Our housing search began with a number of poorly laid-out, cheaply finished apartments. Each place was more disheartening than the next, from a bathroom so small you had to hold your breath to close the door, to trim so thick with paint that it prevented doors and windows from fully closing. When our luck finally changed and we locked eyes with 'the one,' we were ready to do everything in our power to make it home.
We were blown away by the last apartment we viewed - great natural light, high ceilings, and a view! The only thing that stood between us and the apartment were thirty other people at the open house, competing for the same thing.
Despite the odds (and to our excitement), we were successful in acquiring our San Francisco rental. With the process still fresh in my mind, I've compiled a few tips for attending open houses, that helped us along the way.
Go early. If you think you like a place based on photos, try to contact the landlord or building manager to see it before the open house. Open houses are a difficult forum for making a connection. Even if the landlord is unavailable to meet before, at least you've established a connection and expressed interest.
Linger. Not in a creepy way, just spend as much time as possible at the open house or viewing. Chat with the landlord and be sure to express what you like about the space. This is your chance to make a good first impression, as well as an opportunity to make sure the situation is right for you. Think of it like a mini job interview. You want to make sure it's a good fit for both parties.
Have your information ready to go. Come with your credit report, references and all the information you may need to fill out an application. The renters' market is competitive. It will pay off to be prepared and act quickly.
Follow up with the owner. More than likely, the landlord has mentally selected a tenant, or two, by the end of the open house, pending the credit report results. If you're in the running, a quick e-mail to say thanks for your time and we love the place will only help.
As renting procedures vary per city, we'd love to hear tips from you. What obstacles have you encountered and what advice do you have for others in landing an apartment rental? What have you done to get an edge up against the competition?
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I brought a recent pay stub that showed my year to date income... Worked for us!
I out-deposited my competition to get my apartment...
I also brought cookies to the potential new landlord when I first viewed it...
What can I say...I wanted the place really bad!!!
We submitted a renter's resume that included: credit report, references, pay stubs, and a bio of ourselves. We live in San Francisco.
I've never heard of a renter's resume but that sounds like a great idea, especially in super competitive areas.
wow sounds ya'll have to go through way more b.s. then we do here.
wow! I can't imagine having to jump through so many hoops just to get a rental place! But I've never gone apartment hunting in a city with more than 300k people...
We were trying to move from our place in the Sunset to somewhere closer to the city last year.. We grew disheartened by lines out the door to view a place at open houses and 20+ also trying to woo the landlord. As the deadline to either stay or go loomed closer, we found a great potential place online. We decided to come prepared with pay stubs, check book at the ready to out deposit anyone, and had an aggressive mentality. We arrived at the open house ready to kick ass, only to find the lady showing was the housekeeper who had us write our name, number, and occupation down in a notebook (along with 30 other names) and were told "Don't call them - they'll call you." She wouldn't even release the name of the management company. We tried to stick around the badger one of the tenants for the information but no one was around. We showed up on the second day to the same grumpy housekeeper but wrote down our name again to show that we were at least persistent. We never got a call and never wound up moving. You can't win in this city.
Gushing about how cute or wonderful an apartment is to whoever is showing it has worked wonders for me in getting my past two apartments (with the apartment I'm moving to in a couple of weeks, it probably helped that while I was gushing about how awesome the original glass doorknobs and black and white pinwheel tiles in the bathroom were, the other guy who was looking at the place at the same time pointed at the radiators and wanted to know what those were and what they did. *headdesk*). All other things being equal, I think most landlords would like to rent to someone who will really love the apartment (and presumable take good care of it!). And I'm in DC, which probably has one of the craziest rental markets in the country!
Like the above comment, I'd say bring a check, and be ready to make your deposit that day (even if it's more than a month til move-in).
Bringing all the information right away is definitely useful, but here in Vancouver what can often be the deciding factor is whoever brings in the deposit first - so bring your checkbook too!
Always be closing! lol
Basically, in Vancouver, you need to have the application filled out before you walk into the place. Competition is stiff! Bring a friend, and have them start filling it out for you while you chat/walk to the suite with the landlord. If you like the place, hand over the application before the competition does. Have all the relevant paperwork on-hand.
Also, dress like a professional and act like a professional. Drop hints at your 9-5 schedule. Comment on how clean the place is, and how you appreciate that.
Written references with contact info from previous landlords has helped me.
I live in the Bay Area and decided that I wanted to rent a place from a human-being rather than a corporate apartment complex. Wow, was it a wake-up call! After getting turned down for two awesome places (we gushed, we emailed, we had our applications pre-filled, we had our deposit), I decided to go completely overboard for the next place. Our tenant package included a cover letter, dog resume, pay stubs, bank statements, rental ledgers, credit reports, letters of rec from former neighbors, and the application. When we finally found the perfect place, I handed them the package and beat out the rest of the competition by a landslide. We are loving our new digs and our awesome landlords now!
Could you please post the paint color for the room in the photo? I love it!
If your landlord has some diversity of units and you're just upgrading, ask if they have anything larger/more expensive/in a different location before you start shopping elsewhere. If you've been a good tenant, they'll be happy to hold on to you and you may be able to cut a detail minus the realtoring fees you'd otherwise rack up.
I did this in my most recent move, found out about a sweet top-floor one-bedroom in the building I thought only had studios and managed to save $900/yr with the rate I could negotiate.
My goodness! I've never been a renter-homeowner since I was 23 and did these things to buy a home. My have things changed. I'm 30 now.
