How to choose an apartment for rent?

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Several generations in a small apartment space is a difficult reality of today's life. Mom, dad, grandmother, sister and you are in three nooks and crannies that kill the right to hope. At first glance, inviting friends after work is your legal right, but upon deep examination it is an enemy act in relation to those living next to you. A stray cat picked up by your sister turns your whole being upside down. Grandma's habit of turning on the volume of the TV to the full extent becomes unbearable. And then you make an important decision for the common good and preserving family happiness - fleeing from your native land and creating your own nest in the capital. The option "to marry a millionaire with an apartment" is the most tempting, but not the most realistic one. Buying your own corner will also have to be postponed for the future. There is only one thing left - rented housing.

Time to search

The choice has been made - rented accommodation. How to choose an apartment for rent correctly and inexpensively? If you are not a spender and keep records of every ruble, then take a trip to rent a roof over your head in June. "It is best to rent an apartment in the first months of summer, when the traditional calm sets in. This is explained by a decrease in business activity, a vacation period and an increase in offers. Prices at this time decrease by 5-10%," advises Oksana Polyakova, Deputy Head of the Apartment Rentals Department. Corporation "INCOM-Real Estate." During this period, a one-room apartment in the capital can be rented for $ 350- $ 380, and if you make an effort, then for $ 300. If you are late, you will pay $ 400- $ 500 for the same housing.

More apartments, nice and different

Today in Moscow you can find housing to your liking, starting at $ 400 per month of rent (in other cities, of course, prices are lower, but the order of prices is approximately equal). True, the living conditions and interior decoration of cheap options are unlikely to be distinguished by royal luxury. The owner is a priori sure that the housing he offers will be in demand, which means that you will have to neglect many amenities.

Having picked up an inexpensive furnished apartment, you risk ending up on the floor, barely sitting down on the advertised highly comfortable bed. A big surprise for you may be that, waking up in the morning, you can meet with other applicants for your living space. Your faithful companions in life will be red-haired mustachioed friends - cockroaches, although the owner did not mention anything about the presence of "neighbors".

As for the more expensive apartments for $ 800- $ 1000, it takes into account the quality of the repair (simple but clean), the distance from the metro (no more than 10 minutes) and the availability of household appliances (the more, the better). And if you decide to acquire an "elite", then you can demand a prestigious area, prestigious status of the house, cleanliness in the entrance, unusual layout and high quality finishes and furniture.

Search options

It will greatly facilitate the question: how to choose an apartment for rent, if you have a couple of good ones in your arsenal, then first you should ask them about the availability of "extra" housing. An obvious plus of this option is the price of the apartment. Friends are unlikely to offer an apartment at an overpriced price. But there is also a significant disadvantage. For example, if the owners decide to raise the price, or, conversely, you have difficulty paying, there is a risk of ruining friendly relations. "Renting out housing is a business. And where financial relations begin, human relations often deteriorate, "says Oksana Polyakova.

The second option is. To do this, you should buy a couple of newspapers where advertisements for renting out housing flaunt. For only 10-15 rubles, alluring advertising slogans with promises of life, "like Christ's in the bosom", will open before your eyes. If you managed to find a suitable option, you should carefully examine the proposed housing. "You should exercise maximum attention and caution. It is necessary to check whether the information provided by the owner of the apartment is accurate. Is it really just 10 minutes walk from the metro, or is it 10 minutes across the railroad embankment on the rails. Is the apartment really in a quiet place, not overlooks the noisy road with tightly curtained windows, "advises Gulnara Rakhmangulova, head of the MIAN Corporation lease department.

There is a minus of an independent search for housing: you will not have any rights and guarantees in case of disputes with the owner. Unfortunately, most tenants do not consider it necessary to formalize the deal. After all, legal registration entails the payment of taxes, both by the landlord and by you. This unwillingness to meet with the tax authorities is very eagerly used by scammers.

