As I mentioned in a previous post, my stepdaughter, Steph, is renting her first house with some friends this summer. I think she's loving it so far—but it's definitely been a learning experience. And it's gotten me remembering some things I learned in my many (10!) years of renting apartments. Here are my top five tips:
1. Don't panic. I can completely understand the stress of trying to rent your first place in a college town. You've already committed to moving out of the dorms. You're competing with tons of other renters, and the quality of rental housing varies wildly. Despite these pressures, try not to panic and take a place that you don't really want, just to end the search.
When my friends and I rented our first place in college, we did panic—we signed a lease on the first apartment we saw. It was a ramshackle place in a bad location. But we were afraid we wouldn't find anything better. Well, something better came up just a few days after we signed the lease—a beautiful split-level duplex just a couple blocks from campus. Luckily, the landlord at the first place was understanding of our inexperience and let us out of the lease. But know that not everyone is so lucky—once you sign a lease, that's usually it.
2. What you see is not necessarily what you get. When Steph and her friends signed the lease on their house in February, they were excited about the big backyard. When they moved in this June, the winter snow had melted to reveal a yard that was literally nothing but mud patches and weeds. Yuck. Just something to think about.
3. Document, document, document. Take photos of the condition of the apartment when you move in—especially if there's something wrong or broken. When you move out, you'll have proof you didn't put that dent in the wall, and you can avoid having it taken out of your security deposit
.
4. Don't underestimate the power of a throw rug. In a college town, it's likely your first home might have that "lived-in" feel. When Steph moved into her house last month, she was bummed about the worn, paint-splattered hardwood floors and bare walls. But a little décor
makes all the difference. Once we moved in her furniture, donated some pictures for the walls and put down a throw rug, the house warmed up nicely.
5. Split the bills. Once you've found a place and signed a lease (whew!), it might be tempting to just have one roommate set up all the utilities in her name. Convenient, yes—but it's probably not the best idea. That's a lot of responsibility for one roommate to shoulder, and frankly, it's her credit on the line. Better to spread things out so you each have one or two bills in your name. Then you all get the chance to build a good credit history
by making your payments on time.
For those of you who've already moved off-campus, got any other tips or experiences to share?