advice on renting an apt..

[Nomilynn]

As some of you know, I'm moving at the end of September. I've never had to look for an apartment rental before, so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what questions I should ask? So far I know I want to ask about parking, what the rent includes (ie what utilities), the pet policy and what kind of insurance I'll have to have (this would depend on if it's an apt or like a basement suite, right??).

If anyone can give me a list of "have-to-knows" that would be super helpful. Thanks!

[slick]

Whenever I looked for a place I would always:

- check out the bus routes
(this, in case my car breaks down)
- check out the neighbours
(don't want to be beside any party-goers
- talk to the neighbours
(I did this before my first buy, although it doesn't really matter if you are buying or renting)
- what storage area do you have and where is it located?
(I looked at a place once and the storage locker was upstairs 3 flights with no elevator)
- what is the policy on things like BBQ, windchimes, etc.
- to whom do you pay the rent? Some landlords live overseas and just have a Mangement company collect the cash for them. I've found that this is not such a good thing because they just don't care about repairs, etc.

The best rental place I've ever had was in New West and I rented directly from the owner who lived in Courtenay. Her Mom and Dad live here and he did all the repairs. All I had to do was call him and he was right over. In addition, I only had 2 rent increases in 7 yrs. and that was only because the maintenance fees went up.

- ask about the policy for rent increases too.
- I always look at the outside of the building as well. A building with well-kept grounds and well-maintened exterior speak volumes.
- look at the surrounding neighbourhood as well. My first buy was in a rundown part of New West and the dumpster divers and druggies were all over the place.

Sorry, this is kind of long. I'm sure you will get some really good advice from others. Please let me know if I can help you in any way. I'm catsitting and working during that time but count me in for weekends.

:)

[dukedogsmom]

Another thing I would do is call the local law enforcement and see if they can advise what kind/how many calls they have in the area. I know our records department does that. That way, you can make sure you're not moving into a bad area that will have lots of burglaries, etc.

[kingrattus]

Slick dumpster divers
------------

Hey its funny to watch them pile all kinds of trash onto a bile & try to balance it all & end up crashing. It can be a hoot at times. Like when they digging & scream cause a rat is challenging them for the trash can.

Sorry but to me its kinda exciting to watch. I came from a super poor town & never had dumpster divers. I don't at the house I'm staying at, but I go downtown to a friends house & thats all I see there. I'll watch people doing all kinds of stuff for hours on end. Mind u his apt. is run down, filled with druggies, BUT its cheap & the french bus' are a 2 min walk away (the french side of town have bus's every 2-5 mins ALL day EVERY day. & our poor english side (still the same city) has buss's from 15-1hr, only during the week & the bus MIGHT show up on a weekend.

[Kfamr]

Check out the toilettes! LOL.. my sister's toilette at her apartment is always messing up.

[slick]

Originally posted by Kfamr
Check out the toilettes! LOL.. my sister's toilette at her apartment is always messing up.
Oh yea, I forgot about that.

- actually flush the toilet when you are there.
- also run the kitchen and bathroom taps as well as the bathtub to see how much water pressure you've got. Turn it on to full hot and see how long it takes to warm up.

[Nomilynn]

Vickie - will you just come with me??? :( :p This is all so overwhelming.. I don't even know where or when to start. Is it too early to start looking for a place for October 1st?

[dukedogsmom]

Print this out in text only and that way you won't even have to write it down.

[Nomilynn]

Originally posted by dukedogsmom
Print this out in text only and that way you won't even have to write it down.

Hey thanks for that tip :) I will do that :)

[slick]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
Vickie - will you just come with me??? :( :p This is all so overwhelming.. I don't even know where or when to start. Is it too early to start looking for a place for October 1st?
Sure, I'd be happy to help you in any way I can. Since renters need to give 30 days notice to move out you can start looking first week of September (whoa, that's next week already). Give yourself lots of time. When you walk into a place, you will know if it feels right for you. Also keep in mind that good apts go FAST on the mainland.

PM me and let me know when you will be over to look. Keep in mind that weekdays are not good for me, sorry about that, but work always seem to interfere with my social life.
:rolleyes:

Just remember another thing to ask:
- will they charge and extra deposit for Nutmeg and Tilly?

Most apartments will not even accept pets and some will charge renters an extra, say $100, damage deposit to have pets with them.

[Nomilynn]

Thanks Slick :)

I won't be available on weekdays either, but I have weekends off from work this month specifically to do apt hunting.

UGH it's STRESSFUL!!!

[Kfamr]

What about maintenance? I remember my sister (Or was it Kenny and Lauren?) waiting FOREVER to get repairs done by the mainenance crew.
So maybe asking neighbors and such about how long it takes to get repairs looked at.

[Tonya]

The laundry situation.

Our laundry mat was downstairs and a way away. You'd haul all your laundry over just to find out it was over crowded and no washing machines were available.

[popcornbird]

Originally posted by Kfamr
Check out the toilettes! LOL.. my sister's toilette at her apartment is always messing up.

