By Adrianne Hutto
As a first time renter myself there is a lot I have learned in my less than one year renting my first off-campus housing. While some of my experiences are specific to me, as I live in a house as opposed to an apartment, there are a lot of important things to take into consideration before you rent and while you are renting your first apartment.
- Avoid realtor fees, ask a friend.
If, like me, you are a college student, my first piece of advice is to look to other students before looking on your own. Oftentimes, other students from your school can give you their landlord or super phone number to help you avoid having to hire a realtor, who will charge you, to find you an apartment. It is also possible, if they are seniors, that other students can help you to live in the space they live now once they move out. Helpful tip: one thing to keep in mind when asking a friend or another student for apartment advice is to always make sure they don’t have any issues with bugs, damaged or broken appliances, etc. These are the things you want to know BEFORE you sign a lease.
- Ask for help.
As someone who has had several broken appliances and a basement that’s flooded three times now, you should always bother your landlord or super when you have an issue. That’s what they are there for. Unless they’re not good at their job they will come help you out. When water started pouring out of the base of my toilet at 11:30pm, my landlord replied to my text and had a plumber come at 9:00am the next morning and when my basement had a half inch of water in it, he had workers there to check things out and clean the floors the next morning. While it can depend on the landlord, typically they want to keep their renters and will do as much as possible to ensure this happens.
- Don’t rely on having laundry access.
While most apartments have laundry facilities in the basement or bottom floor of the building, you should not be dependent on them always working. Oftentimes one or both of the washer and/or dryer will be broken. There is typically a laundromat near your house or you can ask one of your friends to allow you access to their building. If you’re feeling lazy, most laundromats will charge around $20 for you to drop off your dirty laundry to have it washed, dried and folded.
- ALWAYS lock your door.
Obviously everyone knows the importance of locking your door, but it is equally important to remind your friends to lock the door behind them. I have been living in my house since the summer and have already had an unwanted visitor try and open the door. Always deadbolt and double lock. If you are expecting a lot of guests, have a friend wait at the door and let them in.
- Share your key.
One of my best life hacks for never getting locked out is to share a key with your friends. Of course this should only be done with people you trust! However, a key costs around $2 – $5 to be copied and can be easily put on your friend’s keychain. Many times I have forgotten my key or had to lend it to my roommate and have been stuck without a key. But, with 3 of my friends having keys to my house, I can always rely on them to come help me. Additionally, if they ever need to get something left at your house or take care of a pet or plant, you don’t have to worry about giving them your key.