electric fireplaces with storage image
Tessa
My boyfriend & I are looking at an apartment together on Wednesday morning. We know how much rent will be, that utilities are included. We want to ask educated, & reasonable questions that aren't invasive, but that also give us the answers we need to make a decision. Also, what should we look for, structurally, so that we know the place is safe? Is it polite to ask questions about lead paint, or maintenance? Is there anything you are aware of, that you wish you had asked when renting, that you think we should ask? If you're a landlord, what do you look for when screening would-be tenants? Also, the woman I spoke with knows we have (2) cats, & said we can have them, provided we pay an extra security deposit. What % of the rent is reasonable in this instance? Does the fact that our cats are older and declawed make a difference with regard to deposits? We don't want to accidentally offend them and ruin our chances for the apartment, we really like the price and location. Thank you!
Answer
I think this list covers most of the important ones:
General
How much is the rent?
Do they need a security deposit? How much?
Do they need first month's rent? How about last month's rent?
How long is the lease?
What is the penalty for terminating the lease early?
Is there an application fee? How much?
Are utilities included?
Can you sublet?
Do the people in the rental office seem intelligent / seem like they care?
Who does apartment maintenance and how do they handle it? Are they on call 24/7?
The Apartment Building
Are the floors wood beam supported or concrete? (bouncy/not bouncy)
Central Air? Radiators? Electric Heat? In wall AC? AC at all?
Elevator?
Smoke alarms?
Sprinklers?
Alarms tied to Fire Station?
Do windows open?
Does the roof leak?
Are the windows drafty?
What condition are the floors in? Is the carpet soft/clean? Is the hardwood splintering?
Is there enough closet space?
Where will you store your vacuum cleaner?
Where will you store your bicycle?
Can you have a grill on your balcony?
Does the fireplace work?
Can you control the heat?
Can you have a real Christmas tree?
is there a screen door slide on the balcony?
Does the slider lock securely?
Is there a peep hole on the door?
How do you let someone into the building?
Can you monitor the front door / lobby from the apartment?
Can you paint the walls?
Do they allow pets? How about fish tanks? Is there a pet fee?
Do they allow water beds?
Is there a storage room? How big? How much does it cost?
Is there laundry in the building/complex?
How and where are UPS/FedEx deliveries left?
Will your couch fit through the door?
How about your box spring?
Kitchen
Gas or Electric Stove?
Kitchen sink disposal?
Kitchen Sink sprayer?
Microwave included in kitchen?
How old are the appliances?
How loud is the dishwasher?
Bathroom
Is there a bathtub or just shower?
Does the bathroom vent effectively?
If the bathroom door is open, can you see the toilet from the living room?
Are there enough towel racks in the bathroom?
Is there enough shelf space in the bathroom?
Are the vanity lights bright enough to shave cleanly / apply makeup effectively?
Home Office
Are there enough outlets to plug stuff in?
Is broadband/DSL available?
What cable company services the city?
Can you have 2 phone lines? (separate fax line)
Parking
Is parking included?
How much for a parking spot?
Is it assigned?
Permit from city required to park?
What about guest parking?
Who plows the snow?
Is it tandem parking and will you have to coordinate parking times with the other tenants?
Neighborhood
Do you get cell phone reception?
Car insurance rates higher/lower?
When is trash pickup?
Near public transportation?
Near a grocery store?
Near a gas station?
Walking distance to a bar?
Are there sidewalks to run on?
Is there a health club? Does it suck? When is it open? Can you bring a guest?
Is there a pool? Does it suck? When is it open? Can you bring a guest?
Are there tennis/basketball/volleyball courts? Do they suck? When are they open? Can you bring a guest?
Is there a playground? Is it safe? Is it near a road? Can you hear it from your apartment?
Is the area fully developed? Are they going to put up a new building across the street and ruin your view?
Is it easy to get to a highway?
What are the traffic patterns during rush hour?
Is the apartment address easy to find?
Are there good take-out places nearby?
Where is the nearest cleaners?
Where is the nearest 24 hour drug store?
Where is the nearest House of worship?
Where is the nearest Wal-Mart?
Where is the nearest laundromat?
Potential Nuisances
How much noise comes through the walls? Are they party walls?
Do headlights come in the windows from passing traffic?
Do street lights shine in the bedroom windows?
Can you hear people in the hallway?
Can you hear the elevator?
What are the other tenants like? (look at the cars in the lot)
How noisy are they?
Do they have children?
Do kids live upstairs who will run around early in the morning on weekends and wake you up?
Are there students living in the building?
Are there businesses across the street that open early (before you want to wake up) and make a lot of noise?
Is there an intersection nearby that causes traffic to back up with the result of people honking their horns in front of your windows?
Can you hear traffic from nearby roads/highways?
Do airplanes constantly fly over your roof?
Can you hear the guy who lives below you snore all night?
Are there bugs?
Is the building old and require constant maintenance?
Do the people with the balcony below/above/next to the apartment smoke? Does that smoke come into the apartment?
Do the people with the balcony below/above/next to the apartment sit on their balcony on their phone constantly?
Is there a bar across the street that has live music at night? Do they leave the door open so the whole neighborhood can hear the music?
Are there dogs nearby that bark constantly?
