#93: There are a few simple rules to follow when renting an apartment.
04 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Life Advice
The rules are simple, but if you miss out on one, you could end up living somewhere awful, stuck in a lease for a year.
#1 – Never rent an apartment that has deodorizers, incense or fabric softener sheets in it. Smell around. If there is something there to make a smell, chances are it is covering up a more dangerous or awful smell (mould etc.).
#2 – Look at the people coming to and from the apartment and the building. If it is only men (and you aren’t a 45 year old man yourself), don’t rent there. I made this mistake once, meeting a landlord and seeing the place without paying attention to who lived in the small building. Two months later I discovered I lived in a place filled with men, all alone and not the most normal of characters!
#3 – Never rent an apartment in a place with tin foil on the windows. There are only two reasons for tinfoil in the windows. Either the people in them can’t afford drapes, or they want to hide what is going on inside. Either way, you are probably in for trouble if you end up there.
#4 – Always check every cupboard and closet for insect traps, dead insects and mouse traps. If you see any of the above, you will be moving into a place that probably has a problem with one or the other. Never believe they are just there “in case”.
#5 – Try not to rent anywhere that the landlord lives. Landlords are not always the most normal people (I know this is a generalization, but I have rented a LOT of apartments!). You are best to live in large apartments, with companies who run it and are monitored. If that’s not possible, find houses that are all renters and make sure the landlord doesn’t make you uncomfortable at all.
