Moving into your first apartment is very exciting. The likelihood of you now living in a city or highly congested location is high, meaning there’s an abundance of different daily activities you can partake in.
However, you’ll want to understand how apartment rent works if you’ve never undergone this contract type before moving in. So, how does apartment rent work?
Apartment rent is a fee the tenant pays in exchange for using someone’s property (aka the landlord). Within the rent agreement, there are special regulations that both the landlord and tenant must agree upon to ensure both parties are happy with the living agreement.
Whether you rent a condo, house, apartment, or anything else, rent is the same throughout each property type. To simplify the word “apartment rent,” the tenant leases the property for an agreed amount of time for a specific price.
Now you understand how apartment rent works, and I’m sure you’re eager to broaden your knowledge on the subject. Therefore, you might want to familiarize yourself with the below section.
Here we detail how to rent an apartment to ensure you have a smooth rental journey.
How To Rent An Apartment
Although you can rent all types of property in the commercial or residential sector, most apartments are rentals. Generally speaking, investors and property developers construct apartment blocks as their cash cows.
You can purchase a small amount of land, build multiple homes, and reek the monthly rental income.
However, if you’re searching for an apartment and it’s your first time, I’m sure there are many questions. Because of this, we detail a step-by-step guide below to renting your first apartment.
Where To Look For An Apartment
The first step of renting an apartment is finding your ideal living space. Undoubtedly, this is the hardest part of the process because finding something you adore according to your requirements is difficult.
When renting anything, you’ll want to plan the financials beforehand. By doing this, you’ll have a clear vision of how much you can spend each month on rent without falling into financial difficulties. The best method for this is by outlining a 50/30/20 rule. You can do this by doing the following:
- 50% of your income will go towards necessities (rent, utilities, insurance, gas, etc.)
- 30% of your income will go towards wants (new clothes, games, holidays, etc.)
- 20% of your income will go towards savings or debt repayment
After considering the above, you should discover how much you can roughly spend on rent accurately. These won’t be exact figures because you won’t officially know how much you’ll spend on utilities until you’re there.
However, obtaining local averages can get a more precise outcome.
A tool that helps many individuals with this money management technique is online calculators, which can be found here.
Now you’ve identified how much you can physically spend on the apartment, and you can begin looking. In the United States, the best websites to find rental properties are the following:
The above is a small selection of websites dedicated to finding apartments to rent. However, there’s much more, so try searching the above and other platforms online to find your ideal living space.
What You Need To Consider
While you’re looking for an apartment, there are many different factors you’ll want to consider before finalizing your initial decision. Although these considerations will vary from tenant to tenant, everyone will unquestionably need to consider the below.
- Type of apartment – Discover what kind of apartment you’re looking for. Are you searching for a studio, penthouse, or standard two-bedroom apartment? Once you’ve recognized this, along with your budget, it makes the apartment selection much narrower.
- Location – Additionally, you’ll want to think about the actual location of the apartment. What kind of neighborhood do you want to live in? Would you like this to be within the center of a city or town? Does it need easy transport access? Depending on your lifestyle, the location will be a prominent deciding factor.
- Property management – Most apartments have property management that handles problems inside your unit or the apartment block itself. Understand how good its management is before moving in, as this will come in handy.
The Applying Process
Now you’ve found your dream-like apartment, it’s time to start the application process. First, you’ll need to contact the property management company or landlord for a request form and fill it out as soon as humanely possible.
Usually, they’ll need the below information to determine your financial and personal information:
- Paystub (usually over a two- or three-year window)
- Bank statements
- Driver’s licenses
- Social security card
- Employment (and self-employment) history
- Rental or ownership history
- References
- Sometimes an application fee
Once you’ve submitted the required information stated on the request form, it’ll typically take a few days to receive a reply upon receiving the documents.
Get Approved
After waiting for a few business days, the landlord or property management team will contact you via telephone to tell you the good news. However, you don’t receive the apartment automatically; you’ll need to secure your unit with a security deposit.
In most cases, a security deposit costs one month’s rent. This money is used as a safety net for those who don’t know.
For example, if the property isn’t damaged, you could receive this money back after your agreed rental terms. Additionally, you’ll need to start paying your rent after you’ve signed the official agreement.
Review The Rental Documents
Before you sign any rental documents, you’ll want to review them to ensure you’re happy with the terms. Here you might want to check the following details:
- Deposit and fees
- Limits of occupancy
- Maintenance terms
- Pets
- Rent amount
- Rules of living in the apartment block
- Terms of tenancy
- Utilities included
Knowing this lets you make the final judgment as to whether this apartment is your ideal choice. If so, congrats, sign the paperwork and move into your apartment.
After reading the above, you should better understand how apartment rent works. It’s a simple concept yet something that is used throughout the entire globe.
Now you understand this, why not search for your dream-like apartment and begin moving out?