LOL! That's the FIRST thing I did when we had the walk-thru for our house before purchasing it. Had to make sure the toilets worked well. ;)

Also, be sure to talk to the neighbors. It gives you a good idea on how the neighborhood and the people living there are. That is VERY important. You don't want to end up with bad neighbors.

[Miss Meow]

Also, drive past any places you like during different times of day and night to make sure you're not moving near a busy intersection, crack dealer, flight path, home prostitute etc :cool:

Knock on a neighbour's door and ask if there's been any recent trouble in the complex/area.

And in Canada, check the heating so you don't turn into a snow-woman in winter! ;)

[boscibo]

Re; Heating, electric heat can be really expensive. I tried to avoid it if I could. Ask specifically about utility bills.

And if you are moving into a place that needs repairs/painting/carpet cleaning make sure you know in advance who is paying (you or the landlord) for all this, and make sure these things are done and paid for before you move in.

[lizzielou742]

READ the lease super carefully. My old apartment had a clause in the lease that said if we wanted to break the lease and move out early, it would cost us all the remaining rent ($1,250 a month x however many months left in the lease) plus a $1,000 fee, plus we'd lose our deposit (another $1,250). Needless to say I was very upset when I needed to move out early. I ended up renting a new place anyway, leaving the first apartment empty but still paying rent on it for two months. Cheaper than actually breaking the lease.

When you walk through, if there are maintenance problems, WRITE THEM DOWN and REFUSE to move in until they are fixed. Same apartment, the landlord told us everything would be fixed by move in - we ended up with NO BATHROOM DOOR for SIX MONTHS. :mad:

Other things to check:

-Call utility company and get a report of how much electricity bills for the property were last year. They will usually give you those for free.

-Is the parking lot well lit and safe? Are there street lights on your street?

-Nearest fire hydrant/fire station/police station

-Rules for subletting

-Who pays for upkeep? i.e. Who mows the lawn, who paints, etc.

-If you have room-mates, can you all write separate checks for your part of the rent, or do you have to write one big check for the total? What happens if you bounce a check?

-What will you have to do on move-out day? Clean the carpets, re-paint the walls, etc?

-Any appliances included? Maintenance included on them?

-Do all the electrical outlets work? On move-in day, or as soon as your power is on (schedule these things - power, cable, water, etc. well in advance), take along a clock and check all the outlets to make sure they work. You never know.

I'm sure I could think of more...I had a few bad experiences and learned a lot real quick.
Good Luck!!

[DJFyrewolf36]

Also, make sure they even accept checks! My landlord is really uppity and only accpts checks after you've been there for three months. She really prefers money orders. Although, I understand why she does it that way, in my complex there are lots of people who have bounced checks!

[moosmom]

Kelly,

I've been around the block quite a few times when it comes to renting. You've gotten some great advice here. I can only offer a few more suggestions.

1. Never rent a place where the landlord is nearby or on the premises. Why? Because they can see everything that goes on, i.e., your comings and goings, WHO spends the night, your lifestyle, etc.

2. Check the rooms for phone jacks. When I moved into my current apartment, I had to go by what my sister-in-law found because I lived 663 miles away. I fell in love with it the minute I finally saw it, but am annoyed that there is only 1 phone jack. Thank goodness for cordless phones!!

3. Never rent a first floor apartment. There is nothing worse than having to live under someone who has a heavy foot when walking, or..in my case when I lived in CT, a woman with 2 small children who were never allowed to play outside. Need I say more? When she finally moved out, I moved upstairs.

4. Check to see what the policy is on cats. When I was looking for a place in Michigan, MOST of the complexes had a clause that required you to DECLAW your cats!!! :mad: There should be a law against that.

Good luck with your search. If I didn't live so far away, I'd help ya look. I hate searching for a place to live. It's a pain and comparable to looking for a new car!!!

[lizzielou742]

Originally posted by moosmom
1. Never rent a place where the landlord is nearby or on the premises. Why? Because they can see everything that goes on, i.e., your comings and goings, WHO spends the night, your lifestyle, etc.

AGREED! I lived next door to my last landlord. They can catch you doing things you'd rather them not - like I got caught backing into our picket fence that was next to my parking space!!! The landlord SAW me do it and I felt really bad.


Originally posted by moosmom
3. Never rent a first floor apartment. There is nothing worse than having to live under someone who has a heavy foot when walking, or..in my case when I lived in CT, a woman with 2 small children who were never allowed to play outside. Need I say more? When she finally moved out, I moved upstairs.

I agree. We live on the first floor by necessity - my boyfriend's in a band and there is NO WAY we're hauling all his equipment up and down stairs for every gig - but I'd live upstairs again if I could. Right now we've got a family above us with a 5 year old girl that STOMPS around the house constantly!!!


Originally posted by moosmom
4. Check to see what the policy is on cats. When I was looking for a place in Michigan, MOST of the complexes had a clause that required you to DECLAW your cats!!! :mad: There should be a law against that.


I encountered some of that here in Kentucky too. Although they would probably never actually check your cat's paws (like I'd let them!! :mad: ) it's still just not right (IMO).

[DJFyrewolf36]

Great advice Moosmom!


