The right rental home can provide you with an accommodating residence for years to come. Conversely, the wrong rental home is liable to turn your life into an absolute nightmare. Additionally, since everyone seems to have a story about a less-than-ideal rental property, it’s imperative that you remain on your guard while searching for the right rental home – and even after you move in. Taking care to avoid the following blunders is liable to prove extremely helpful in this endeavor.
Signing Incomplete Leases
Under no circumstances should you sign an incomplete lease. Regardless of what the landlord claims is going to fill any blank spaces, you have absolutely no reason to take them at their word. Depending on what’s added to an incomplete lease after you’ve signed it, you may find yourself faced with unfair rent increases, ridiculous late fees or other inconveniences you were not made aware of at the time of signing. So, no matter how much you want to rent a certain home or how nice the landlord seems, you should never sign an incomplete lease. In the event that the landlord refuses to provide you with a complete, walk away and look for another rental. After all, if the property owner is going to be this disagreeable before you’ve even moved in, just think of how unpleasant it would be to have them as a landlord.
Failing to Read Up on the Landlord
Few things are more frustrating than living in a rental home that’s owned by an unreasonable, dishonest or outright mean landlord. To help ensure that you don’t wind up in such a situation, do some online research on every potential landlord with whom you’re interested in doing business. Throughout the course of this research, pay special attention to feedback from both current and former tenants. While most landlords are likely to have racked up a few complaints, you should think twice before renting from someone who’s garnered alarmingly negative feedback. Learning about a landlord and their respective business practices before signing a lease stands to save you a great deal of hassle down the line. Lone Star State residents in the market for homes for rent in Austin, TX would do well to remember this.
Failing to Tour the Home Before Moving in
If you’re relocating from another city, state or country, you may understandably be tempted to sign a lease for a rental home you’ve never seen in-person. After all, if you’re making a big move, having a place to live lined up in advance of your departure can lift a tremendous weight off your shoulders. However, this sort of arrangement can easily go south. So, if you’re thinking of renting a home to which your only exposure has been photos you’ve seen online, you’d do well to pump the brakes.
Doing a personal walkthrough of a rental home can help ensure that you’re aware of any issues with the property prior to making your decision. Should any of these issues strike you as pressing, inform your landlord that they need to be fixed before your move-in date – and that these issues being fixed is a prerequisite for your tenancy. You can even request that this be written into the lease. Incidentally, should a landlord attempt to actively downplay certain issues or refuse to provide you with a timeline for fixing them, it may be a good idea to start looking for other rental homes.
If seeing a home in-person before your moving date is absolutely impossible, make sure to at least take a detailed virtual tour of the property. For good measure, request that someone you trust – like a local friend or family member – be allowed to tour the property and provide you with detailed feedback.
While some home rental experiences are quite pleasant, others are nothing short of absolute nightmares. As many renters have discovered, failing to do your homework in advance of signing a lease can result in tremendous regret and perpetual inconvenience. If you’ve ever been stuck in a bad rental situation, odds are you’re looking for ways to ensure that you never again find yourself in such a position. To this end, make a point of avoiding the mistakes outlined above.
