RentingFollow

Always ask about whether the property sits on an old Native American burial ground. And where the nearest zombie survival shelter is located.

Sadly, I have no actual advice since I always rent from real estate companies and such, which allows me to find out more about them from online reviews.

So replace Indian Burial Ground with Druid Sacred Site. I'm not seeing a problem here.

Oh, and since you're in England, ask about local werewolf attacks.

Try to find out about the landlord. The more you know the better. Things like if he/she fixes things when the break. Or how long it takes them to fix things. You also need to know the security deposit what it is and if the landlord seems to keep every deposit they get.

If you do rent a place take time stamped pix of the entire place when you move in and then another set when you leave. I've had one landlord kick holes in the walls and try to keep my deposit. The judge in court was not amused by his behavior

Consider checking property or tax records to see if the 'landlord' really owns the property. Subletting can sometimes cause unexpected complications.

Edit: I second the idea of taking pictures. Pay particular care to document preexisting damage. Double check potential trouble areas, such as around water pipes to make sure there isn't a problem that has been painted over. Check windows and doors for signs of forced entry -- locks that have been forced tend to be weaker for the experience. Above all, if there is something truly odd, ask about it.

As a side issue, see if it is a place that you want to live. The apartment may be nice, but how's the neighborhood?

Edited, Jun 28th 2011 8:03am by Rhodekylle

Find out about utilities.

And ask detailed questions. Never assume. I moved into an apartment once where they told em satellite TV was included in the utilities. It consisted of 4 stations...

You can check out this thread too. There are some pretty good answers on there if they haven't been mentioned here yet.

Fully read and understand the lease before signing.

Pay attention to wording on how many days notice you need to give before moving and how much the month to month vs 1yr lease is. Some places are vicious about ******** over residents who try to give <30 days notice.

Age of building/type of construction/etc for renter's insurance and if they require you to have it.

Best advice is to talk to people around there/who have rented from him before to find out how much of a pain in the *** he is. He's not going to answer you honestly on that one lol

After living here for 10 years, I'm praying that my landlord doesn't have pictures of how it looked before I moved here.

Yeah it really depends on the landlord. Some are out to get as much money as they can, some aren't.

I lived in a house with 4 other guys (in a college town). They completely burned us on the security deposit when we left. Taking off like $10-20 for a "cobweb" in a corner and **** like that. Some stuff wasn't even our fault and luckily before we moved in I took a huge amount of pictures and was able to go through their letter of what was wrong and printed the pictures I had and ended up getting us about $150 back on our deposit.

The next place I lived was a 1 bedroom apartment (same college town). It was owned by another apartment complex with mostly students as the employees. They really could care less. I ended up getting all but $20 back on my deposit and that was just because I didn't check out early enough because I had a final the same day.

That's the bottom line. If you're not sure, ask. If you're still not sure, you can always ask a legal aid service what something means. If it's not in the lease, you dont' have rights or obligations with respect to what's missing. So read it up, down, sideways, forwards and backwards.

Thanks all for the words of wisdom. I found out everything I wanted to know and I think we're going ahead and renting. It's a student let, but honestly it's nicer than all student houses, and some people's actual homes that I've seen. Can't wait!