Guide For Moving Into An Apartment Or Rental House

When youโ€™re considering moving into an apartment or rental house, whether its your first apartment or if youโ€™re a renting pro, there are several aspects of moving that you could consider. Iโ€™ve separated them into three main categories โ€“ budgeting, red flags and to-dos.

Apartment Guide: Tips and advice for moving into an apartment, dorm or rental house.

Budgeting:

Making sure that you can afford the apartment is important. Many budgeting experts suggest having your rent or mortgage payment be 30% or less of your monthly budget. So if your monthly take home pay is 3,000, you should look to find a place that is $1000 a month or less. However, this is just a general guideline, as your bills in combination with your rent will determine if you can really afford it or not. Seeing two apartments listed at the same price in a newspaper or on craigslist doesnโ€™t mean they will both cost you the same out of pocket, as one might include your water bill, snow removal and garbage removal while the other does not. Of course, leaning on the cheaper side is always a safer bet.

Be sure to pay attention to whether or not the following bills/fees are included in your rent or not:

  • Heat
  • Electric
  • Snow removal
  • Lawn care/mowing
  • Water bill
  • Garbage removal
  • Recycling
  • Pet fees
  • Laundry (if there is laundry on-site, is it free or coin operated?)
  • Parking/Car port

To-dos and questions to ask:

  • Read the lease line-for-line. If you negotiate any terms, make sure that your landlord reprints (or at least writes the edit on your lease and signs it).
  • Is there a late fee if your rent is late? How much is it?
  • What appliances come with your apartment? If they break, will they be repaired or replaced for free or will that be your responsibility?
  • How long does the least last? After the lease period is over, will it switch to month-to-month or will you need to renew the lease?
  • What will happen if you need to break the lease before it is finished?
  • If your life situation changes such as you date someone new, can someone else move in later?
  • If you have a roommate or housemate, ask what will happen if one roommate leaves but the other does not.
  • Make sure have extra money saved up prior to moving. Most rentals require a deposit that is the same size as first months rent, plus the first months rent upfront. For example, if rent is $600, youโ€™ll need $1200 to move in.
  • Also look into activation fees for utilities or other expenses such as internet, phone, etc.
  • Most landlords will give you a print off where you can write down any damage or imperfections that exist in the apartment before you move in. Be very diligent to include every scratch and ding that you see. Anything that you donโ€™t write down could potentially be blamed on you and the cost of replacing or repairing that item can be kept form your deposit. If your landlord doesnโ€™t give you one to fill out, make your own (two copies) and staple one to your copy of the lease and the second to your landlords copy of the lease.

Red flags

  • When touring the kitchen and bathroom, sniff near the toilet and sinks. If you can smell a mold or mildew smell there is likely a water problem.
  • When touring an apartment, keep an eye on the ceilings to see if there are any water stains/damage.
  • Sit and make a list of ALL of your monthly expenses and one-off expenses (such as Christmas, license renewal fees, etc). Having a budget that leaves you with $0 remaining is a red flag because unexpected expenses will pop up sooner or later. Make sure to set up your budget so that you have a certain amount of โ€œleft overโ€ that you can put into savings each month to pad you against expenses.
  • If you have a roommate, have a conversation with them about how household chores or duties will be divided. Also discuss how finances will be divided. If this conversation is a struggle, it is probably a red flag that you donโ€™t have good enough communication with this person to navigate living with them. Having a happy roommate relationship requires a high level of communication and negotiation.

What factors do you consider when moving into an apartment? If youโ€™ve had negative experiences with apartments in the past, please share your experiences below so we can all benefit. Were there any red flags that you missed?

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Comments 7

  • I really like what you said about your rent or mortgage payment being 30% or less of your monthly budget. My wife and I found an apartment that was much smaller than we initially were wanting to rent, but the rental rate was less than any other apartments we could find, and it has been great to have more disposable income. Thanks for the tips! Iโ€™ll be sure and pass along the rental advice.

  • My girlfriend and I are interested in moving into a rental home and want to make sure that we go about it the right way. Itโ€™s very important as you say in the article to make sure that you check and see what is covered in the rent and what will be paid separately. I will have to make sure to keep this in mind when my girly and I start looking.

  • Thanks for the tip to make sure that your rent payment is less than 30% or less than your monthly budget. More specifically, you said that if your monthly take-home pay is $3,000 you should find a place that is $1,000 or less per month. I think itโ€™s a good idea to choose a real estate agent that has many of connections to other home contractors that can help you renovate your house.

  • Thank you for the renting tips. I am moving cities and looking around for an apartment to rent. My last place I forgot to check and ask about utilities and things like that and when I got my first monthโ€™s bill it was more than I expected because I forgot to ask those questions! I probably wouldnโ€™t have picked the place I did if I had known that before.

  • Olivia Nelson

    I like your comment on considering budgeting when you are looking to rent an apartment. I would imagine that you would want to set an amount you can pay on rent and stick to that. Iโ€™m looking to rent an apartment so Iโ€™m going to have to set a budget before I begin my search.

  • John Mahoney

    I am looking into renting a new apartment and want to make sure I do a little research first. Thank you so much for talking about the importance of reading the lease carefully so you avoid unpleasant surprises and make sure you feel comfortable with it. It is important to remember that it is ok to not be ok with the terms and that you can always ask questions and negotiate them.

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