Finding an apartment to rent is notoriously stressful and exhausting, especially with a deadline of moving out a previous place. Mercifully, there seem to be a lot of short-term furnished rentals on offer at the moment, but the properties vary wildly in appearance, condition and price. Then there’s all the schlepping to viewings, alongside the wearying ping-pong matches, pairing up the suitability of the place with your eligibility as a tenant.
Every time I rent a place – which is often, given my current transient lifestyle, I learn new things. As I’ve gotten especially good at making lists, here are the three main takeaways I’ve learned from my most recent rental venture:
First off, decide on two or three things that are non-negotiable and stick to them. No accommodation is ever likely to be perfect or tick every box, so choose what is essential – be it parking, or location or natural light, and make sure the apartment has them all. Worry about the other stuff later. Many structural or cosmetic issues can, within reason, be improved upon or personalized once the place is yours.
With your priorities in mind, be up front and transparent about your needs and expectations. I nearly didn’t take the place I’m in now until the issue of bike storage got sorted out. Matters can often be negotiated and agreed upon, especially if the landlord wants to take you on as a tenant.
Which leads me to my third point – be honest, mindful and pledge to look after the place to the best of your ability. After all, it’s going to be your home, for however, long. Honesty and sincerity will go a long way towards helping you to find and secure a place that’s right for you.
And while renting an apartment is, for all intents and purposes, a business transaction, it still involves a relationship between people, engendering trust. Let’s not commodify it on either side to ‘what can be got out of the deal’, but instead, let’s humanize the process through open and empathetic discussion and interactions. Shelter is a basic human need and we should all strive to help one another to acquire it with dignity, respect and understanding. Now, I’d best go unearth some more treasured belongings from my boxes. Good thing my computer was near the top of one. 😊