Moving into your first apartment is a huge milestone. It means independence, both financially and psychologically, plus the chance to shop for new home decor. But before you take the leap and sign your first apartment lease, take these steps to present the strongest case to the landlord and protect your interests as a renter.
1. Gather all the paperwork you’ll need.
Landlords want to see proof you’ll be a responsible tenant, and rental requirements are particularly strict in cities where there’s intense competition for real estate. The financial criteria a landlord will need you to meet might be a big change from what you experienced in college, says Christian Emanuel, managing broker at The Next Step Realty, a real estate brokerage in New York City that specializes in helping recent college graduates.
Emanuel recommends to gather the following documents before you attend an open house or an appointment with a broker or landlord. If you fall in love with the place, you’ll have a head start on the application process:
— Letter of employment on company letterhead, including your hire date, title, base salary and bonus, if applicable
— Most recent tax return
— Two recent bank statements showing your account balance
— Two recent pay stubs
— Photo ID
— Letter of reference from a previous landlord
The landlord may also want you to fill out a formal application with your basic contact information and rental history. Don’t lose out on your dream place: Complete the application in person while viewing the apartment, recommends Brittney Benson, general manager of the National Association of Independent Landlords.
“Don’t take the application home with you to return later, because the likelihood is someone else will have applied in that time,” she says.
2. Check for errors on your credit report.
On top of your employment information, landlords might check your credit to evaluate how reliable you’ll be as a tenant.
“I have done over 100 rental deals in the last couple of years at least, and maybe there was one time when someone didn’t run credit on someone else,” Emanuel says.
Credit reports include payment history and account information for your credit cards, auto loans and student loans, plus a record of all the times you applied for a new credit card or other line of credit. Your landlord might use your credit report, and your accompanying credit score, to judge whether he or she can count on you to pay your rent on time.
Everyone can request one free credit report per year from AnnualCreditReport.com. Get your report before you start looking for apartments and read through it carefully. If you find an error — for instance, it says you missed a credit card payment in May 2014, but you know you paid on time — dispute it. Major discrepancies like that can affect your credit score, and the process to fix an error on your report could take a month or more.
3. Prepare for extra move-in costs.
To secure your apartment, you’ll most likely have to pay first month’s rent plus a refundable security deposit. In cities where real estate brokers help landlords show apartments to potential tenants, a broker’s fee is an additional cost to consider. Broker’s fees can range from one month’s rent to 15 percent or more of the rent you’ll pay for the whole year.
Confirm before your lease signing that you have enough money in your checking account to cover these costs. Some landlords will ask you to pay your first month’s rent and security deposit with a certified check provided by your bank to verify you won’t overdraw your account. If your bank is out of state, Emanuel advises to factor in extra time to get a certified check to hand off to your landlord.
4. Do a walk-through with your landlord.
Set up a time to inspect the apartment with your landlord, and write down anything that needs to be fixed — before you pay your security deposit. Many tenants don’t think to do this before they move in, Benson says, and they’re on the hook for repairs to the apartment at the end of their lease that they might not have been responsible for.
“If they don’t document it, there’s nothing that can stop the landlord from saying, ‘You did this,'” she says.
If you find cracks in the floor, holes in the walls or other minor repairs, you can either ask your landlord to fix them before you move in, or you can agree to take the apartment “as-is.” That means you’ll return it to your landlord in the same condition you rented it. Either way, make sure your agreement is in writing so you can refer to it later if you need to.
5. Read the fine print.
In the mad rush to land your ideal place, remember to take a moment to look at the full picture of what you’re getting into. Take your lease home and read it carefully so you understand all the terms. Make sure you’re aware of the utilities you’ll be required to cover each month. Confirm your name is spelled correctly, that the rent and security deposit are what you agreed on with your landlord, and that the length of time you’re required to stay in the apartment — known as the lease term — fits your plans. For instance, you don’t want to end up with a two-year lease that automatically renews at the end of the year, Benson says, just because you didn’t read it closely.
Signing your first apartment lease can be an intimidating process, but there’s a lot to be excited about, too.
“Make sure you have a little bit of fun when you do it,” Emanuel says. “It’s not only a physical move, but it’s a move toward maturity and growing up.”
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5 Things to Do Before Signing Your First Apartment Lease originally appeared on usnews.com
