So in a couple of days I am going to be looking at an apartment.  This whole thing is new to me; I've never had my own place before.  Currently I live in the house I have always lived in with my brother.  It's my mom's house, but she now lives in Ohio. 

Anyway, it's starting to get a little old, so we wanted to find some place new.  I found this nice first floor apartment about 4 or 5 blacks from where I currently live, completely remodeled.  $595/month plus gas and electric.

Other than that I know nothing.  I've never had a landlord, never signed a lease... nothing.  What should a look for?  Anything I should worry about?  Does this place seem like a good deal?

Help me out GW!

Didn't read through the entire check-list, but definitely check the crime-rate and number of break-ins, etc.  You'll need to get Renter's insurance for most places (and if not, it's a good idea -- I have $50,000 coverage for like $18/month -- my apt also requires it though).  Is the place gated?  Where would you be walking late at night -- somewhere safe or somewhere that could be kind of...  shady?  Also, just because the place is gated, doesn't mean it's secure -- most people can get in by just jumping the gate, BUT it makes it very difficult for them to steal anything and get away with it, for the simple fact they're not going to walk through or try to jump a gate with a laptop or TV or your car, more than likely.

ALSO, look into how fast repairs, etc, are made.  Some apartments have a guarantee they'll take care of it within 2 days.  Mine is as such, so it's nice when something happens -- my dogs tore through a wall and I'm on good terms with the repair guy, so he just repaired it without saying anything to the leasing office, so no big charge on me.

Definitely also check out many apartments, like Bart said.  I visited about 7 before I settled on mine (which was like the 3rd or 4th I looked at).  I've been pretty happy.

--Terin

To add to barts list of practical things, here's some legal things:

-Make sure there is not some 'management out' clause in the lease (meaning that the "landlord/owner can end this agreement at any time"). You want to make sure whoever is in charge of the place is held accountable to the lease just as much as you are.

-Terin mentioned Renters Insurance - first find out how liable you are in the case of a fire or other incident... many apartments are already insured, and if they are, you need to know the conditions under which the unit is covered.

-When you sign the lease, make ABSOLUTELY sure the management signs and copies the agreement for you. Save this agreement in a protected place. Almost every place I've tried to rent has tried to sucker me out of a copy of the lease or give me an unsigned copy - this will not be sufficient in case you need to go to court (just a precaution).

-Make sure you record every spec of damage or dirt in the unit when you move in - a digital photo with a date stamp will do it. This protects you from them stealing your security deposit (which all landlords try to do)

--Make sure the lease has no unreasonable auto-renewal clause.

There are tons and tons of cases as precedent to challenge pretty much any auto-renewal clauses, and any landlord that adds that is just asking for a lawsuit.

I hope this helps, the law office I was a clerk at had a partner who specialized in Landlord/Tenant law, so I picked up some. Other than that, just use common sense - if it's too good to be true, it is.

As far as roommates go, would you guys recommend finding a place, then looking for a roommate to come live there, or look for a roommate with a place already?

You should decide on your roommates before you pick a place - that way nobody is fronting anybody elses share of deposit or 1st months rent... Money issues can be a VERY big stressor between roomies so always make sure that everything is fair before you jump into something.

To be honest my own list will not be perfect but...

> Make sure that you choose a place with a locale that you can deal with. Can you get to work, can you visit your family? Is the neighbourhood classified as good or fair, or is it classified as POS?

> Try to get your utilities included, Some companies require deposits for you to be able to use services ( I am not sure what US companies are like)

> If the rental is under a company instead of a indivdual it is much better in the long run when it comes to getting your appliances fixed and what ever else needs to be taken care of. Companies will take good care of the tenants and building.

> Make sure to read the full document, make sure to get a quote of price before signing any lease and also ask what kinds of leases are available.

> Check SqFt'age and also check the layout. Make sure it is something that won't create problems of moving around, that the hallways and rooms are large enough for anything you may be moving into it. AND ALWAYS DO A WALKTHROUGH BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING AS WELL, if you don't you may end up with a POS that you really wish you hadn't gotten.

> Get a checklist that you can find off google for what to look for in property for standards of rental excellence, these do exist and yes you should do the checklist. If you don't it's your own problem since this list can eliminate possible problem rentals.

> Read all the documents that they hand to you, double check the rental prices, ask questions about the utilities, other functions within the household, what else should you know about the apartment. There is a better assortment of questions on that same checklist and make sure that they go through all the questions with you with detail.

> If at all possible talk to the previous tenants and find out what their experience in this apartment was like.

Other than that I don't quite know what else you can look for.