No matter how eager you are to find a new rental home, it’s important that you avoid signing a lease in haste. Committing to a lease for a residence that’s poorly suited to your needs is liable to fill you with regret and potentially compromise your quality of life. To help ensure that you don’t get stuck with a lemon, you’ll need to keep an eye out for a variety of red flags. So, the next time you find yourself on the hunt for a new rental home, take care to watch for the following signs.
Outstanding Damage
Moving into a rental home that has outstanding damage from previous occupants can pave the way for persistent stress. As such, take care to do a meticulous walkthrough of any home you’re giving serious thought to renting. Additionally, if this is a home you intend to occupy long-term, enlisting the services of a certified home inspector may prove worth your while. Although these individuals typically deal with home sales, many of them occasionally work with rental properties, as well. A thorough walkthrough and/or professional inspection will provide you with a solid understanding of how many problems a property has, as well as the scope of those problems, ultimately enabling you to make an informed decision.
Indifferent Landlords
Getting stuck with an indifferent or outright unprofessional landlord is the last thing any renter wants. One way to ascertain how obliging a landlord is going to be is insisting that any outstanding problems with the property be remedied before you move in. If the landlord attempts to downplay the problems or claims they’ll be taken care of at a later date, this should be taken as a red flag. Furthermore, take care to seek out feedback from both current and past tenants before proceeding to trust a new landlord, regardless of how nice or professional they appear to be. Fortunately, finding detailed feedback on landlords is easier than ever in the digital age.
Inconvenient Location
Location is among the most important factors to consider when seeking out the right rental home. A home that’s located within easy driving distance of your place of business, favorite centers of commerce and assorted local haunts can be a boon to your daily commute and ability to complete errands in a timely manner. On the flipside, a home that’s inconveniently far away from the places you work, shop and seek essential services can cause you copious headaches.
So, before committing to rent a home, make sure to get a feel for the area and calculate how much time moving into this residence will add to – or subtract from – your daily commute. It’s also a good idea to look into local crime rates, as living in an unsafe area is liable to negatively impact your rental experience, regardless of how nice a home happens to be. Texans on the hunt for quality rental homes in a nice area should check out the houses for rent in Rosharon, TX.
Noise Pollution
Some of us have no problem living in areas with copious amounts of noise pollution. In fact, some people actively seek out such areas. Still, if you’re not a fan of high noise levels and value peace and quiet, it’s a good idea to take the loudness of an area into consideration before proceeding to settle down there. For example, if you’re interested in a home located in a densely populated area with ample vehicle and foot traffic, there’s a good chance that your quiet time will be disturbed on a consistent basis. So, even if a home’s description claims that the property is located in an area that enjoys copious quiet, you’d do well to make this determination for yourself.
Leasing a rental property without doing your homework is practically asking for trouble. So, no matter how eager you are to find a place and get situated, it’s important to exercise basic discernment and ask the right questions before getting started on any paperwork. Of course, this isn’t to say that finding a suitable rental home has to be an uphill climb. Watching for the red flags outlined above can help ensure that you don’t get stuck with an unsatisfactory residence and save you a considerable amount of stress.
