Yes, you are finally on a search for a new home! If this is your first place or you are a vet of the apartment searching. I have created a simplified way to help your move-in process. I have created the perfect checklist to help you move in and move out and give a few pointers to help your life.
When searching for the right community, you want to decide the location roughly 75 days before move-in. You can visit 3rd party websites like apartments.com, Zillow, apartment guide, etc., to get an idea of which community you want to visit; keep in mind 3rd party websites may not be accurate for pricing or availability. Visit the properties before setting an appointment when you get off work or school or a time frame you would be getting home on at night(including weekends); this way, you know if it is even a right fit for your parking needs. Once you decide which communities you want to visit, give them a call to set an appointment. When arriving, make sure you have a government ID; while on a property tour, your Government ID may be left in the office during the apartment tour. Leaving an ID is for the safety of the leasing consultant while out on the property.
It is getting down to the final choices of looking at communities. You have set your appointment to visit the property and arrived. Make sure everyone with you has a government ID. If there is an apartment to view, Everyone will need an ID to leave behind.
I gave a list of essential questions to ask. The checklist will help a lot when choosing the right community and knowing all the information before moving in. Before walking in, take a photo of the outside of the office showing the apartments name.(ill explain why soon)
When walking to the apartment, look around at the building, look at the grounds, is it in good condition? Is there trash all over the property? How are the dumpster areas? A condition of the property grounds will show how the property cares about the apartments run on the inside. If the property has trash all over, it may indicate the maintenance is lazy or short handed, which may indicate a red flag on how they run things at the property. From time to time, you may see a pile of trash or a couch just sitting there. It happens, but properties should not have a lot of trash or Dog poop everywhere.
Once in the apartment, take photos of the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, laundry room, closets. Since you have a photo of the sign, that photo will tie in with the rest of the photos you have taken. When looking at multiple apartments, everything will tend to bleed together, and looking at the photos you took will freshen your memory. Photos will help to choose the right apartment and knowing what to expect at move in with no " I thought it had..."
Once done and you are back at the office, make sure to grab your ID. Keep in mind some communities may not have anything to show; ask if they have a 3D of the apartment and what happens if you do not like the apartment after move-in? Good communities will offer a 30-day guarantee. A guarantee if you do not like the apartment and or there are issues, and they can not fix it, they will let you out of the lease with no penalty. Keep in mind; you will have to pay for the days you stayed in the apartment. Also, ask for the guarantee in writing. If they don't have any guarantee and nothing to show, I would suggest passing on that community.
Now that you found your new home after applying and being approved to move in, what's next? Only if life can be easy, you apply, and you walk into your new home. Unfortunately, as a new resident, you have a lot to do, but don't worry. I supplied cheat sheets to make your life easy.
Electric and Gas. As a new renter, you are responsible for keeping the things going on the inside. Electric, AKA power company, will keep all the lights, appliances, and electronics going in your home. Gas is in your apartment. Typically it is your water heater or fireplace that will run off of gas. Some communities will pay for your electricity and gas, typically seen in the more affordable homes. When researching into new homes, this will be one of the questions to ask. (on the checklist).
Typically Electric and gas are sub metered, and you pay what you use. If you are a person who loves the A/C like me, You will have a higher bill than some who is a very conservative person who turns off all lights, computers, Cable boxes. When setting up a service with these companies, you can ask what the average household spends monthly. This way, you get a good idea of what to budget. For example, in Colorado, I can give Electric and gas with Xcel in apartment 1,000 to 1300 sqft. I do let people know to budget $150 for a high end, and then after the 2nd bill, you will have a great idea of what to budget.
Water, Sewer, and trash utilities, Most communities will set this up for you. Apartments may not charge this, but over the years, I have seen many move forward doing this. W/S/T utility is a charge you will pay on top of your rent to the community or a 3rd party. If your community charges you, you can ask them what the last person paid in the apartment (that you are interested in) so you have an idea what the amount is. If W/S/T through a 3rd party account set up, you can also ask them what a good idea is for a monthly charge. Keep in mind if common ground utilities is a charge (more than likely they will be), your bill will go up in the summertime due to watering grass or filling the pool up.
Renters Insurance. In my opinion, this is a must. A lot of communities are moving forward, making this mandatory have. If they don't, I strongly suggest you get it. I have seen more accidents due to floods than anything else. Apartments are not held responsible for your furniture or personal belongings. Even though their water heater burst, they will not pay for your stuff to be replaced or cleaned; this is where insurance handles everything. The right insurance will cover items inside your home, garage, pay for the hotel. I suggest comparing renters insurance from your auto, and anyplace the apartment community suggests, I suggest resident shield for apartment insurance. Never do a Master policy with the community. They only cover their building and not your stuff. As a resident, you will still have to pay the deductible on the master policy insurance through the community.
All additional service setups will vary from property to property—packages, parking, alarms, trash valet, etc. The leasing agent who has been helping you should go over these additional steps. When setting these services up, it is more a luxury benefit at the property, some services you will have an option to enroll, and some will be a mandatory enrollment. Make sure to ask if you can opt-out of the enrollment to know for the future.
Make sure to set up all the accounts needed before getting keys.
Today is the BIG day. Make sure you have an appointment set for the day of arrival to get keys. I strongly suggest taking the day off of work. Make sure to have you have the funds ready to be paid. You will want to speak with your person who has helped you to see if the move-in money needs to be paid online, check, money order/cashier check.
Once you come in and get keys, they will give you an inventory condition for your inspection. Every community will be a little different in how they run the procedure.
When doing your condition form walk-through, take your time. Do not rush it. Walk through the apartment, following the wall(right or left side) from the front door using your hand, and walk along the wall opening every door and cabinet along the way. When walking, leave every door/drawer open, showing you have inspected it. Once this is complete, do one more walk-through and take photos all around the apartment, including the inside of the closets, drawers, and cabinets.
If you see a mark, do two photos, one showing the location and one up close. The photos will be only for your record in case of any dispute at move out. In your email, create a folder and name it the community name. Send all your photos to your email and place them in your folder. Doing this process will time stamp the photo.
Now how to handle some emergencies that pop up while living at your new home. I have a handy checklist of items to know for "just in case" below. The list will include who to call for emergencies, water turn off, what is an emergency. Talk to your person helping you and ask all the questions or see if a maintenance technician can help answer them.
Once you have written the answers down on the checklist, place this book in a drawer somewhere in the kitchen, and call it the "junk drawer" a junk drawer will be the go-to for various helpful needs, like batteries, tape, screwdrivers, this book of answers...etc.
When you decide it is time to move onto the next place, most people are focused solely on moving into the new home, not even thinking of all responsibilities of the apartment they currently reside.
Moving out may not be as hard as moving into a new place, but if you are not careful, you can end up paying for a higher final bill.
Three months before the end of your lease, you want to make sure you know the end of your lease from the day you move in. I recommend every time you sign the lease, you put the lease end date in the calendar of your phone.
Roughly a week before moving out, I suggest reaching out to the post office and forward your address. Other essential companies to call to cancel service (or transfer)
Once you are at the point of all items have been moved out, you want to make sure to do good cleaning to the apartment. You will need to clean from the fridge to the bathrooms.
Once completed, I suggest walking through the apartment, following the wall(right or left side) from the front door using your hand, and walk along the wall opening every door and cabinet along the way. When walking, leave every door/drawer open, showing you have inspected it. Once this is complete, do one more walk-through and take photos all around the apartment, including the inside of the closets, drawers, and cabinets.
Make sure to email/call the office and speak with the Assistant Manager or Property Manager to confirm what is needed to complete before moving out.
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