5 Things you should check before you move into a new rental house

Choosing a new rental home can be an incredibly exciting experience. You might be a student looking to set up your own living conditions for the first-time ever. Or, you can be a young professional who has just secured their first employment opportunity.

At this stage of your life, you might not have the financial strength to go out and purchase a property outright. That is alright, choosing a rental home also shows financial responsibility and growth in your life.

Selecting a rental home is not as easy as it sounds. Working with agents, spending all your weekends going through properties, and then haggling over the rent amount is never an easy process. After you have done everything, you are in a hurry to shift as soon as possible.

This makes us ignore or act careless as far as taking note of some important things are concerned. In this article, we are going to look at five important things you should check before you move into a new rental house.

List of 5 Important Things you should check before you move into a new rental house

1. Check out and get an in-depth idea about the locality

You will not be able to get a fair assessment of the locality after only visiting it once or twice. Make sure that you are checking out the same in different time periods of the day.

Also, make sure to check for traffic flows and movements during peak office hours. This will help you gain a comprehensive idea about the locality and highlight both its good, as well as bad points. Pay close attention to the safety in the region.

Check whether the city centers, junctions, traffic lights, and even your building has CCTV cameras, guards, and police picket points or not.

2. Figure out the distance you will be required to shift from your old residence-

Ideally, you should not try to move too far away from where you had already been staying. You might need to do so if your job location is very close to the new rental property.

Long distances will cost you in terms of moving expenditures. By hiring an expert and affordable moving service from you can ensure that you are being able to keep these costs to a minimum. To know more about the best moving services in the UK, read more here.

Shifting paperwork, utilities, getting new registration can all result in you having to pay some money to get it done for the new address.

3. Do not make the mistake of not reading the rent agreement in detail-

We all know how rent agreements can be notoriously long and boring. However, as someone renting a new property, you need to make sure that you are investing time, energy, and effort in going over the smallest detail.

This will ensure that you are aware of all the clauses, liabilities, payments, and responsibilities. If you have a pet, make sure that there is a positive pet clause.

Check who will be responsible if there is external damage to the property and repairs are required. All this will ensure that you do not run into any financial troubles or otherwise.

4. Make sure that you factor in all the additional costs of the move

Your rental income is not the only financial expenditure that you need to think about. For starters, you will be required to pay a security deposit, which on average can be anywhere between two or three months of your rent.

You will also be required to pay brokerage charges to the agent that has helped you close the deal. Additionally, you need to pay the removal company for helping you move.

Most of us tend to make minor modifications to make the place conducive to our living conditions. This too requires expenses on furniture and other things.

5. Inspect all the utilities in the rental home before you sign an agreement

The landlord will always mention the kind of fixtures they have installed in the property you are renting. However, as a tenant, you need to find out whether all of them are in proper working condition or not.

This means doing an inspection check of all the utilities so that the landlord cannot pass the blame to you later on.

Check the bathroom and kitchen sinks, the thermostat, as well as for seepage and dampness damage in the walls of the property before you sign the agreement. This is critically important to protect your interests.

The Final Takeaway

While a rental home might have a lot going for it, there is no denying the fact that it can also be a bottomless pit of problems. If you are aware and conscious and follow the above points, you will have no problems when moving into a new rental home.