There are a lot of moves happening this month at Apartment Therapy, Beth shared her tips for mapping out a new home and how to prep for the movers so we'd like to share some tips that came in handy for our own move on what to ask the landlords before signing the lease:
1. Paint Normally the landlord will pain tbeofre you move in. Feel them out and see if you can supply your own paint colors. This is what we're doing now and it's saved us time since we would have painted ourselves.
2. Upgrade appliances.Check out the appliances and if the fridge still doesn't have a separate freezer see if they're willing to upgrade it. Pitch the idea of energy efficiency.
3. Carpet upgrade Is the carpet worse for wear? Could it use a deep cleaning or could it be switched out. Before you sign the lease see if the landlord will pay for that to happen and if not see if they'll split it with you.
4. Utilities Make sure you understand what the landlord is responsible for and what you are. In the house we're moving to we're responsible for the trash and electricity, and the landlord is responsible for water. The tricky part is that they all come on the same bill.
5. Paypal. We had a landlord once that accepted the rent check via paypal. While this was probably unusual, it was very convenient since the rent check was the only physical check we would have been writing, all the rest of our bills we pay online.
6. Last Tenants. We always like to ask who the last tenants were, how long they lived there and why the moved out. It often gives a lot of insight into the landlord and the property. Even if the landlord is vague, even that tells you something.
7. Major Repairs Find out if there have been any major repairs done in the last 5 years. Mold Reparation? New pipes? New Central Air?
8. Garden. Ask about the exterior maintenance. A lot of times landlords will do a pesticide spray a couple of times a year. If you have pets you'll want to know how often it happens so you can keep them out of the bushes.
9. Pet Deposit Our new landlord wanted an extra $50/month in order to have our cat. We negotiated and put down a deposit instead. This way when we move out, if there's no pet damage, we'll get money back instead of it all going to rent.
10. Read the Lease: This is perhaps too obvious, but under pressure we've often felt like there's only time for a quick skim and then sign, but ask to have the lease emailed to you ahead of time so you have time to really read through it and that you understand what each party is responisble for. If there's anything you're uncomfortable about, bring it up before signing it. Make sure that everything you agreed to verbally is reflected in the lease, it's there to protect you and the landlord.
What questions do you ask before you sign a lease?
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Ask about the building's history of bedbugs FOR SURE! Then do a check on bedbugger.com to see if either that building or its next door neighbors ever had a report of bedbugs.
"Is there a pest problem?" If they say "Not that I know of" then I ask "If there is, will you take care of it?"
agree with #9 and a step further...anything can be negotiated. As a former landlord, it's a hassle to get new renters and if renters seemed responsible I was totally willing to drop the price and deposits if asked.
Ask if there will be any down time for the rental before your lease begins. If the place will be empty, ask if you can have access early to begin moving things in before you're actually living there. I've never gotten a large complex to agree to this, but all my solo landlords have been up for it.
http://bedbugregistry.com/
I'm a private landlord (own three houses that we rent out), and never object if the renters want a certain color of paint..saves some work & we know it'll be painted right (we've had tenants do the WORST paintjobs on a house). We supply decent appliances, but often wont mind splitting the cost if a tenant wants to upgrade.
If you're up to it, ask if you can do any groundskeeping/community area cleaning for a discount on your rent.
things i always do before signing a lease:
1. come to an agreement with the landlord to have the place professionally cleaned. (i have TERRIBLE pet allergies and moving in after a cat has lived in my place was awful)
2. call utility companies and get averages of gas/electric bills. in chicago the landlord must provide if you ask.
3. ask about potential construction. (i once moved into a place with a perfect shared outdoor patio, only to have it unavailable the entire summer b/c of construction.)
Make sure the place is spotless before signing a lease, point out everything you see that needs to be cleaned up and either get a deduction on your rent to do it yourself or don't sign the lease until its been dealt with.
Ask about water pressure AND plenty of hot water if in a large older building with several tenants.
ASK IF THE HOUSE IS UP TO CODE AND PASSED INSPECTION BY THE CITY
can not stress this enough. we got stuck in a craftsman that we loved but after living in there for 2 months foundout it was not up to code, never inspected, none of the outlets were grounded, lots of windows didn't open, there wasn't a deadbolt on the inside and a million other problems because the owner did everything himself (including the electric installation and work because it was cheaper. but it's illegal because he didn't have an electicians license AND he didn't even know what "grounded" meant.
