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8 Tips for Renting the Right Apartment
 by: Dan The Roommate Man

So, you're looking for an apartment to rent or share with a roommate. Whether you're a first-timer or an experienced apartment-hunter, it's worth taking the time to decide what's most important to you in where you live and to plan your search strategy accordingly. With that in mind, here are eight tips to consider:

1. Make a list of your top housing priorities.

Do you need extra parking spaces? A place that welcomes pets? A large kitchen or linen closet? A ground-floor entrance to your home? Or what? Thinking through your needs ahead of time can help you find an apartment that meets those needs, instead of one that just strikes your fancy at first glance.

2. Check out the property.

In addition to examining the condition of the for-rent unit, walk through the property to see whether it appears to be well-maintained. Is the landscaping healthy or dying? Nicely trimmed or growing wild? Are any windows, steps or railings broken or dangerous? Do the access doors open easily and shut tightly? Walk through at night, too. Are the parking areas and pathways well lit? What about the stairwells and hallways?

3. Talk to the neighbors.

If you're serious about a particular apartment, knock on a few doors and ask your potential neighbors whether they're satisfied with the building's amenities, management's responsiveness to repair needs and other issues of concern to you. Ask: Would you tell a friend to move into this building?

4. Examine the lease.

A lease is a legal obligation to pay rent for a specified length of time, and every lease has variations on the terms and conditions of tenancy. How much notice must you give before moving at the end of the lease term? Can the rent be increased? Are pets allowed? What provisions cover your security deposit and end-of-lease cleaning costs? If the terms of the lease agreement don't suit your needs, negotiate or reconsider renting the apartment.

5. Consider security.

Does the building have controlled access? If so, are the exterior security gates and doors closed? Are the locks in working order? Does your individual unit have secure door locks and window latches? (Some states have specific laws regarding minimum security devices for apartment units.) Does the building have a security service? If so, is a guard on duty 24 hours or does he or she just drive by periodically?

6. Ask about shared facilities.

Does the building have a swimming pool? A recreation or fitness room? Tennis courts? Laundry facilities? Who is allowed to use those facilities and during what hours? Is there an extra fee charged for use of the facilities? Where are the facilities located in relation to your prospective apartment? Do you really want to live poolside or near the laundry room?

7. Ask about utility costs.

Is the water bill paid by the owner or separately by the tenants? Are electrical or gas utilities included in the rent? Is there a single thermostat for the entire building? If so, who controls it?

8. Take notes.

Before you move in, document the condition of your unit and make note of any nonfunctioning doors or windows, leaking plumbing, missing fixtures, stained carpets and so on. Ask your landlord to initial a copy of your documentation to prevent disputes when you eventually move out. Better yet, take pictures or make a video of the premises before you bring in any of your furniture or belongings.

Apartment Locators: How Do They Make Their Money?

If you're looking for an apartment in a hurry, apartment location services are a convenient, efficient route to your next home. The vast majority of these services are free, and if you happen to live in a high-growth metropolitan area, you're likely to find them everywhere. In North Dallas, for example, where apartment community developers are keeping plenty busy these days, you'll find as many as two or even three apartment locator services at the same intersection.

Locators tout their services as free, and believe it or not, they are. Not only that, but you'll find their consultants bend over backwards to provide you with copious information -- long lists of apartment communities that fit your desired criteria. Consultants also will call you as they hear of other opportunities with which you may be interested. It's a lot of service, and it won't set you back a penny. So what's in it for the locator? A commission -- but it all depends on your informing the apartment community you ultimately choose who referred you. For the locator, it's a risky venture, but consultants who persistently contact their clients and remind them to tell their new communities about the locator who referred them there are the ones who receive those commissions.

Of course, like every other business these days, apartment locators increasingly are going online. The Internet is providing them with a surge of new business. Finding an apartment locally no longer requires you to leave your home. Turn on your computer, find yourself a locator online, fill in and submit an online application which asks you your specifications and budgetary restrictions, and then, following a period of one to two days, the locator should contact you by phone.

After that, you're likely to receive a fax from a representative who has done the homework for you. You'll have a list in hand of various properties in the area in which you want to live -- all of which meet your desired criteria. Apartment amenities will be listed, as well. Then it's up to you to visit the communities that interest you. Making a preliminary phone call to each community before you leave home is a good idea, since the locator services typically do not know if each community has any vacancies or anticipates any vacancies -- a constantly changing variable -- during the time you wish to move. In addition, if you call ahead of time, you may ask leasing agents if the community is running any specials. If you're moving during the months of May to September, that's prime moving season, and you could land yourself a great deal.

Take, for example, a recent special run by one North Dallas apartment community, which gave residents who signed a 13-month lease full-sized washers and dryers with their apartments -- which they were allowed to take with them when they moved out later. So pick up your phone, and find out who's running the sweetest deals. Those specials can be make-or-break deciding factors for you when you've narrowed down your list of prospective apartment communities.

Apartment location consultants are paid a commission from the advertising budgets of the properties to which they refer prospective renters. Of course, that all depends on your telling the leasing agents at your new community who referred you there. Many locators will contact clients either by phone or e-mail after services have been rendered, in order to find out where clients ultimately chose to live and to remind them to tell agents who referred them there. Particularly savvy consultants will contact clients more than once because so many of us have a tendency to ignore such e-mail or phone messages. It's the clients' responsibility to perform this favor for the consultant in exchange for what amounts to a very time-saving and handy service.

If you're on the lookout for an apartment locator, there's an unspoken rule which you're entrusted to follow: Apartment-hunters are expected to use only one location service provider. The rationale behind that rule certainly makes sense. After all, if you're a locator doing the legwork for a client, you'd like to be recognized for your efforts in the event that client chooses a community to which you referred him or her. If the consumer is using multiple services, your chances of receiving any commission for your efforts are slim at best.

Although apartment locators are not at liberty to disclose to consumers particular properties they deem unsafe, their representatives can help you to an extent if you have questions about various regions -- their relative safety, availability of local resources, and more. Representatives of these services are the eyes and ears of the renters' market. They know where the most desirable areas are, which properties are hot and which aren't, and what morning rush-hour traffic is like in a particular area, for example. If your gut feeling tells you the neighborhood in which the apartment of your dreams is located is somewhat unsavory, an apartment location service may be able to tell you -- albeit indirectly -- whether or not that feeling is unjustified.

Apartment location services realize that moving is an emotional decision, and today's cutthroat apartment market can leave many hunters out in the cold if they don't move quickly and don't know where to look. If you're looking for corporate housing or a single-family home, these services often can help you with those searches, as well.