Before renting an apartment or a house, you want to make sure you do all you can to make sure it’s the one you want. You’ll definitely want to check the plumbing and the electric before signing a yearlong agreement.
In most cases, the tenant is responsible for all of the drains in the apartment or house that is being rented. Before you sign your lease, make sure you’ve tested all of the drains in the unit you’ll be renting before you agree to a whole year and end up with a toilet that doesn’t flush.
Speaking of toilets, flush all of the toilets in the unit and make sure the water goes down properly and that it doesn’t continue to run a while after. Fill all of the sinks and tubs up with water to make sure they are draining properly and that there isn’t an odor coming from the drain. It’s also a good idea to ask if you can run the dishwasher or washing machine through a cleaning cycle to ensure that it is working properly.
While touring apartments and homes, you might notice that a unit has a ton of outlets in the kitchen, which is great! That is until you move in and find out that half of them don’t even work. Before signing that lease, bring your phone charger along with you so you can test out all of the outlets to make sure they’re working properly. It’s also a good idea to check all smoke detectors and request that they be updated or the batteries changed before moving in.
To protect your security deposit, take a video or picture of all marks on the walls, floor and carpet. Do this while you tour the place with your future landlord. Save them on a storage cloud you use and email copies to your landlord so there is a documented date and time. This way, when you go to move out, you have proof of anything that was already there before you moved in.