The landlord seemed ok at first but we had to keep asing for him to fix things (because nothing was working or done correctly) and when the city found out he was illegally leasing an uninspected house he refused to fix anything. so we threatened to sue him. he gave us all of our money back (rent deposits) and we headed for the hills.
Check the electric! Look at the outlets and the light fixtures. If the building is older and the electric hasn't been updated, keep looking. My old apartment building (where I no longer live) just burned down because of electrical issues. 30 apartments gone. They are very lucky no one died.
How about getting it all in writing? Don't sign the lease until it lists all of the things you and the landlord agreed to. If it's not in writing, it is difficult to prove that they promised you something. This has happened to me as a renter.
Also, please cut landlords some slack (I'm one now) when it comes to former tenants. My tenant keeps her place at 72 in the winter and leaves several lights on 24-7 and I dread the next person who requests her utility info (I live in Chicago). She also complains about how high her utility bills!
Re: #5, my bank (US Bank) has free online billpay that you can use to send an actual check in the mail to anyone at all. So if the biller (i.e. my landlord) isn't in the system (aka not a huge corporation/credit card company, student loan agency, etc.) you just enter in their name, address, an account number or unit number and every month it, for free (no stamp!), mails them a check on my behalf. It doesn't have to be signed due to all those new e-check regs and stuff. Easy as pie. My credit union gets one for my car loan, too. Never had a problem with them.
I'm a landlord and I think these are all great questions. Clampers has a good suggestion as well about offering to do groundskeeping in exchange for a rent reduction. We're usually open to that.
Having lived in a bunch of older buildings, for me the A #1 thing to look at is windows. Make sure they open, close, lock, that the glass isn't broken, or other anomalies and make sure they all have screens that are in good shape. After that would be what the others have said about electrical.
Very good points. I've lost deposits before even when i obeyed the lease..some landlords are just plain unfair and money-hungry.
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I came close to moving into a mouse-infested studio flat last year and didn't discover my 'room mates' until five minutes after signing the lease and handing over the money. When I first went to view the place, it seemed clean enough, although the carpet in the main room smelt a bit. The lettings agent agreed to clean it before I moved in. That was less than 2 weeks before I signed the lease, waved bye-bye to the agent and went to check out the water heating system in the bathroom cupboard. What had been a spotless cupboard floor when I first viewed the place was by then, a carpet of mouse droppings... and less than a fortnight's worth!
Anyway, I was fortunate to have a friend at work who had once studied to be a barristor and worked for a housing advisory charity. Thanks to her advice, I was able to write to the agent, pointing out thatm in breaking a little-known law by concealing the true condition of the flat, he had rendered the lease null and void and I was demanding the full return of my deposit, rent and agent's fee. I didn't even have to mention that I would take legal action if necessary, which was a pity as I had the local trading standards office, environmental health department and the small claims court to turn to... for starters! Had it not been for my friend, I'd have lost the money because there was no way I could have lived there. It didn't put me off though and, when I came to view my current flat, it came up in conversation about agents. I hadn't intended to employ 'scare tactics' but my landlady's reaction was enough to tell me that she was as sound as the place itself!
Does anyone know where I can find more pictures of the house pictured above???
A trio of mine I haven't seen mentioned above:
How thick are the walls/floors/ceilings? What are they made out of? (Landlords almost never tell you what the neighbors are like and if you're in a high churn city you won't be able to visit a building at different times. But you'll know in the first week if your lifestyle fits with your neighbors and by then it's too late. If the landlord / broker doesn't know, have them go into the apartment next door and the one upstairs and shout your name in each of the different rooms.)
In addition to the building being up to code, ask if there are any claims against the building or the landlord. (You may not be able to tell which party is at fault but you should get a better picture of what the landlord and tenants are like. And it saves you having to go to the County Clerk's office and look through legal records.)
