Embarking Into the World: First Apartment & What to Expect?

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Well, in the case of the landlord in my example, it's definitely something she wrote up herself. I'm sure she has the same lease for her other properties as well. It's a very streamlined and almost informal document, really. There's nothing unreasonable in it; it just doesn't read like a more formal, standard lease. However, she's admittedly a special case. I'm sure many other landlords--if not most --have what you're describing. Our state agencies do have standard leases that landlords can use, as well.

I really didn't mind, and it's a moot point anyway now; the family she thought was moving out probably won't be for a while, so the apartment's not available for the foreseeable future. My current landlord doesn't have anybody lined up after us though, and we're renting month-to-month, so we're fine with it. As he says, the longer we stay, the better it works out for him. Win-win.

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If you do a condition report, be *scrupulous* listing any problems with the apartment/house on it, for your own protection. E.g., stained tiles, broken cupboard lock, scratches on table.

This. Definitely this. I insisted on an "informal" inspection when I first moved in, which was just a sheet of notebook paper with a list of the problems in each room that I and the landlord then signed and copied. Later, when I moved out of the rental, the landlord tried to withhold some of the security deposit by blaming a pre-existing problem on my housemates and me. However, that problem was listed in the "inspection sheet," so he had to relent.

[jswbach]

Only a few things to add here: Decide how much noise is going to affect your quality of life ahead of time, and choose your rental wisely. When I was single in my 20s I didn't care much, so I could choose the cheaper middle or bottom floor rental. Now that I have 2 kids, I only rent top floor units, as I learned the hard way how little noise it takes from your upstairs neighbors to wake a sleeping baby! (Or light-sleeping adult, for that matter.)

Don't skip the rental insurance! It's cheap and worth it.

Don't forget to take a few steps to sound and weather proof: light-blocking (and therefore insulating) curtains on all the windows, add weatherstripping to doors and windows (cheap, but wills save you on your utilities), portable fans keep air moving and provide great white noise for sleeping.

Enjoy decorating and organizing your space! It may be a rental but it's your home for the foreseeable future, and there are a lot of ways to customize without ruining your chances of getting your deposit back. Best website I've found for us apartment-dwellers who like to live in a beautiful space: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

[Fearkiller]

When going to look the house, if there's a young couple who has brought their in-laws with them, follow them. They probably are going to make the best they can for their daughter/son, so they'll be asking all the questions and then some more And a lot of stuff you probably won't happen to think of.

[PrincessHeather]

Don't skip the rental insurance! It's cheap and worth it.

THIS!!! Your milegage may vary, but when our apartment got broken into a few years ago, our insurance company took our list of what was missing and pretty much dollar for dollar gave us what we needed to REPLACE EVERYTHING. Luckily nothing important or sentimental was taken, but we had to replace all our game consoles and our flatscreen tv, so having the insurance save us probably $1500 or more.