A long-term tenant is a very valuable commodity to a landlord. Being one myself, I would be loathe to go through all these gymnastics to get an apartment. Having experienced an envious landlord and the problems that can bring, I would definitely NOT provide a prospective landlord with bank statements as one person suggested. As for deposits, I would review the local and state laws concerning security deposits. New Jersey law limits deposits to 1.5 times the rent, therefore I would limit any deposit to the first month's rent plus the maximum allowable security deposit. Paying more than permitted under the law is illegal and sort of makes one look like a fool.
Whether the apartment is being privately shown to me or I'm visiting an open house, I arrive with a measuring tape and notepad prepared to take notes and ask questions. Before visiting the space you should have at least three written lists:
1. Questions for the landlord. (decorating restrictions, special issues, permissions, etc.)
2. A list of your largest pieces of furniture and their dimensions.
3. A list of items to check in the apartment. (water pressure, electrical capacity, condition of windows and doors, etc)
I request a floorplan where available and if not I draw out a rough floorplan with dimensions in the notepad. Today, I would also take pictures of the space. I take as much time as I need to consider the apartment, an impatient landlord is a red flag for trouble. I feel the landlord should be present for my visit and if not that is a problem. Personal involvement in the property is a good indicator of whether problems will be addressed promptly. If the space is owned by a corporate landlord, the company's agent should be available for questions. Meeting with the landlord is not just an opportunity for them to meet you, but for you to get to know them.
Swingncocoa, congrats! I am the dog resume did the trick - I applaud your resourcefullness. :-)
I became really mercenary about cutting my San Francisco rent and was shocked at the competition for tiny, sub $800 apts. It took me over a year to find my studio and that was largely due to not wanting to leave my personal info with in-law landlords & not wanting to deal with reported bed bug issues in downtown complexes.
In the end, it was my rental resume and checkbook that got me my place and it also didn't hurt that I'd purged and measured my belongings enough to know I could live in the small space. I'm happy with the end result but will try to never again move before finding a new place.
Geez. All of those San Francisco horror stories remind me of why I finally moved away. LOVE the city, HATE the rental housing market there.
Offering to sign a two year lease put me over the top for this place. Of course, I did manage to negotiate $50/mo off the rent in exchange...
I always look early, not so I get an apartment but so I have comparable apartment, so I can jump on an apartment I like when I see it when it is time to find an apartment. I handed my current landlord a deposit check on the spot for my current apartment. It was only the third apartment I had seriously looked at but having scouted the area a few month earlier I knew what other apartments for the same price looked like. I haven't regretted it for a second.
Seconding Urbancricket's comment about the need for good references. Also, I once lucked into an apartment because the real estate agent liked my handwriting -- go figure!
(BTW, this post is reminding me why, despite having a mortgage and all the responsibilities that go along with being a homeowner, I'm so glad to be out of the rental market!)
Develop a relationship with the realtor if using one. I've moved a handful of times over ten years and I stick with one agent. If she can't help me she refers me to someone who can. It's made a huge difference in my experience.
@JohnH. I'm not sure if you live in or rent in a rent controlled city but here in SF a Long Term Tenant is not always valued. After so many years, rent increase limits and inflation come into play. Master tenants can be a blessing or a curse.
Credit checks, pay stubs, and bank statements were then and are now what it takes to even get in the game.
When I rented I always mentioned my 3-5 yr rental time frame which seemed to work. Most landlords I had wanted to know why I was renting (given that I could buy) and that I planned on leaving eventually.
Now as a landlord I look for the someone who loves my unit but also plans on leaving eventually to buy their own. People with interesting careers and plans. Couples that might plan families. Graduate students. People new to the city.
My boyfriend and I moved to San Francisco last July and our apartment search was pretty scarring. We saw others and/or tried contacting the landlord to see if we could see the apartment before the open house (in most cases the answer was no), attempting to get any paperwork that needed to be filled out before the open house, and pleading our case with stories good enough for a Lifetime movie. We didn't get any of the apartments that we put in applications for at first and were told by more than one landlord it was because they "went with the first application that was handed in." Luckily, although we signed on a place that we only saw in pictures, it ended up being absolutely perfect for us and alls well that ends well. We will be staying in this apartment until we move back to the Southeast!
The SF rental market is such a bear that I've decided to stay put in my place for another year. It's tiny and in the East Bay, but it's cheap and I don't have to make the rounds of open houses where I'm one of 30 jockeying for the place -- done it twice before, loathe to do it once more. Maybe the SF market will settle down again (a girl can dream).
The times I was successful, I had a rental resume and a pet resume and after many disappointments, I started skipping the apartments with cattle call open houses.
We just did the apartment hunt in SF and snagged a good-enough place. We are moving from out of town, so we figure we can always move again in a few years. Plus, our new place is 2 blocks from airport Bart, which was a must-have.
We compiled copies of our ytd pay stubs, w-4s (the tax "bingo sheets" that you send in with your return) from the prior year, pictures of our kitties, a recommendation letter from our landlord, an employment verification letter from my job, and the prior month's statements for all our liquid assets (checking, CDs, savings, etc).
The kicker? My hubs drooled over the postage-stamp sized backyard and asked if he would be able to garden. Turns out, the landlord was looking for a tenant who would keep the back yard tamed -- luckily, our landlord put in our letter that we were particularly adored by the condo board in our building, because we essentially took over the non-hedges landscaping of the building.
I would suggest trying to get to see a place before the open house, having all your paperwork ready to go. Also, we never told a prospective landlord that we were moving from out of town until they figured it out from our paperwork.
In the end, no matter how well you present yourself or if you're the only one at a showing, it's a delicate equation taking into account a) total income b) your credit score c) trade-offs you're willing to make and finally, d) prospective landlord's neuroses. And, forget the pet, if you want that dream apartment, they're not allowed. This comes from experience of looking at 75+ apartments all over SF, having three apartments fall through at signing spanning 18 months. We finally gave into certain trade-offs.