Reading the Fine Print
As more and more people began to look for apartments and complexes began popping up everywhere, rents soon find themselves seeing bright red signs advertising specials and the more popular “free rent”. But renter beware! Most of these deals have a catch.
A lot of complexes now offer free utilities or “all utilities paid”. A savvy renter might be wary of such offers because what happens when the landlord skips paying your electric bill in the hottest month of summer? Even more suspicious is when the landlord controls the temperature or electric use into your unit. That makes it easy for him to cut down his utility bill by dropping the temperature during winter and raising it during summer. And if something goes wrong with your utilities your landlord might just blow you off, forcing you to get a lawyer. If you pay your own utilities, you are in complete control of how much you use, what temperatures you set, and what happens when it goes out.
Free rent deals almost always require a strict long-term contract. Typically the free period of rent comes at the very end of your one-year lease. More typically, the renter goes into the complex with the expectation of getting the “free rent” and ends up not getting any free rent at all. It’s the old bait-and-switch trick. Or, sometimes the agent will try to replace the free rent deal with other amenities that may not be worth anything to you, such as business fax equipment use. Never sign anything until you know the terms in full and all the exceptions and fine print.
Signs of a Sour Deal
It is difficult to be subjective when you search for an apartment, especially when you find one you really like. The agent is savvy enough to know how much you like the unit and will be less willingly to make a good offer. This is especially true in cities that have a low apartment turn-over such as New York or San Francisco. Avoid saying anything like “Ooo, I love the location” or “This unit matches all of my needs”. Be vague. Avoid looking excited. Play the poker face. These methods will give you the upper-hand because the agent doesn’t want to feel like they wasted their time showing you the unit and no other renters are in line to sign the contract. The longer the unit has been up on the market, the better the deal should be.
Go To Page: 1 2
