It’s love at first sight! You have finally found the apartment of your dreams and are ready to spend all your college savings just to get your hands on it. All that is left to make it yours is by signing that lease.
But what’s the rush? You need to do your homework and check under its hood before you sign on that dotted line. Your dream apartment may come with it’s own terms and conditions that can turn it into a not-so-dreamy, regular apartment. So, it’s better to ascertain those terms and conditions beforehand.
To do that, do these essential 7 things before signing a lease to save yourself from getting stuck with a great apartment with a not so great lease agreement –
1.Inspect all you can in the first visit
You need to treat your first visit as more of an inspection session rather than gazing mindlessly at the beautiful fall ceilings of the apartment. Identify all the issues there are in the apartment that hinders your safety and comfort and take it up with the landlord.
If the landlord happily addresses your concerns and agrees to do some suitable modifications and improvements written into your lease agreement, well and good. And if he dismisses your primary concerns, you know what to do!
2.Is there any existing damage?
If the landlord agrees to your terms and conditions and is ready to rent out, document all the existing damage that there is in the apartment. If there is anything that you missed in your first inspection or if the landlord missed out on fixing something you mentioned, make sure that you have proof to show of any existing damage before you sigh that lease.
Documenting existing damage is important to safeguard your security deposit when you decide to move out of the apartment!
3.Does your rent include more than just rent?
Some rental apartments include the monthly cost of parking space, wifi, utilities and what not in their monthly rent, while others do not. Before signing a lease, do make sure to ask your landlord exactly what is included in your monthly rent.
4.Can you paint the walls?
Customizing an apartment in any way without permission could lead to lease termination or loss of your security deposit. If you are obsessed with customizing your apartment, clear the issue with your landlord first before signing the lease.
5.Will your lease renew automatically?
Check if your lease already has an automatic lease renewal clause as having it will give you the right to renew your lease agreement at the end of your term without having to move out of the apartment against your will!
6.What if you want to move out early?
Renters are forced to pay the full rent of the mentioned tenure in their lease agreement even if they move out early, just because it’s written in their lease. Protect yourself from this blunder by carefully reading the lease termination section in the lease agreement so you get an idea of the repercussions of breaking your lease early.
7.Get everything in writing
Get everything you discussed with your landlord incorporated in the lease agreement. Make sure that any agreement revision, promise of improvement or any pre-existing condition is duly mentioned in the lease before signing your name on the dotted line.
Not happy with most of the lease agreements you encounter? Fret not, we offer flexible lease agreements on all our apartments. Check out our rent lease apartments in Pryor today and settle for nothing less!
