by Cody Hodge

Created on: July 06, 2009

If you are a first-time renter, you are going to want to avoid some of the mistakes that most make. While hindsight is always 20/20 as they say, you can benefit from the experiences of those who have come before you, and take a few tips from those who have rented before. While renting your first apartment is always a fun thing, and signals your independence from parental control, there are some things that you should be looking out for when you rent.

Make sure that your landlord is going to be around, and that this person is responsible. Just like you have responsibilities to pay rent, and leave the apartment in good condition, the landlord has to be able to help you out as well. If things break, or your neighbors are too noisy, and your landlord is always gone, what is going to happen? I can't imagine how you will be living if you have no water, or you have no heat. What kind of experience is that if the landlord isn't going to help you out? Live in a complex if you can, as they typically have good staff.

Remember that you only get what you pay for. If an apartment complex seems to good to be true, something is probably lurking in the shadows. The first place that I rented was only 600 dollars for a two bedroom apartment, and all utilities were paid. It was in a good town too, so I wasn't expecting it to be a dump really. The place was sort of messy during the walk through, but I figured me and my roommate could just clean up. What I wasn't ready for was the massive bug problem that was going to ensue later though.

When you leave, make sure that you are there when the landlord does the walk through. If you aren't there for the walk through, they can basically claim whatever they want, and not give you anything back from your security deposit. I learned this the hard way when I left my first apartment. It wasn't the greatest when we left, but the reasons they gave for withholding our deposit wasn't even true. At least they could have been honest with me.

Picking an apartment is more than just picking out a place for yourself and your roommates. Make sure that you have steady income to pay rent, and make sure you live around people who are like you. If you like to have people over, don't live in a place that has a lot of older people, or parents with kids. That is a great way to get yourself in trouble. Also, if you can't pay the rent, you will be living paycheck to paycheck real quick. I also found this out the hard way.

When you rent, make sure you do your homework first. Find a good place where you can really have a good time without making a jerk out of yourself. Make sure you can pay your rent, and don't take the first place you can find. If a place is cheap, there is a reason why it is so cheap. Don't be fooled into thinking you got a great deal, and make sure that you have a good landlord. That really makes or breaks your first experience in your own place.

Learn more about this author, Cody Hodge.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.