Blog - Part 2

40 Questions To Ask When Considering a New Apartment

Written on January 29, 2011 by admin in Apartment Location, Apartment Maintenance, Moving, Rent Questions

Before you walk into the apartment rental office, think about what questions you may have. The more questions you ask up front, the fewer surprises you’ll have down the road.

Here are 40 suggestions to get you started.

Administrative

1. When is the rent due?
2. When was the last time the rate went up?
3. By how much?
4. How is the increase determined?
5. Are we able to lock in the same rates by renewing early next year?
6. How can we reach an office representative?
7. After hours?
8. Weekends?

Maintenance

9. On average, how long does it take to get work orders filled?
10. How do I inform the office that I need work done?
11. Is the work done in-house, or does an outside company handle it?
12. How do I reach maintenance if there’s an emergency after hours?
13. On weekends?
14. What types of maintenance are our responsibility and what are yours?

Neighbors

15. What policies are in place regarding common areas?
16. Does the apartment complex encourage community interaction through contests or get-togethers?
17. What noise/disturbance/complaint policies are in place?

The Apartment Itself

18. How much is the security deposit?
19. What types of “damage” would be taken out of the security deposit?
20. Is it as simple as hanging pictures on the wall or chipped paint, or is it for significant damage?
21. Are pets allowed?
22. Is there a pet deposit?
23. Is there any common problem (bugs, spiders, water leaks) that I should know about?
24. If I become pregnant while living here, how long after the baby is born does the child need his or her own room?

The Complex As a Whole

25. In general, how long do tenants tend to stay?
26. How long do employees tend to work there?
27. How close is the nearest grocery store?
28. Post office?
29. Bus stop?
30. Is parking provided?
31. If so, is it free or does it cost more?
32. Are laundry services provided?
33. Do you have recycling?
34. When are garbage days?

Move In and Move Out

35. Am I able to bring portable storage containers onto the property to help me move in?
36. How long are they allowed to be there?
37. Do I need a permit from the city to do so?
38. What about rented vans?
39. If I paint the walls a different color, will I be charged if you have to paint them back to white?
40. To remove anything I leave in the apartment?

If you can think of any others, please comment below.

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Do You Need Renter’s Insurance?

Written on January 5, 2011 by admin in Insurance

A hurricane blows the roof off your apartment building and several of your personal items are damaged.

No problem — your association’s insurance will cover it, right? Wrong.

Their insurance only protects the building structure, not personal items of renters. Even if your personal property is damaged by natural disasters, your association’s insurance will only pay to rebuild. Without renter’s insurance, you’ll be out of luck.

Renter’s insurance protects your personal items and it can even help you with temporary housing, as well as liability protection.

Here are some things to consider when purchasing your renter’s insurance policy:

1. Dollar Amount of Coverage
You get what you pay for. A dollar amount is not placed on each piece of property. Rather, a fixed amount for all of your possessions is determined. Of course, the more coverage you purchase, the higher the price of the policy.

2. Deductible
The higher your deductible, the lower your premium — but the more you’ll pay out of pocket for minor replacements.

3. ACV (Actual Cash Value) or Replacement Cost
When the insurance company comes to reimburse you for lost or damaged items, their payout is determined by these factors.

A basic policy will pay you ACV, which is the value of the property at the time of loss. But, if you opt for replacement cost you will get an actual replacement.

For example, your 5-year-old stereo will be replaced with as much money as it would cost for you to purchase a new comparable stereo. Expensive items prone to theft, such as jewelry and guns, only have limited coverage so it is wise to place these items on a separate policy.

Replacement cost is well worth the small amount more it may cost for your policy.

4. Location and Previous Claims
If you rent in an area prone to thefts you will probably pay more for your insurance and if you or the previous person or neighbors have had a large amount of claims, this may raise the cost of your policy.

Even if you feel your personal property is not worth enough to insure, the value of having liability coverage is well worth renter’s insurance. Remember, as with all insurance policies, check with your agent on specific coverages. Each policy can vary between companies and states.

A Few Ways to Save Money on Renter’s Insurance

Many insurers will offer discounts if you have some of the following:

Monitored fire or burglar alarms
Fire extinguishers
Sprinkler systems
Dead bolts on all exterior doors
Auto insurance with that provider

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Austin a Highlight in Apartment Industry

Written on January 5, 2011 by admin in Apartment News

ALN Apartment Data reports the following:

Without a doubt, Austin is one of the highlights of the apartment industry in the country.

They are currently reporting an Overall Occupancy Rate of 93.4% (up 4.7% over the last 12 months) with Effective Rents at $836 (up 3.1%).

New construction took it’s toll here, but over the last year only 1746 new units have been added with absorption overall up 7542. The end result is that occupancy has soared while still allowing decent rental rate growth.

The only negative that can be seen at this time is that Same Store (i.e., Stabilized) Properties have not yet been able to raise rents. In fact, Effective Rents for this group are actually down 1.2% over the last 12 months.

With new supply dwindling and at least another 18-24 months before resuming with a vengeance, ALN expects to see all classes of properties being able to increase rents as well as occupancies.

Expect a 5-7% rent growth annually and a 9-11% revenue increase.

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