1. Never rent a place where the landlord is nearby or on the premises. Why? Because they can see everything that goes on, i.e., your comings and goings, WHO spends the night, your lifestyle, etc.

Trust me I am sooo glad my landlords dont live in our complex. With as anal retentive as they are about everything, we'd be in trouble every darn week! Once, they called EVERYONE in the complex (and complained, loudly mind you) because an outdoor kitty from the complex across the street started to hang around (me and the other kitty owners in my building would give him some treats). It was funny because when I got a call, I talked to the other kitty owners (there are about 3 or 4 of us) and aperantly we all own the same cat and had to get rid of him! :rolleyes: Suffice it to say, we all colectivly told the landlords to "stuff it"


2. Check the rooms for phone jacks. When I moved into my current apartment, I had to go by what my sister-in-law found because I lived 663 miles away. I fell in love with it the minute I finally saw it, but am annoyed that there is only 1 phone jack. Thank goodness for cordless phones!!

Make sure they work too. At my place The phone jacks in both bedrooms do not work at all. I guess they are decrative because the phone company says they should be working but they never do. I agree, thank goodness for cordless phones (especially the expandible kind!)

[moosmom]

Hey Kelly,

I LOVE your new sig!!! Bassett was a beautiful girl!

[lovemyshiba]

Check to see what the heat source is. We currently have electric baseboard heating, and it is expensive:eek: I lived in a house with some friends a few years ago, and we had the same type of heating, and we got a bill in November for over $700:eek:

Definitely check out the neighbors. I lived in a complex once where the lady who lived downstairs worked the night shift. How was I to know that? Anyway, at 2 in the afternoon one day, I got a knock on the door from the landlord--they had complained that my music was too loud!! It wasn't that loud, and instead of just coming to me and explaining nicely that his wife sleeps during the day, the guy called the landlord and had him come over:rolleyes:

Check out the parking and laundry situations, all of your outlets, and your phone jacks, as well as the storage room(s), and where everything is located.

Also, will you have a roommate?
If so, make sure you have separate leases. My friend got into a real jam when her roommate wasn't paying the rent on a joint lease--guess who was responsible??

Good luck!!!!
:)

[Nomilynn]

thanks everyone - just bumping up :)

[slick]

Nomi,
I'm available

Sept 11th (all day)
Sept 12th (afternoon only-have to see my Auntie for her birthday in the morning)
Sept 18th (all day)
Sept 25th (all day)
Sept 26th (all day)
Oct 2nd (all day)
Oct 3rd (all day)

I'm at your beck and call my friend. :)

[Nomilynn]

Thanks Slick :) I may have to call on you to cat sit for me while we move in ;) Think you could handle that job??? hehe.. we'll set you up with a TV and snacks and you can be their company while they are all sequestered in the bedroom.. hope that wouldn't be too tough on ya :D

I will keep in touch.. I don't know for sure how this will all work. Most ads say right now "Sept 1" so I want to wait maybe a week, see which ones say "Avail Imm" in the middle of the month. I'm thinking I might have better luck?

[slick]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
Thanks Slick :) I may have to call on you to cat sit for me while we move in ;) Think you could handle that job??? hehe.. we'll set you up with a TV and snacks and you can be their company while they are all sequestered in the bedroom.. hope that wouldn't be too tough on ya :D
I'm already catsitting for someone from September 22nd to October 12th so unfortunately I can't come over to the Island. I hope you mean on this side of the water?

[Nomilynn]

Originally posted by slick
I'm already catsitting for someone from September 22nd to October 12th so unfortunately I can't come over to the Island. I hope you mean on this side of the water?

Yup that's what I mean.. you ccould come over to my new apt and keep the girls occupied while I move my stuff into my new place :)

I've called a couple places but I just think it's still a bit too early.

[emily_the_spoiled]

It has been awhile since I have looked for an apartment on the Lower Mainland, but my brother and his wife just found a place. They looked for almost 3 months before finding something they wanted (they are also having a baby ASAP). I would suggest that you start looking as soon as you can. That way you will not feel forced to take something at the end of the month that you don't like if you haven't found a place you actually like.

You probably already have some idea of where you want to live, i.e. close to work or school. So that will help narrow things down.

I would also ask about the damage deposit required. Someplaces require first and last months rent as a deposit.

In the Lower Mainland I would also ask about the roof. Many of the condos built in the 90's have leaky roof problems, so make sure you don't end up with a leaky roof (look for water marks on the ceiling).

Good luck with everything :D

[slick]

Originally posted by Nomilynn
Yup that's what I mean.. you could come over to my new apt and keep the girls occupied while I move my stuff into my new place :)

I've called a couple places but I just think it's still a bit too early.
OK, I can just see it now. I'm in a back room with TV and snacks and kitties on my lap while you are out there sweating your buns off hauling and unpacking boxes. How fair is that?? :confused: :eek:

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. ;)

[Nomilynn]

Originally posted by slick
OK, I can just see it now. I'm in a back room with TV and snacks and kitties on my lap while you are out there sweating your buns off hauling and unpacking boxes. How fair is that?? :confused: :eek:

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it. ;)

I think you can handle it! ;)