Everyone is confronted with apartment leasing at least once during his/her lifetime.

You are going to stay in that apartment for 2 or 3 years as a minimum. Ask the right questions before you lease an apartment.

Hunting for Apartment Leasing

The basics of apartment leasing: If you are in search of an apartment for your living, there are some basic comforts that you looking for. The area needs to be good and the neighbors need to be friendly and not quarrelsome. You are going to live in that area for a year or more, and hence the market needs to be near. The list is endless and if you are not careful you might just miss on some important point hence this checklist for you to go through before signing the apartment lease document.

What to Do before Leasing an Apartment

·          If you are not to be disappointed after leasing an apartment the first thing to do is to fix up your budget for the apartment lease and then only proceed further.

·          Have sufficient time on your hand so that you might be able to look for the area suited for your budget. Take help from your colleagues who have been in that town for longer period. Leasing agents are a good source of information, but his/her information will have to be cross checked with someone who knows the ins and outs of the area.

·          Look in the local papers under classified columns for the available lease options.

·          Before going to the actual survey of the site to be rented, make a telephone contact with the owner to ascertain the suitability for looking at the property. When you make the call use the opportunity for getting more information about the area. You can choose from the questions below for asking the right question

1.      The time from which the apartment is available for leasing

2.      How many rooms the apartment has

3.      What is the expected rent (check if this matches with your budget)

4.      What is included in the rent and what is excluded? Are the utilities (like heat, hot water, gas, electricity,) included or excluded? If excluded what is the additional rent for those?

5.      How much is the security deposit? (A landlord is required to put the deposit in an account where you get an interest and must give you the details.)

6.      The expected lease period and penalties for leaving earlier than the lease period.

7.      If there is a penalty, will it be waived if you find another tenant acceptable to landlord

Once you get satisfactory answers to your questions, you can now set out to have an inspection of the property.

Inspection before Apartment Leasing

An inspection of the property that you intend to lease will be necessary to ensure that where you are going to locate your residence for a sufficiently long period of time is acceptable to you.

While inspecting the property you can look for

·         Condition of the apartment: The general condition of apartment including absence of vermin, snakes, rodents and other things you find unpalatable.

·         Water Availability: The water should be available in all the area of apartment and the pressure should be enough for you to use.

·         Parking space: Check if the parking space is for general parking or you have a dedicated parking space for you. Check the parking space for you guests.

·         Garbage removal: Check for garbage removal schedule and find out who pays for it.

·          Markets: Check about the markets in the area and see if everything that you require is available near by.

·          Neighbors: Make discreet enquiries to see if the neighbors are a social lot and to check if there are quarrelsome neighbor around

That will be a good starting point for you to search an apartment for leasing, You can always add to this list.