Important Considerations Prior to Taking an Apartment on Rent
If you have to take an Apartment on Rent, it should be done after a lot of careful consideration of all the relevant factors involved. While the rent payable is the factor that causes the greatest concern to many a prospective renter, there are several other factors to be addressed to prior to a final decision.
Don’t think that you have hit a big bargain simply because you got an apartment at a low rental. What is more significant is to ascertain how much similar accommodation actually costs, considering the floor area, age of the building, its present state of repair and good finishes, locality and infrastructure, other amenities available, among many others. In order to have an apartment with a lot of luxurious features, you could consider taking it on a sharing basis with another party or parties to minimize your costs while maximizing your taste for high-class living.
In this article we look deeper into some of these factors including the prospects and consequences of sub letting; and going through the agreements with a fine comb and a magnifying glass before committing yourself in writing.
Assess all the Potential Choices
As for renting an apartment, initially you will have very little knowledge of what is available or what exactly to look for until you do a proper study at least through browsing the net. This, plus going through newspaper and other relevant advertisements will enlighten you to the vast array of types of apartments, special luxuries, amnesties and other fantastic features that are being offered by some landlords.
Once you have done sufficient research, you can go and inspect physically some of the more interesting options within your price range. Not only will you be overwhelmed by the magnificence of some of the apartments, but also rapidly mature in experience and confidence to argue and negotiate with some of the agents.
You would then be able to convince them why their prices should be lower considering the intangible aspects such as the extent of infrastructure and available amenities, advantages / disadvantages of different localities and neighborhoods apart from tangible aspects such as, size and quality of buildings including their architecture etc. The renter could ascertain all this at first hand only by visiting the best of the selected propositions.
Explore the Prospect of keeping Boarders.
Having boarders is a good way of earning some extra income or spreading and minimizing costs. It could become a very tricky situation for you unless you can find the decent type of boarder who will pay his dues on time and would be sober and be cooperative and helpful with the common chores of the household. An opposite type could make life a nightmare for you.
Going for a spacious and luxurious type of apartment is more practicable and affordable with a roommate or roommates. However, you should carefully screen their traits, likes and dislikes before taking on any, for you may have to share certain facilities with them all the time like your sitting / living rooms, television, central heating system, and kitchen.
While this could be fun and convenient with a set of people who are generally of the same age group and compatible in their tastes and interests, it could really turn sour if you end up with a wrong combination whose lifestyles and habits don’t match.
Conflicts arise easily when a group of people cannot see eye to eye on the normal day to day activities. You cannot share the same TV if all cannot decide on a single channel to watch, and one or some may complain that they cannot have a good night’s sleep or any peace because some of them are very noisy and like to stay late into the night drinking and shouting; or watching TV or listening to loud music. Therefore, despite the financial benefits of keeping roommates, it is an area you have to venture into with the utmost caution if you want to avoid disaster.
Go through the Agreement with Caution
Once you have minimized your final selection to just a few, or decided on the exact apartment you are going to rent, the urge may be high to be done with the signing of documents and occupy the apartment at the earliest possible opportunity.
But wait; haste makes waste! It is very important to read the entire contract cautiously with an open mind, and especially what is in small fine print, for herein lie all the pitfalls and surprises! If you ignore this very important step, you may not know the repercussions until a dispute arises, and try to claim your rights, when you will be gently referred back to the contract you had signed, to find out that it’s all too late then!
Special attention should be paid to clauses relating to the circumstances under which the landlord can evict the tenant, damages payable for premature termination of the agreement by the tenant as well as what you stand to lose by trying to settle the installments in advance of the date stipulated in the contract, etc. If there are ambiguous clauses, seek legal or professional opinion, and re-negotiate the obnoxious terms and conditions with the landlord prior to consenting. Once you have sorted out the contract this way, you will know where you stand, so that you can move into your new apartment with the confidence of knowing what the future holds.