If you need to move out mid-lease, will the landlord work with you to find a new tenant (sublet / lease takeover concept), charge you a fee to break the lease, or be inflexible? (For a serious reason, like you need to take care of a sick parent, you get deployed to a war zone, your company transfers you to a different city.)
I just moved out of a cute little house that had the WORST landlord/management company I've ever dealt with. I don't know if there are any rules I could have followed to avoid these types, but I do know that I had a bad gut-feeling about it as I was signing my lease... I guess the rule is don't ignore that feeling!
Wow! That's great that you can do so much negotiating in the US. You try that in Australia and they would laugh at you. We have lots of laws to protect both parties but every inner city rental property has about 20 applications on it in the first day of advertising, so if it's not you, it's the next guy moving in. And you could never paint it, let along choose the colour!
I actually think there are laws that sometimes prevent landlords from giving you information about the former tenants.
And frankly, anyone who does not read the rental contract deserves whatever crap they get. If you don't read a legal document you're signing, you're a complete friggin' idiot.
My number one piece of advice would be to google who your renting from. It seems simple, but I would have most likely saved myself from having to take a former landlord to court if I had just googled them before moving in. I rented from a terrible, money hungry company. After I moved in I had a couple people make offhand comments when I mentioned who I was renting from like "OHH your renting from river city..." and then follow it with a horror story. I googled them, and sure enough there's pages and pages of testimonials warning to avoid them like the plague. When I moved out my number one criteria for a new place was a good landlord, and I found an awesome place with an awesome landlord.
Also, it should say this in your lease, but it's always good to be extra clear on how much notice you have to give when moving out. I had to give 90 days, and I heard countless stories of people who didn't realize they had to give that much notice and had to pay expensive fees to get out of the automatic renewal.
One thing I recommend is to view the actual unit you will be renting prior to signing the lease. In large apartment complexes there are often model units that prospective tenants are shown - I think you should see the actual unit itself.
If your rental includes other amenities or common areas that are important to you (e.g. gym, community meeting room, pool, coin laundry etc.) ask all pertinent questions about hours open, rules for use, etc. and take a good look at the condition of the amenity.
You may want to look at crime reports for an area if it is unfamiliar to you. You can also ask your landlord about security issues and whether there have been any thefts or break-ins of the rental or neighboring homes.
Try to find out as much as you can about neighbors and their lifestyles - neighbors can make a world of difference both good and bad. If your own lifestyle is too divergent from that of those around you, you can make other people miserable unintentionally.
If you live in a place where you need to have a car, ask about or look for extra parking if you like to entertain or simply adequate parking if you have roommates or multiple cars. The house I am currently renting has very limited parking and the street parking is dangerous (on a steep curvy hill and there are no shoulders or sidewalks). This has impacted how I entertain.
Pay attention to how the landlord or property manager behaves and treats you as a prospective tenant. The person should be punctual, professional, efficient, courteous and reasonable to deal with.
I really agree with the advice given above to trust your instincts about people and places. And also, please do read the entire rental agreement before signing. When reading the agreement, make sure that what the landlord/property manager has told you verbally matches up to what is actually written in the lease.
request to sign the lease at the home. my current lease, the original, had a clause about a fire safety sign (with $15 replacement fee) inside the front door. how was i to confirm there was actually (and why would there be inside someone's house?)
in fact, i signed my lease with the agent and a week before move-in the management company called me to say i had to sign a new version. there were a number of places with the year wrong that i'd corrected manually, but why sign a new one? the new version included a clause that my rent was at a reduced price and would return to it's market rate at the time of renewal. that was a new law that year, but how's it my fault they didn't put it in the lease.
it has been okay since then, but that has always left a bad taste in my mouth.
I think the questions are different if you are renting from a private individual ("landlord") vs. an apartment complex managed by a corporation. I asked the manager at my complex about the renter living upstairs when I leased my ground-floor apartment, because I was concerned about noise. She told me it "shouldn't be a problem" and it wasn't, until she allowed the upstairs neighbor to move a second family in with hers, bringing the grand total of people in the 2-bedroom apartment to five -- three of them being under five years of age. The kids loved chasing each other up and down the halls, jumping off of the furniture, etc. At least they were all in bed by 9PM every night.
