On the Hunt for Your First Apartment? What Every New Renter Needs to Know

It’s official: Moving season is here. The month of May marks not only the start of the cookout season, but it’s also the most popular move-in time for new and old renters alike. And as many recent wide-eyed collegiate graduates venture out into new cities and new careers, they’re faced with becoming fully-fledged first-time renters. No more dorm rooms, no more apartments split amongst five roommates, but genuine 1-bedroom / 1-bathroom domestic domiciles. Exciting, right?

We’ve all moved in and out of our fair share of apartments and there are plenty of things we wish we knew before moving into the first one.  As a veteran renter, Jeffrey Golding President of WilliamPaid, would like to help guide new renters and has shared some not-so common questions every first time renter should ask themselves when touring potential properties:

Can I see the place again this evening?

I know, it seems like an odd request. But chances are that the bulk of your apartment hunting will happen on the weekends or during regular work hours, which means you’re not getting an accurate noise sampling of the unit. Ask to come back sometime during evening hours, when your potential neighbors are sure to be home and awake. This way, you’ll be able to get a good feel for how much ambient noise the apartment has. You don’t want to get stuck living beneath an aspiring tap dancer. Trust me.

Is this gonna fit in here?

“Measure twice, cut once.” The same motto applies when surveying the square footage of the unit you’re interested in. Measure the height and width of all the doorways, and even the windows. You want to make sure that come moving day, you aren’t stuck trying to figure out how to fit a 27-inch air conditioner inside a 25-inch window. Also, it’s nice to have a heads up if the enormous queen-size sleigh bed you so adore won’t be making the move with you.

What other colors does it come in?

So things work out, and you find a place that suits you nicely. Great! Now comes the art of decorating. But before you go ahead and start painting that eggplant accent wall you’ve always dreamed of, consider the fact that you will most likely need to paint that wall back to white before your lease runs out. I’m not saying that you need to inhibit the creative ambiance of your new place, but make sure to ask your landlord about their preferred paint color before you start.

Will that be debit or credit?

Nowadays, most landlords accept practically any form of rent payment under the sun (as long as it’s on time, every time). But ask if they use any type of rent payment software, or would consider enrolling in one. This will help you by automatically budgeting your rent each month, and it can even be transferred straight from your bank account to your landlord’s, eliminating that waiting period that comes along with a check. You can even sign up to use my company’s service, WilliamPaid, which is a unique rent payment service that gives renters the power to pay on their own terms (credit, debit, or cash), automate payment tasks and most importantly, build credit history for something you have to do each month – pay rent! By setting up payments automatically, you’ll never have to fear the “phantom balance” of your checking account while a rent check is being processed.

Jeff Golding is the President of WilliamPaid, a free, online rent payment service that allows users to build a credit history simply by paying their rent on time. Please let me know if you would like to speak to Jeff Golding, or would like more information on WilliamPaid