"Most often, it is behind the ads with fantastically low prices that unscrupulous agencies hide. And many are familiar with the situation when intrusive brokers keep calling, even if you no longer need their services," says Gulnara Rakhmangulova.

Trekking in is the third option. This method has a lot of advantages: they will give you as much time as it takes, they will offer you to look at many housing options, and they will draw up the necessary documents. But, as you know, there is no free cheese. You will have to pay for the comfort. And pay decently. The amount of the agent's fee can go up to 150% of the monthly rent for the found option.

Apartment scammers work tirelessly

According to experts, now in the capital, no more than 20 companies provide high-quality real estate services for renting apartments, while there are two to three times more fraudsters. Tens of thousands of victims of apartment fraudsters are recruited annually in the capital alone. How to choose an apartment for rent and not fall into the hands of swindlers?

The technology of work of swindlers is quite sophisticated and is improving every day. For example, in the newspaper or on the Internet you found a private advertisement for an apartment for rent. You call the indicated phone and hear a sweet girlish trill: "I have already rented out my apartment with the help of an agency, I can give a phone - there are many similar options." In fact, the young lady whose task is to lure you by hook or by crook is a dispatcher of a certain "news agency". For a certain amount (from 500 to 2000 rubles) you will be offered a list of addresses of apartments suitable for you. For the sake of completeness, an agreement will be concluded with you, in which it will be written that Information Agency "A" undertakes to provide citizen "C" with information about the apartments for rent for a certain amount. You pay the cost and receive a printout. Then you go to the addresses and find that the owners of the apartments do not know that they want to rent out their mansions. It happens that the addresses selected by the company do not exist at all.

Another "trump" option for scammers is to bring you to a specially rented apartment and sign a contract. After you have paid the agents for their services, the landlord either disappears or refuses to rent out the apartment under a plausible pretext.

Naturally, you will no longer see either firms or agents, which means that the money given can be considered thrown out into the air.

How to secure yourself and your wallet?

Firstly, it is not difficult to recognize it. For example, each time he will look for an excuse not to go with you to inspect the property, but he will try in every possible way to get money in exchange for the address. In this case, be sure - this is a swindler. A real realtor will accompany you all the way to finding a home, inspecting it, signing the necessary papers. And only then, he will begin to claim a legitimate fee.

Secondly,. Ask the owner to show the passport, the "F-9" certificate, which lists all the citizens registered at the moment on the living space, and the document of title (sale and purchase agreement, privatization, etc.) for the apartment. Don't forget about paid receipts for utilities, electricity and telephone.

Contract

Registration of the contract is the final stage. The landlord's reluctance to sign a formal contract should make you suspicious. "It is necessary to register the address of the apartment, the passport data of all persons involved in the transaction, indicate the documents of title to the apartment. A separate line in the contract specifies the rent - fixed, tied to any currency (or in ruble equivalent), it is obligatory - an inventory of the property transferred for use, the tenant's responsibility for maintaining the apartment in proper condition, the safety of the property in the apartment, who (you or the owner of the apartment) will pay bills for utilities and other services (telephone, electricity); the mode of visiting the owner of the apartment in order to monitor its condition; persons who will live in the apartment with you ", - explains Gulnara Rakhmangulova.

Within its four walls

So, you have come this hard way. I examined dozens of offers and chose the very one - your apartment. It remains only to "adjust" it to fit your idea of the home. Agree with the owner about the possibility of rearranging the furniture, decorating the apartment according to your tastes. By the way, some landlords will offer you to make cosmetic repairs, and for this they will reduce the fee for several months.

Be a diplomat, maintaining a good relationship with the landlord, because life is unpredictable and you may have various problems. If you establish yourself as a respectable tenant, then you can count on reciprocity from the owner of the apartment. He will be more willing to fix a broken refrigerator or postpone his rent for a week.

By embarking on the path of independent life, you will have to show those qualities that were previously not particularly needed. And the process of finding an apartment will clearly show whether you are capable of perseverance, diplomacy, responsibility and a host of other qualities necessary for an independent woman.