1. If you negotiate terms different from the different lease, make sure the new lease reflects those terms. Most leases have a clause that says that the written document is the final agreement, and any verbal agreements are void. That's a tough clause to overcome in court.
2. Are the units separately metered? If not, ask to see the utility bills for the last few months (make sure you get some of winter in there). How does the building deal with vacant units? Does the company cover their costs and the increase in common electricity, or are the remaining tenants responsible for it. Something that I would have never considered until I moved to the east coast, but in older building there are not separate meters. A friend had her electric bill more than double when there was a high vacancy rate because the complex divided the electricity for the common areas among the tenants.
3. PARKING. Both for you and for guests. Can guests park in the lot? Is there plenty of parking on the street?
4. What is expected of you at move-out? I had a landlady that advertised "fully refundable deposit." Come to find out, we were responsible for all cleaning, including professional carpet cleaners. It was fine, since we just used our deposit to pay for it, but still it would have been nice to know up front that we would have to spend money to get it up to what she expected.
I agree with everything 212to312 says and also lauren84. Definitely google the landlord, management company, and the exact address of a place before you decide to move in. I didn't do this before I moved into my current place and I wish I had. I found out there have been several complaints filed against my management company, which owns properties throughout the state. I wouldn't have even known they owned other properties if I hadn't googled them.
My other advice would be pay attention to the outlets; in older buildings on the East Coast there may not be that many and they may be in unusual places, forcing you to arrange furniture with them in mind. Also, windows. Mine are really thin (can hear a lot of outside noise) and get stuck often. Sometime I should have paid more attention to before I moved in.
true that. i lived six years in a place with no outlets in the bathroom.
lauren84 you must live in Richmond. I wish I had googled them before I rented from them. I lived with River City for 2 years and it was awful. They treat their tenets like mud.
This is so timely. I just looked at an apartment yesterday that is right on Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA (beautiful front porch and patio overlooking it) with absolutely glorious 1920s architecture. Downside? I have a sneaking suspicion that the building is slowly falling apart. The kitchen and bathroom seemed totally gross (70's stove no less) and I didn't get the feeling that the landlord wanted to fix anything other than the bare minimum. I guess that's the old "gut feeling" telling me to resist the beauty and be practical. Does anyone know how to find out if an apartment is up to code in California?
Loved the ideas! I think the biggest thing is to make sure you have the permission to modify carpets, paint colors, lighting, etc. as you want with no penalty. (P.S. there's a typo in the first bullet: "pain tbeofre")
We posted a link to the story in our blog: http://blog.lampsplus.com/archive/2010/01/14/questions-to-ask-before-you-sign-a-lease.aspx
Thanks!
This is something that in the past, I would never have thought of doing, but now will do anytime I sign a lease or even look at an apartment.
"Do you plan on selling the property?"
When we moved in we told the landlord that we would want to stay there through at least the course of my wife's schooling (3 or 4 years) because the place was perfect for us. 3 months into our lease our landlord came to us and said "Well I've been thinking about it and have finally decided to sell the property, do you want to buy it?" We didn't want to buy a house, that's why we were renting. He sold the house to someone who wanted to move in and do massive construction/renovations, which, effectively and creatively, forcibly evicted us from our home. Before the eviction, however, we were exposed to construction noise, loss of utilities, reduction of services, people leaving our gate open and letting our dog loose through the neighborhood (multiple times!) and more. The person who bought the house had no interest in being a landlord; he just wanted his magical check from people who he wanted nothing to do with.
Always ask! Do you plan on selling the property!!!???
"I think the biggest thing is to make sure you have the permission to modify carpets, paint colors, lighting, etc. as you want with no penalty."
As a landlord, I would not provide any kind of blanket exemption from penalty for modifications. I'm open to discussions about things tenants might want to do, but I approach it on a project-by-project basis.
I would recommend visiting the apartment at different times of day to see how noisy/busy it is during the day vs. night vs. weekends. I would also make sure to ask about the street parking situation. Negotiating is key in this economy, the apt. was $1395/month and I asked for $1300/month or a shorter lease term. Also, verify everything in the listing to ensure it's accurate. For example, the listing said it came with 2 spaces but it only came with one. Another reason I'm glad I negotiated down the rent!
