| 1. |
START SEARCHING EARLY! At
least 2 months before your desired move in date. |
| 2. |
CONSIDER A BROAD RANGE
OF TYPES OF HOUSING and a radius from
office/campus that you will consider an acceptable
commute. Remember that rooms and shares are more
plentiful than vacant apartments. |
| 3. |
BE IN THE AREA! It
is virtually impossible to secure housing via
telephone. In this competitive market, it is
necessarry to walk around town / campus to find
posters and search the local newspaper. Plus it
helps to meet the landlord/roommate. |
| 4. |
When calling on rental listings,
always LEAVE A PHONE NUMBER
where you can be reached or a message can get to
you. Call at a reasonable hour. Look to see if
there are any instructions in the best Time to
Call section of the listing. |
| 5. |
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO
VIEW THE PLACE AND ARRIVE ON TIME. Call
the lister if you are canceling or need to change
the appointment--don't be a no show. That lister
might have a rental you want in the future! |
| 7. |
DRESS NEATLY
when going to your viewing appointments with
landlords. Landlords will gravitate toward
tenants who appear clean, quiet, polite AND. . .
.who demonstrate they can and will pay their rent
on time. |
| 8. |
BE PREPARED TO SHOW
EXACTLY HOW YOUR RENT WILL BE PAID. Use
a Tenant Resume Form. |
| 9. |
HAVE YOUR MONEY READY! Often
times the one who gets the apartment is the one
who can lay down the rent/deposit the quickest.
At any interview/showing, have your check book
ready. |
| 10. |
TELL THE LANDLORD YOU
PLAN TO KEEP THE PLACE IN GOOD CONDITION
and would like a walk-through inspection so it
will be clear what's expected when you move out.
(The walk-through is also the time to note any
repairs that need to be made. Note items on a
piece of paper that you and the landlord date and
sign. Keep a copy for when you move out and use
it to demonstrate that you have kept the place in
good order. Dated photos or videos are excellent,
too.) |
| 11. |
DEMONSTRATE YOUR
THOUGHTFULNESS AND MATURITY BY DISCUSSING ISSUES
WITH PROSPECTIVE LANDLORDS. |
| 12. |
If you are renting with one or
more housemates, THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE
POTENTIAL LEGAL ISSUES THAT MIGHT ARISE:
how will you handle returning deposits if one of
you leaves? How will you go about finding a
replacement? Will the landlord want to screen
replacement roommates? Will you need to draw up a
new rental agreement if a roommate leaves? How
will you cover the rent if it takes an extra
month to find a replacement housemate? |
| 13. |
If one or more housemates can't
stay during the summer, ASK WHETHER YOU
MAY SUBLET A ROOM or the whole place
during the summer. Find out what the owner's
sublet policies are: usually you continue to pay
the owner and you collect the rent from the
person who is subletting. Ask if the owner wants
to screen potential sub-tenants. Tell the owner
how you plan to pay the rent if you can't find
someone to sublet your place. |
| 14. |
REMEMBER, YOU ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RENT AND THE CONDITION OF THE
PREMISES WHILE YOU ARE SUBLETTING. |
| 15. |
If you don't get selected for
the place, ASK THE OWNER TO KEEP YOUR
NUMBER IN THE EVENT A FUTURE VACANCY COMES UP
(the owner may have other properties). Also, ask
if the owner has any friends who might have
vacancies. You might also ask what you could do
to strengthen your application the next time. |
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