When you’re touring rental units, it is imperative that you ask all of the right questions. Leaving something important out could be a huge mistake as you won’t know until you’ve read the lease or already moved in. You want to narrow down your search before getting to the lease-signing stage so as not to waste your time or the property manager’s. We’ve got you covered with a helpful list of the top five questions to ask during your rental tour.
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1. How much is the rent?
First, you need to get the most important information out of the way about the rent and the lease duration. You want to clearly understand all of the financial responsibilities that are involved in a rental unit as soon as possible. Normally, these are shared upfront during a rental tour, but having this on your list is still a good idea. You want to ask about the rent, security deposit, if it’s refundable, the duration of the lease, and if there are penalties for breaking the lease early.
2. What appliances and amenities are included in the rent?
In this day and age, some appliances and amenities are absolutely essential. Is it important that there’s in-unit laundry, or are you fine heading down to a nearby laundromat? As college students, it can be difficult to find the time to do so, and having an in-unit or an in-building laundry room. Other amenities to consider are designated parking spots, gyms, and pools. The latter two are very luxurious, but it is important to consider what you need or want in an apartment and get a good idea of the amenities included in your rent and if it’s negotiable or not. Certain amenities may inflate the price, which is another idea that you should think about. Is the price of these nice-sounding amenities worth it to you or would you prefer to save money?
3. How are maintenance requests handled?
As a renter, you are usually not responsible for the work or cost that goes into maintenance issues such as an appliance breaking or leaking. Instead of having to go through the hassle of fixing it yourself or hiring someone to fix it, your landlord should have a maintenance team ready to go, or they may do it themselves. While hopefully you don’t need many maintenance requests, it is a good idea to ask how they are handled and what the timeline is. Sometimes, maintenance requests are emergencies, after all!
There are a few ways the maintenance could work, whether it be submit a request online, call the main office, or contact a specific third-party contractor directly, and then the general timeline. Do requests take a day, weeks, months? Is there anything they need from you that typically speeds up the process? Knowing this beforehand can help you make the important decision of whether to rent the unit or not, as it all comes down to how they handle emergencies.
4. What are your guest and pet policies?
If you’re bringing pets with you or plan to adopt soon, you need to know their pet policy and these all vary depending on the landlord. Some units don’t allow pets at all, while some only allow tanked animals, and others allow them under a specific weight. Does this match your needs or expectations for a current or future fur family member?
If you plan on having guests over often, you also need to know the guest policy. Some don’t allow overnight guests, while others do with enough notice, and others might not care so long as things stay quiet. As a college student, you’re bound to have friends over to study and it might get late! Does their guest policy match your current lifestyle or would it inhibit it?
There also tend to be penalties for breaking policies, so it’s smart to ask about the penalties. Are there immediate fees, or is there a strike system? While you shouldn’t aim to break the policies in place, which is why you should ask about them beforehand, it’s possible that accidents happen and you want to be prepared.
5. What kind of modifications are allowed?
When you live somewhere, you want it to reflect your personality and aesthetic! Are you allowed to hang pictures, paint the walls, or make other semi-permanent modifications? While there always are renter-friendly versions, it’s good to start planning and see if you can actually imagine yourself in the space with what’s available to you while also seeing if your furniture will fit.
When you keep these questions in mind and ask them during your rental tour, you’ll have a great understanding of your financial responsibility and what that all entails, as well as life within the unit. Bring them up in regular conversation as you tour throughout the unit, or you can save everything to ask for later in case they bring them up during the tour!
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