Is there anything similar out there to bedbugger.com that reports on cockroaches?
I moved into a place that I wasn't all too thrilled with in the beginning. They smoke bombed it before I moved in because of little fruit flies. About a year later, I started seeing cockroaches. Then one by one I find out my neighbors moved because of cockroaches. Management knows about it and says just to use a spray! I have two cats and only two of my six windows open (painted shut with radiator heat to keep 'em sealed). Not an option. So I really want to move, but I'm afraid that the next place I move to will have the same issue. It's not like you can really ask the new landlord while signing a lease whether they have cockroaches or not.
As for keeping my own stuff cockroach free, I plan to smoke bomb all my furniture if I can get into the new place with about a week or two between moving to transition my cats, etc. Not sure if it will work, but I'll try anything.
If you rent from a large rental company with many properties, are you going to have a tougher time negotiating a lease? It seems as though they are pretty inflexible when it comes to such things.
Ask for the previous tenants' contact info! That way you can ask them about things like whether it stays warm in the winter, the water pressure in the shower, or if the landlord responded quickly to problems. If the landlord has nothing to hide they'll almost always let you have their number.
Always check the sex offender website for your city/state for the address you are thinking of moving in to. We were recently deciding between two small houses to rent, I checked the site for our area and one of the houses had a voilent, multiple time sex offender living in the house next door. Obviously we took the other house.
Our other big thing is electrical, we've rented so many places with crazy electrical. Water heaters and water pressure are another peeve that you don't often think of until after you've moved in to the place.
Most other things I usually check have already been covered - painting, appliances, landscapes etc.
Also, if you live in the UK, the landlord is required to provide you with an energy efficiency certificate that details how efficient the appliances are, the degree of heat-loss (double paned windows etc), and so on, along with an estimate of your annual carbon footprint. If they don't mention it, it's well worth asking - we were just about to sign the lease on a flat when we asked to see it, and the flat had a failing rating!
I wish I had read this before my previous experience with a complete psycho landlord/apartment mate/former friend in LA, who did not let me lock my own room's door and demanded $100/month for utilities for my $800 room in her "fancy" 2 bdrm apartment in Sherman Oaks after I have moved everything in - she never mentioned $100 for utilities before I had decided to move in with her.
It was a bad situation that I got out after 1.5 month. When I thought I was done with dealing with her... she dragged her time on returning my security deposit for a good 3-4month, with occasional harassing emails/phone calls listing how I was a bad person/being ungrateful for her kindness, letting me stay in her fancy apartment for a good price/damaged her wall with 6 nail holes (which I had sanded and filled with home depot compound mixture with a putty knife! not! toothpaste!)/stole her expensive cooking ware that I had never touched...
I learned my lessons... NEVER EVER EVER EVER moved in with anyone who refused to draft you a contract... no matter how "close" you think you were.
Here's what I learned from my current lease situation which I have endured for 2 years.
Be sure to check the heat system. I live in 2 bedroom railroad flat in Chicago where the 'central heating unit' is located only in the front living room. Meaning, that there is NO HEAT in the back of the house.
Check the number of electrical outlets, their placement and, most importantly, their condition. I only have one outlet in my bedroom. And, two of the outlets in the kitchen literally had been blown out (but had been covered with a carbon monoxide detector).
Ask to see the fuse box. I only have two fuses for the whole 850 sq ft. apartment. Blowdryer stereo heat refrigerator Christmas tree=blackout and a really unpleasant, cold trip to the creepy basement.
Check the water pressure by running the faucet and the shower for at least 2-5 minutes. I know it sounds like a waste of water, but trust me, in the long run you'll be happy that you did. If anyone else in my building (including the restaurant downstairs which claims to have a separate system) runs any water, there goes my shower.
@lauren84 funny that as soon as I read your comment I knew you had rented from River City Real Estate- the worst! I haven't rented from them thanks to friends who have who did more than enough to keep me far far way from any properties their own.
