Questions to Ask Before You Sign a Lease

Apartment and house hunting is not the most fun thing to do. You’ll find a lot of places that are not to your taste or really great ones that are out of your budget.

If you’re lucky you’ll find the perfect place to live, be it an apartment, condo, or house, but sometimes you have to settle for something a little less than perfect.

However, before you sign the lease agreement on a place, there are a few questions you need to ask the landlord so that so there are no misunderstandings later on in the lease period. In fact, some of the points listed below may also be included in the lease for your protection so that the landlord doesn’t go back on his word.

Ask Your Landlord These Questions

• When will the apartment (or house) be available for occupation? If it’s ready to occupy and you’re not ready to move in immediately, you may have to negotiate with the landlord so that you don’t have to pay for unoccupied time.
• How does the landlord want you to make payment? Some will not take checks, some won’t take cash.
• What day is the rent due every month?
• Is there a penalty fee for late payment of the rent? Is there a grace period (sometimes you’ll be given 3 days).
• How much is the security deposit and is it fully refundable? What are your obligations in order to receive the full deposit back at the end of the lease.
• What are the terms for renewing the lease?
• Are pets allowed?  Are you allowed to have pets if you pay a pet deposit? If a pet deposit policy is in place, is it fully refundable if there’s no damage found when you move out?
• What are the conditions if you have to move out before the lease expires? Even if you don’t think you’ll have to move out during the lease period, it’s better to keep your options open and negotiate terms if for some reason you need to move out earlier than the lease expiration date.
• Are any utilities included in your lease? What are typical bill amounts in different seasons? This is especially important to know for the Arizona summers. You may have to use your air conditioning from March or April through October.
• Are you allowed to share your place with roommates and what is the policy on subletting the place?
• Can you paint the walls or make other decorating changes? Some places will allow this as long as you leave the place in the same condition you found it (which means repainting before you move out).
• Are you allowed to run a home business from your apartment?
• Who will be responsible for property maintenance?
• Who are your neighbors? You may want to visit the home or apartment during different times of the day and evening to find out if the area is quiet or if there are regular parties and/or loud music.

Ask these questions now and avoid future problems with your landlord.