Everyone knows that certain person who has had a bad experience with a landlord. Some will even see it from the other point of view and describe how the home was recked because of tenants gone wild. If you are renting then this article will protect you from being walked on by a slumlord and also tell you how not to become a tenant that will go down in the landlords mind as a person of low class.
Survey the neighborhood that you want to rent in. Look to see that it has all the things that you need and want. Trust me it is a good idea to develope this list prior to searching. Take a walk through the area and see how the people that live there treat their own homes and where the stores are. Make sure you have a store in walking distance. You never know if you’ll need an emergency supply of food if your car breaks down.
Talk to the neighbors. See if they’ll be open about the history of the place you’re trying to rent. What is the landlord like? What were the old tenants like? See if the know of any problems like mechanical issues etc.
This is the best way to start up a conversation, which may soon give way to a good friendship in the near future but for starters, you can consult the neighbors and take in every detail of the apartment and the area that surrounds it so as to get a general idea of what you are signing up for. Not only the house, but try to dig out the landlord’s history along with his behavior with the previous tenants as that will help you in deciding better on how to proceed further in this case. While the house may not be a Parc Central Residences floor plan but still if there is a possibility of some mishap, you shouldn’t be blamed for it.
Reveiw the lease for everything from pets to how many people you are allowed to have over at any time. See if you are allowed to line item things by crossing them out of the lease when you do not agree with certain clauses. As an example there are many standard leases that have a clause expecting the tenant to fix certain items up to a certain cost. I’m sorry unless it is my property then “NO” the landlord can fix them it is his after all I just rent. Of course that is if something breaks and not something I damaged.
Pay by check and always get receipts. Keep all paperwork in a file listing every month that you paid for and keep the canceled checks with receipts together. If you ever need to prove that you paid for a certain month then you’ll be able to access the information very quickly.
When things go wrong keep in touch with the landlord by email and have a paper trail so that you can prove what is happening. Also take pictures. This is very important before you rent. Take more when you move in and have the landlord sign a paper that proves he or she was there and that the house looked a certain way. Trust me when I say that it can very hard to prove what happend that made the landlord say you destroyed carpet when the pictures that you take early on will help when you move out.