Are you near a park that will cause people to take your parking spot and turn around in your driveway?
Is the apartment on a street that is a commuters' shortcut?
Tips
Avoid the cheapest place available. There will be riff-raff, dents in your car doors, broken beer bottles, and screaming kids.
I think this list covers most of the important ones:
General
How much is the rent?
Do they need a security deposit? How much?
Do they need first month's rent? How about last month's rent?
How long is the lease?
What is the penalty for terminating the lease early?
Is there an application fee? How much?
Are utilities included?
Can you sublet?
Do the people in the rental office seem intelligent / seem like they care?
Who does apartment maintenance and how do they handle it? Are they on call 24/7?
The Apartment Building
Are the floors wood beam supported or concrete? (bouncy/not bouncy)
Central Air? Radiators? Electric Heat? In wall AC? AC at all?
Elevator?
Smoke alarms?
Sprinklers?
Alarms tied to Fire Station?
Do windows open?
Does the roof leak?
Are the windows drafty?
What condition are the floors in? Is the carpet soft/clean? Is the hardwood splintering?
Is there enough closet space?
Where will you store your vacuum cleaner?
Where will you store your bicycle?
Can you have a grill on your balcony?
Does the fireplace work?
Can you control the heat?
Can you have a real Christmas tree?
is there a screen door slide on the balcony?
Does the slider lock securely?
Is there a peep hole on the door?
How do you let someone into the building?
Can you monitor the front door / lobby from the apartment?
Can you paint the walls?
Do they allow pets? How about fish tanks? Is there a pet fee?
Do they allow water beds?
Is there a storage room? How big? How much does it cost?
Is there laundry in the building/complex?
How and where are UPS/FedEx deliveries left?
Will your couch fit through the door?
How about your box spring?
Kitchen
Gas or Electric Stove?
Kitchen sink disposal?
Kitchen Sink sprayer?
Microwave included in kitchen?
How old are the appliances?
How loud is the dishwasher?
Bathroom
Is there a bathtub or just shower?
Does the bathroom vent effectively?
If the bathroom door is open, can you see the toilet from the living room?
Are there enough towel racks in the bathroom?
Is there enough shelf space in the bathroom?
Are the vanity lights bright enough to shave cleanly / apply makeup effectively?
Home Office
Are there enough outlets to plug stuff in?
Is broadband/DSL available?
What cable company services the city?
Can you have 2 phone lines? (separate fax line)
Parking
Is parking included?
How much for a parking spot?
Is it assigned?
Permit from city required to park?
What about guest parking?
Who plows the snow?
Is it tandem parking and will you have to coordinate parking times with the other tenants?
Neighborhood
Do you get cell phone reception?
Car insurance rates higher/lower?
When is trash pickup?
Near public transportation?
Near a grocery store?
Near a gas station?
Walking distance to a bar?
Are there sidewalks to run on?
Is there a health club? Does it suck? When is it open? Can you bring a guest?
Is there a pool? Does it suck? When is it open? Can you bring a guest?
Are there tennis/basketball/volleyball courts? Do they suck? When are they open? Can you bring a guest?
Is there a playground? Is it safe? Is it near a road? Can you hear it from your apartment?
Is the area fully developed? Are they going to put up a new building across the street and ruin your view?
Is it easy to get to a highway?
What are the traffic patterns during rush hour?
Is the apartment address easy to find?
Are there good take-out places nearby?
Where is the nearest cleaners?
Where is the nearest 24 hour drug store?
Where is the nearest House of worship?
Where is the nearest Wal-Mart?
Where is the nearest laundromat?
Potential Nuisances
How much noise comes through the walls? Are they party walls?
Do headlights come in the windows from passing traffic?
Do street lights shine in the bedroom windows?
Can you hear people in the hallway?
Can you hear the elevator?
What are the other tenants like? (look at the cars in the lot)
How noisy are they?
Do they have children?
Do kids live upstairs who will run around early in the morning on weekends and wake you up?
Are there students living in the building?
Are there businesses across the street that open early (before you want to wake up) and make a lot of noise?
Is there an intersection nearby that causes traffic to back up with the result of people honking their horns in front of your windows?
Can you hear traffic from nearby roads/highways?
Do airplanes constantly fly over your roof?
Can you hear the guy who lives below you snore all night?
Are there bugs?
Is the building old and require constant maintenance?
Do the people with the balcony below/above/next to the apartment smoke? Does that smoke come into the apartment?
Do the people with the balcony below/above/next to the apartment sit on their balcony on their phone constantly?
Is there a bar across the street that has live music at night? Do they leave the door open so the whole neighborhood can hear the music?
Are there dogs nearby that bark constantly?
Are you near a park that will cause people to take your parking spot and turn around in your driveway?
Is the apartment on a street that is a commuters' shortcut?
Tips
Avoid the cheapest place available. There will be riff-raff, dents in your car doors, broken beer bottles, and screaming kids.
Miniature eco mobile home ideas?
Ella
I was hoping to build a dream house 300 sqft max on a trailer (yes three hundred) . I wanted to use recycled materials and reclaimed wood in the
Title Post: As a renter, what questions should I ask when checking out apartments?
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Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thank FOr Coming TO My Blog
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