayed on the east coast . One was the first resident in a newly built dorm, the other had hardwood flooring.

Looks like DGD is going to uni in France so I’m not even asking about the floors, lol.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Are both full-time students? It is common for a landlord to require an income of three times the rent. If they don’t qualify with their combined income from jobs and/or student loans, a parent may need to co-sign the lease as a guarantor.

 

[PrincesCJM]

Here in Maine, you freuqently need to ask if the apartment has "off-street parking" or "on-street parking". Off street parking would be a specific lot/spot and in theory a guaranteed spot. On-street parking is exactly how it sounds - you park on the side of the road, which often means you don't have a guaranteed spot

 

[mjkacmom]

My concern would be what happens if the relationship ends with both on the lease (my kids range from 21 - 27 so I’ve seen this). So far my kids have rented 14 apartments, renters insurance is cheap, getting out of leases close to impossible, take photos of everything at move in. My two oldest have their own places ($2000), my 26 year old recently moved into a place in between his office and his girlfriend (they’ve been dating 3+ years and she will consider moving in with him a year from now).

 

[kdonnel]

Carpet!!! I've been searching local apartments for my son and his GF as they will need one soon. He's sharing a 3BR with 2 other graduate students right now but ends come JUL.
I see NO carpet in anything I look at. I think it's wonderful. Sure you might have to spend $ on an area rug but at least it's your choice (and your grime)

Around here carpet only exists in the apartments that were not built or renovated in the last 10 years.

Rental houses are transitioning away from carpet as well.

For better or worse, carpet is being replaced with LVT.

 

[tvguy]

Makes sense; another regional difference as it’s rare for rentals to have carpeting here. Pre war, it’s hardwood floor as the norm but of course there are much newer needle towers being built now and no idea what kind of flooring they have. Probably less expensive covering than hardwood.

My beginnings in corporate America was in hotels. Useful life for the rooms carpeting was 3 to 5 years depending on overall room rate or star system.
Wondering how a consumer determines the age of housing flooring. Regulated by government regulation or what?
Waldorf/Regis, et. al, kept extensive records of purchases that were shared throughout the Rooms Division. Business/corporate hotels like Hilton, Marriot retained the info in one department (usually Housekeeping or Property Development) but computers were not as extensive then.

Property management is a derivative of hotels so they probably follow the deluxe hotel model as more informative to all in the organization. Thinking more on it…guess the info you seek should be readily available.

I know the owner my friend works for is trying some laminate as an experiment, but only in first floor apartments. Second story apartments and townhouses only get carpet for noise control.