I currently rent from an older couple that lives in another city but has several properties in my neighborhood. They do little to no upkeep and although I love my apartment, trying to get even the slightest thing fixed is like pulling teeth. Not to mention I'm pretty sure the pick up people on corners looking for work to repair things in our building which wouldn't be an issue if the people they were picking up actually knew what they were doing! I
f there is anything I learned its to make sure you ask about repairs and how timely they are on fixing things. Do you need to submit a request? Is there a 24hr number you can call to report problems with the apartment? Older apartments come with issues and its best to know what to do and how to handle things before you move in.
Wow there is really a lot to think of. I looked at about 4 apartments already and think most times didn't ask half of the questions.
Thing is (I don't know about the situation in the U.S., but in Germany) very often it's the current tenants that look for new ones, because they have to/want to move. So it's a) often complicated to find a time when you can really take a look at the place (so no chance of seeing it at different daytimes!), b) very strange to stick your nose into every corner and testing everything when there is still someone living there and c) if you have specific questions you'll have to wait until you get the chance speaking with the landlord because the tenant will not know.
And just as annamac said: amazing how much time and negotiations some people invest - if you wait a few hours longer with your decision that you would like to take the place, some other guy with interest gets the apartment.
There is no perfect structure, however a good rule of thumb:
People
Product
Promotion
Place
Price
I always go over the five “P”s with my residents. A HOME is different for each person.
I have lived in apartments in both Nasvhille and Washington, D.C. and it is indeed possible to negotiate rent or fees with large corporate renters (as opposed to an individual who is renting a place to you). And I'm probably one of the least aggressive people about even approaching such things. But I've been renting for 20 years, since my early 20s, and it works best in the context of renewing leases -- especially if you have a history of paying in full and on time every month. When I was younger and let that slide, pfffft. But now, often, just to keep someone who pays on time and in full in the apartment they'll offer -- without me even having to ask -- to waive the amenities fee, for example, or to at the least keep the rent for another year at the same rate instead of increasing it. And one year they actually DECREASED my rent to below what I was paying when I first signed on five years earlier if I'd stay, though I did have to ask. Yes, these are urban areas and presumably the apartment complexes could have turned over those apartments very fast. But it's so much less expensive to keep a tenant already there -- especially if that tenant is good.
(great list by the way! thanks~) i have a few
questions.my boyfriend and i usually rent, our last 2 landlords have been really great. but we have only rented so far in san francisco. this will be our first house rental in the LA area.
we found a nice house that has 1BD downstairs, and the attic was converted to two small bedrooms side by side, with surrounding windows all the way around. she wants 1600, its in highland park across from a busy high school. there is no central air or heat, or ceiling fans or wall units. but its a nice little community with a small yard (around 10X30 feet). tis is the landlords first time buying a house and renting it out, so i know theres going to be a few surprises for her and a learning process.
so far, the landlords states that the carpets can be pulled out(as its pretty dirty and old) but says that there is some 'issue' involved with the previous tenants, leading to not wanting to pull out the carpets and put in pergo flooring. there is also a very steep staircase that goes up to the 2 upstairs rooms, which landlord 'doesnt watn to spend the extra money' putting in rails, as she said it needs them badly and that we can sign a release that we wont sue them if we fall....hmmph. landlord is putting in used appliances(stove, fridge, washer dryer) yet that stuff usually comes with the house anyways(all the ones we've rented so far).
landlord also says we can get a discount onthe rent if we sign a 2 year lease and paint the inside how we like and put up fencing around the property. sounds like a good deal right? Yet how aggressive should I be with my concerns? landlord will give it to us for about 1300 if we sign that contract and fix it up. i dunno, what do you think? also, landlord lives in the house behind ours on the same lot. but is letting us make our lot super private. thanks for your timeee
Great great great post, I really appreciate this site and its content. There is a minor grammatical issue in number 1, just giving u a heads up. Thanks for the info again.
-www.livelovesales.com
We just moved into our new apartment. The purpose is to create a clear understanding between landlord and tenant at the start of the rental period, and avoid potential disputes down the road. Good idea. But a lease won’t work for you, unless you read it before you sign it. Here are other tips that might help. http://www.gardencommunitiesfl.com/moving-resources/understanding-signing-apartment-lease.aspx
TEN WAYS TO MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR FULL SECURITY DEPOSIT BACK! Have the landlord spell all language in the lease that reference fees, move out fee, cleaning free, admin fees to be taken out of the s...
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