Whether you're seeking your first apartment, or your tenth, the search process has a way of making you feel unprepared. Maybe it's the ambiguous language of cragslist ads, the unfamilar jargon of brokers, or the sheer number of apartments you're forced to sift through, but after just a few stress-filled weeks into the hunt, your cramped studio can suddenly seem good enough. Staying where you are or settling isn't the answer—you can do better.
Alicia Schwartz, co-founder of rental ratings start-up Rentenna.com, is experienced in the art of stress-free apartment searches. Her experience as a successful rental broker in New York City led to her to becoming the New York Times rental expert and creating HowToRentinNYC.com. Here, Alicia reveals what renters need to know to before signing anything, and how a little reseach can lead to securing your dream crib.
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Whether you're seeking your first apartment, or your tenth, the search process has a way of making you feel unprepared. Maybe it's the ambiguous language of cragslist ads, the unfamilar jargon of brokers, or the sheer number of apartments you're forced to sift through, but after just a few stress-filled weeks into the hunt, your cramped studio can suddenly seem good enough. Staying where you are or settling isn't the answer—you can do better.
Alicia Schwartz, co-founder of rental ratings start-up Rentenna.com, is experienced in the art of stress-free apartment searches. Her experience as a successful rental broker in New York City led to her to becoming the New York Times rental expert and creating HowToRentinNYC.com. Here, Alicia reveals what renters need to know to before signing anything, and how a little reseach can lead to securing your dream crib.
RELATED: The 25 Sketchiest Apartments on Craigslist
RELATED: The Particular Cool of Brooklyn Apartments in 1978
RELATED: Why I'd Rather Live with Rats Than Look for a New Apartment in NYC
RELATED: 20 Life Hacks That Will Make Moving Less Hellish
10. Know that renting an Apartment is a legal process.
This shouldn’t scare you, but it should prepare you for what will be probably be your first legally binding contract and all that entails. This means you will be responsible to pay your rent usually by the 10th of the month (READ YOUR LEASE!) and if you don’t, there will be legal repercussions. Most landlords are OK with a late payment or two, it's when you actually miss a month you should start to expect some phone calls.
9. Realize the importance of reading your lease.
Again, before you sign your name or your rental cosigner does (see #4) read what you are actually agreeing to and how you are protected. So many of my past clients and friends just blindly sign what’s put in front of them and then are shocked that maybe they committed to a two year rental, that they actually don’t accept dogs over 30lbs (despite what the broker told you), and, worse yet, they institute late payments (if god forbid, your check comes in a day late).
8. Research the landlord for violations.
If you are signing this binding contract for 12 months, make sure you look up the violations of the landlord. I have heard nightmarish stories about landlords who don’t fix the hot water, let mice eat away at your cupboards, roaches mount in your shower, and worse, don’t fix the smoke or carbon monoxide detectors. An apartment can literally be a death trap. Now that we've got the dramatics out of the way, it is fairly simple to find this information. On Rentenna, we list all of the open violations data on each apartment building’s page. What's great is that right now, many cities are moving towards an open data policy. You can do a Google search for “San Francisco housing department violations data” and you will most likely be directed to a .gov site where you can find a phone number or the actual data for that building online. Don’t be afraid to do a simple Google search of the building address and the landlords name either—people write reviews or complain in a variety of websites and it will get pulled up.
7. Get a rental cosigner lined up.
If this is your first rental apartment, then you're likely just graduating or starting your first job. This likely means you don’t have a great credit score, since you have no credit history, and your last year's tax returns said something like “dependent” on your parents return. This means landlords will probably want someone in your family to cosign your rental lease. Why? They want to ensure that, if you default on paying rent, they can then legally request payment from your rental guarantor, since they cosigned the rental contract, a.k.a. the lease. This can be very challenging for your parents, grandparent, or your amazingly rich fake uncle. They will have to divulge a lot of important financial information, and they will get mad. I am preparing you so you can prepare them.
Fortunately, if your parents don’t want to do provide 10,000 pages of financial information, they can also use rental cosigning services that require far less information and have more lenient income requirements. The most trusted rental cosigner service I have personally used and recommended is Insurent Lease Guaranty. Many landlords already accept them, so you don’t have to go through the process of introducing the landlord to the service.
6. Check your credit.
As noted in #4, you probably don’t have much credit, but if it is particularly bad, you will need to know this as well. Landlords will run credit on you and your rental cosigner; so will the rental cosign companies. If your rental co-signer has iffy credit, you better find a stronger cosigner. If you have a new job that pays well and the landlord doesn’t care that you have little credit and employment history, they will care if your credit stinks. Know your score. It will save you a lot of pain and time if you get this situated before you rent. Some landlords will not allow a rental cosigner/guarantor—it sucks. Move on to the next one that will. They might want an additional month’s security upfront. Be prepared for that and start saving.
5. Set your budget.
Some people are willing to live on Ramen noodles and PB&J as long as they get to live where they want to. It’s a personal choice, but just do the math before you set your budget. If you pull in after taxes $2500 per month and $1500 of it goes to rent, $100 to cable/internet, $100 for the subway card or $250 towards car/gas, $100 towards your iPhone, and $50 for utilities—well that leaves you with less than $600 per month for all your food, shopping, and entertainment.
It’s subjective, but be sure, prioritize and do the math before you set your price.
4. Pick 2-3 neighborhoods and actually explore them in person and online.
Finding an apartment can take its toll and having to explore 5 million apartments in 10 neighborhoods is exhausting, trust me. Wouldn’t it be easier to pick 2-3 in the same general region and explore only 1 million? First, I would look online at rental listing sites to gauge current pricing for the size apartment you are looking for. On Rentenna, we have historical pricing for hundreds of thousands of apartments, so even if you want to look up a particular building that doesn’t have any open listings, you can see how much their past rentals are compared to the neighborhood, to the city and the rest of the U.S. After you realize you can’t afford that doorman one bedroom in the West Village in NYC, or Wicker Park in Chicago, or Beacon Hill in Boston, or Georgetown in D.C. (you get the picture), it's time to pick the next set of neighborhoods you kinda like (and can actually afford) and move on.
3. Ask the landlord questions.
While some information is in the lease, some may not be. Be your own advocate and ask questions! Start with these:
How much security is needed?
Who is the super and how close does he live to the place? (You know, in case your pipes explode.)
Can I paint the walls?
When is rent due?
When do I need to let you know I am going to be moving out?
Do you know about break-ins in this building or the area?
Will you provide a microwave?
If something breaks, who is responsible?
Is there a pet fee? Application fee? Credit check fee?
2. Get renter's insurance.
99% of you won’t, but please do. When that pipe explodes and ruins your carpet, your computer you left on the ground, your refrigerator, and who knows what else—it will be much easier to collect monies from your rental insurance provider than your landlord (who, by the way, is probably not responsible for the items lost anyway (READ YOUR LEASE!) It is $20-25.00/per month. Do it.
1. Give yourself time
With prices insanely high and vacancy rates at an all time low in many cities this summer, apartments can go within a day or two. Know this and don’t be bummed if you miss out on an apartment. Start the process of picking a neighborhood, setting your budget, and getting your rental guarantor lined up six weeks before you are looking to move. If you live in or around the city you are looking to move to (lucky you) then you can take your time on weekends to set up appointments with brokers/landlords and see what’s what five weeks before you rent. Maybe something will pop up then, however, the majority of inventory typically won’t be released until 30 days before the move-in date. Annoying people will not let the landlord know that they are moving until 30 days before they will. (READ YOUR LEASE.)
Finding a rental apartment is stressful,but having ample time to figure it all out—especially the first time, is important to mitigating stress.
