You've looked up the information on thousands of apartments in catalogs and online. You've located the pictures, floor plans, maps, amenities, and details of the places you're interested in. You've compiled the data for 10 communities to finally narrow the field and now comes...The phone call.
The dreaded phone call to find out about specific rental rates and to address all of those "call for specials" that you've gathered.
The key to success is in the phone call. The amateur apartment shopper begins the call cold, unprepared, fidgety, and nervous. "Do you have a one bedroom?" or "How much is your two-bedroom?" Apartment Home Living is here to help you be successful at finding the right apartment home by knowing what to ask.
Question 1: What size and when? Begin the questioning any way you like, but your most important question is do they have the apartment you're interested in available at your target move-in date.
It's a common misconception that apartments are simply sitting empty, waiting on you to show up to lease them. This is frequently untrue. To work out for you, the community must have the apartment you want in the timeframe you need to move. If it isn't available, unless you have some move-in date flexibility, you should go on to your next call.
Question 2: Do they take Fluffy?If you have a pet, this question is as serious as a parent asking if this community will take their child. (By the way, all apartment communities will ALWAYS take actual children. Those little balls of energy are protected under the Fair Housing Act).
Unfortunately though, Fluffy isn't protected under any laws and it's completely up to the community if they'll accept your dog, cat, sugar glider, or monkey. They set the rules regarding pets.
They also set the price to pay for the opportunity to keep your child-pet. Don't choke if it's over $300 per pet plus monthly pet rent. That can be a starting point for some properties. So be sure to check and see if you'll be bringing Spot, then see if someone's going to have to "spot" you some cash to pay the fees.
Question 3: What's the #1 reason people love to live here?This is the best and most straight forward way to find out what makes a community special. Is it the walking trail behind the property? The social atmosphere? The famous pork roast every July?
This question can be a key in setting one apartment community apart from another. The answer may be something that really peaks your interest or may unlock hidden potential in a place you wouldn't be able to see from a picture or driving-by.
Question 4: How much?Initially, it's human nature to stop listening if we hear the price is remotely out of our budget. And yet, seeing an awesome apartment in person may actually sway us that it's worth the extra cost.
Think about this: Have you bought a car that was more than you set out to spend? Have you paid more for that purse you just had to have (but didn't know you had to have it until you saw it)? Gone on a vacation where you blew your budget?
Was it worth it? Nine times out of 10...Absolutely. So give cost an open mind before you say no to a place for breaking the bank. You might find it's perfect in the end and well worth it.
Question 5: Do I qualify?Asking the price question and overshooting your budget goals won't matter if you don't qualify for the apartment anyway.
What is the general qualifying criteria? Making about 3x the rent, having a clean criminal record (no felonies or crimes against persons), and no prior evictions.
What do you do if you don't meet their criteria? You could keep looking for a place with less strict qualification restrictions or take the gamble of losing your application fee and/or deposit just to see if you qualify anyway.
Question 6: Do you have any specials?Specials can change from day-to-day, so make sure to ask this question close to last. Remember to keep in mind that some of the best communities don't have the best specials because they don't need them. They're special just for being so awesome.
Question 7: Can I set an appointment to come in?Don't you still need to visit to make the final judgement call? Yes you do.At the end of all the other questions, if you're still interested, ask to set an appointment to come in and take a tour. Seeing your possible new digs in person more than likely will be the best way to make a decision.
Now you have a little guide of the right questions to ask a leasing professional over the phone, so what are you waiting for? Hop on Apartment Home Living , find a some places in your area, and get on that phone!
Author: The Apartment Dude
My last apartment was fantastic…beautiful hill country views; a swimming pool that looked more like a resort in the Caribbean than an apartment community’s; awesome monthly parties where I actually made friends…in essence, the perfect apartment community.
Unfortunately, I rented this apartment at the height of a booming apartment market economy…so with a teeny, tiny special. Oh well. I often thought it was worth it when I lounged by that pool.
Times ChangeWell, times and markets change. In fact, each market, submarket, city, and neighborhood can yield totally different concessions and specials. So just asking a friend what special he got may not cut it.
An apartment community’s special could be totally different from up north in a suburb to down south in the heart of the city. Pricing and specials depend on surrounding apartment construction, overall occupancy, floor plan occupancy, desirability of the area, and of course, that ever increasing interest rate pushing more and more people to stay in apartments. It can make it all quite confusing.
Where can you find specials? So where can the average joe go to find out apartment communities’ specials? How about the web?
Websites like Apartment Home Living.com are proud to showcase apartment community’s starting rates on all floor plans offered, as well as their randomly changing specials, to help each renter determine the starting specials at communities. Just look on the left side of each of our ads, underneath the main photo. There are such a variety of specials out there. You’ll find things like $0 deposits, $300 off first months rent, and free application fees.
Sometimes, these specials are on top of already great specials that individual communities offer when you call or walk-in. So you will always want to call each community that you’re most interested in to see if the floor plan you like features an individual special. You might get lucky.
Summer = specials big and smallAs summertime arrives, specials will become less frequent. It’s a great idea to hop online, complete an apartment search engine’s personality matching search, then check out your matches. Most sites will list specials, so you’ll know what you are looking at.
Many properties may list “call for specials.” Don’t be aggravated by this. Accept it as up-to-the minute consistency. Many specials do change day to day and week to week, as different floor plans change in availability.
This is your best avenue to begin the discussion process as to what exactly sets this community apart and why you really may want to check it out before deciding completely on price alone. Check out our other article on what to ask when you call.
Then call. You never know—your favorite place may be priced right where you need it—and right when you need it
For more tips on apartment hunting and living in apartments check out: Apartment Home Living.com
Author: The Apartment Dude
