Questions To Ask The Landlord Before Renting His Apartment

Apartment hunting is not the easiest thing around. You may find places not suited to your tastes or those which do are not to your budget. Eventually, you may have to settle for something a little less than perfect or if you're lucky, you may just find a home you love. However, before you finalise on the apartment, there are a few questions you need to ask the landlord so that there is no reason for disagreement later on during the lease period. In fact, some of the points mentioned below may also be included in the agreement for your safety so that the landlord doesn't go back on his word.

When will the unit be available for occupation? If it's ready to occupy and it's impractical for you to move in immediately, you may have to negotiate with the landlord so that you don't pay for unoccupied time.
How much is the rent payable and when is it due every month? How much is the security deposit and is it fully refundable?
Is there a penalty fee for late payment of the rent?
What are the terms for renewing the lease?
Are pets allowed and if not, would it be possible to have pets if you paid a pet deposit? If a pet-deposit policy is in place, is it refundable if there's no damage caused to be found when you move out?
What are the conditions if you have to move out before the lease expires? Even if you may think you won't have to move out for a long time, it's better to keep your options safe and negotiate secure terms should you need to move out earlier than the expiry of the lease period.
Are any utilities included in your agreement? What are typical bill amounts in different seasons?
Are you allowed to share your unit with roommates and what is the policy on subletting the place?
Can you paint the walls or make other decorating changes?
Are you allowed to run a home business from your apartment?
Who will be responsible for property maintenance?
Who are your neighbours?
How close is the nearest post office, grocery store, bank, restaurant and public transportation?

Asking these questions only avoids any cause for disagreement in the future between you and your landlord.

Sameer S Panjwani is the CEO of ChoiceOfHomes.com - Buy / Sell / Rent Homes Online

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

Housing Froth Creating Imbalance for Consumers and Investors
Home buyers and sellers should think twice before jumping into over-heated real estate markets. Fed chief Alan Greenspan feels the housing boom is economically imbalanced or uneven.

Your Home Equity Can Work for You
"Use your home's equity to pay off your debt. It's easy and simple, no closing costs!" Every time I turn on the television, commercials bombard me telling me to take out a home equity line of credit.

10 Home Purchase Abroad Tips For Success
Are you seeking your little corner of sun drenched heaven on earth? If you are you're certainly not alone!Many Northern Europeans, Americans and Canadians are looking overseas for investment real estate or for a holiday bolt hole and if you're considering buying a second home in the sun, a home from home abroad or an investment property overseas and you're in a hurry to get started, these top 10 home purchase abroad tips for success should set you off in the right direction.1) Legal AdviceLegal systems differ from country to country so never assume that you understand how exactly the entire house purchase process is going to work, and never expect things to necessarily go exactly your way! To be assured of the fact that your personal interests are being looked after and that you, your money and your property are 100% secure, legal and legitimate it's essential to seek independent legal representation in the country you're considering buying property in.

Building A Home? Want To Ask A Builder The Right Questions - Not The Dumb Ones!
These are real builder questions that I got from readers of my e-book, "Residential Development Made Easy" with answers from a major USA Master Builder operating in 48 States.Question 1.

Before Selling Your Home
Here are some important steps you should take before you put your house on the market:1. Home Loan Approval for your next HomeYou don't want to be signing a contract to sell your house before knowing if you are qualified to buy another.

Flipping Fixers: Using Transformation Psychology for Top Dollar
Satisfying and lucrative real estate investment depends upon your correct assessment of profit potential, of course, but your ultimate success depends on your ability to transform a fixer into a dollhouse. The renovation process involves physical work and choosing the best supplies, in order to create maximum positive emotional effect and profits.

What's Your Style? A Guide to America's Most Common Home Styles
Styles of houses vary across the country. From the New England Cape Cod to the Victorians of San Francisco, the choices are almost endless.

How to Use Design Psychology to Stage Your Home for a Top-Dollar Sale
A new business venture to help home sellers, home staging, assists property owners in preparing their home for the best possible sale. Home stagers visit your home and either tell you how to redesign it or actually do the work for you.

How Do You Profit From O.P.P.?
In a previous article we introduced you to the concept of O.P.

Horses In My Back Yard
Horses In My Back Yard by Jody Hudson, with Extensive Collaboration From Chris Hudson HORSE LOVERS: During my thirty years of selling rural land, I have frequently found that folks want some acreage so that they can own and ride horses. They LOVE horses in their own mind but have little if any of the real knowledge or experience necessary to raise one or more horses.

Home Buying - School District Issues
A good school district is a key factor in home buying if you have kids. It can also be a positive selling point when it comes time to sell your home.

Subdividing - But NOT Land!
Many people are familiar with the concept of sub-dividing a large piece of property into smaller lots. The same concept can be very profitable in other areas.

What Does It Take To Be A Donald Trump in Real Estate?
Since you are a business oriented person, you might be thinking: "oh, great, here it comes another fad that sounds to good to be true and I don't have time for this now." Well, the fact is, like gravity you do not have to believe in Feng Shui for it to work.

Crossing the Gap from this Home to the Next: Bridge Loan
So you're thinking of getting into a bigger house. You call up the real estate agent and make an appointment to go see what the market has to offer.

Landlords Dance The FICO Fandango
Fair Isaac Corporation is the creator of the FICO credit score that is used today by most lenders to evaluate consumer credit risk. FICO scores range from a poor credit low of 500 to a best credit rating of 850.

Property Investing Secrets 3
Property Investing Secrets: When you Make Property Easy to Buy for People Using Vendor Finance It Is Easy To SellWhen property investing, my goal is to make it easy for people to buy my properties, that's why I offer vendor finance. You have the advantage when you buy properties from sellers when property investing.

The Bubble Effect
Turn on the TV at almost any time day or night and you will find news and talk shows informing us that there is a Real Estate bubble. What is a "bubble" and how do they know? The simple principle of what goes up must come down is being applied in general thought now and many in the public are starting to buy it.

Real Estate Growth: How Long Will It Last?
There has been speculation in the media recently about the fact that real estate will begin to fail and implode as it can only handle so much growth. In my humble opinion these theories don't hold a lot of merit and here is why.

You Dont Need Health Insurance!
Seems almost every situation in our lives is centered on communication. Good or bad, the way we express our thoughts, wants, and needs to each other determines how we live, love, and learn together.

How to Prequalify a Buyer When You Sell Your Home By Owner
One questions many "for sale by owner" sellers ask is "how can I determine if a potential buyer can afford to buy my house?" In the real estate industry this is referred to as "pre-qualifying" a buyer.� You might think this is a complex process but in reality it is actually quite simple and only involves a little math.