Decide what you are looking for

It requires a good amount of time and effort to select a right apartment, especially when you are new to the city. So first decide what you are looking for. Is your need work location-based? Or is it based on rent? Are you looking for a particular neighborhood? Do you have a large family? Do you need to be near your children’s school? Do you have pets that need to be accommodated too?

Put a priority list for the features

It is not feasible to compromise your lifestyle in a hurry to rent an apartment. For example, many apartments are old and traditional buildings with no facilities of lifts. In case you are on the fifth floor and have aged people staying with you, it would be a strenuous task of climbing all those steps. So, it’s advisable to know the apartment well before you choose it.

Other facilities to be taken note of include the number of rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms, proper ventilation, security arrangements, water supply, maintenance facilities, a good view etc. And don’t forget to enquire on its pet-friendliness if you have a pet.

Make a personal tour

No matter how you find the place you are deciding to rent a personal tour is absolutely crucial, even if it is recommended by your best friend. Visit, visit and visit the apartment. This is because only you know what exactly will make you comfortable in your house, what difficulties you have faced in the place you lived earlier etc.

Inspect the property carefully. If there’s any damage, you not only would want to ask that it be fixed, but wouldn’t want to be blamed for it later. Make sure such problem areas are addressed in a lease, either by your agreeing to live with it, or the landlord agreeing to fix it by a certain date.

Figure out market value of rent for the kind of place you are opting for

It is important to remember that fair market rents will vary depending on the location of the property. Different neighborhoods demand higher or lower rates. As they say in real estate, “location is everything”.

After you have done this, the next thing to do is to check if your rent can be accommodated in the budget and still leave room for other expenses - saving, entertainment, leisure and if need be the flexibility to pay for an EMI as well

Legal issues - Reading the Clauses of the Contract with Extreme care

Renters sometimes sign blindly and never get to know what they signed for. Because of this, disputes arise and sometimes they do not even know that they have foregone their right to protest once the contract is signed! So you need to pay careful attention to the requirements, read everything carefully and only then, put your signature on the piece of paper.