Rental world
Leasing looks like a good option these days, but there's a lot more to it than just signing your name
By David Silva
July 10, 2009
Mercury News
Thinking of renting a house? Check the fine print and be careful
Summer is prime moving time for America's renters, as they take advantage of both the weather and the vacancies left by students and seasonal workers returning home.
These months promise to be especially busy for landlords and the truck-rental industry: With home values and the job market still on shaky ground, an increasing number of people are choosing to rent their homes rather than buy them outright. Many may be renting for the first time.
What steps should prospective tenants take to make sure their new abode doesn't turn out to be owned by a nightmare landlord? According to experts, the first and most important step is to treat the process of renting as you would any important business transaction: Check the fine print, look under the hood and never, ever forget that your landlord is in it for the money.
Let's face it there are a lot of stupid tenants out there, says John Fisher, director of TenantNet, an online rental resource. They get into trouble because either they're not bright, in denial or simply because they think the world's a wonderful place and their landlord's going to take care of them. Even in the best situation, the landlord is in a business relationship with the tenant, and that friendly situation can turn on a dime.
Fisher, whose site serves as a clearinghouse of information on landlord-tenant issues in New York, says it's a wonderful thing when landlords and renters meet for the first time and instantly decide they like each other. But, he adds, it still behooves the tenant to document the condition of the house or apartment before moving in.
As Reagan said, 'Trust but verify, says Fisher. People should take photos, lots of photos, before they take the place and afterward. Document everything. When they look at the apartment, they should bring a witness who could verify what they saw.
Fisher's suggestion is echoed by Ken Volk, president of Apartment Tenants Advocates in Tempe, Ariz. The for-profit organization, which Volk founded in 1993, assists Arizona renters involved in landlord-tenant disputes.
Document the condition of the premises in writing with notes but also with photographs or video evidence, Volk says. If you come across things subsequent to moving in, make notes of those as well.
Fisher adds that these same steps should also be taken when the renter decides to move out.
If you live there five years, some things are going to get damaged, and that's often taken out of your security deposit, he says. But more often than not, the landlord 'invents' things that are damaged, and some of the things damaged like the carpet and paint are normal wear and tear and shouldn't come out of your security deposit.
Further, Fisher suggests, take the time to visit a prospective rental property both in the daytime and at night.
A lot of things happen at night that you wouldn't see during the day, he says. You might have a unit right above you that turns into a nightclub at certain hours. Visit at night, and close the windows you want to see how noisy the street is with the windows shut, or if the neighbors are turning up their TV too loud. You can't determine everything by doing this, but you might get a sense of anything that's extraordinary.
Renters also should be particularly careful about the lease agreement. While most landlords are on the up and up, a few will try to load the lease with provisions that are contrary to the tenants' best interests. Prime examples are clauses that excuse the landlord from liability related to improperly maintained properties, says Fisher. Regardless of whether tenants believe such clauses to be unenforceable in court, they should insist they be stricken from the lease before signing.
These things don't get to be serious issues until you wind up in court, and courts are generally pro-landlord, Fisher says.
Volk advises renters to make sure to get a signed copy of the lease signed, he stresses, before the landlord gives it to them.
Ask him to sign it before you sign it, he says. Keep a copy of it. Don't give up your copy of the lease and then find out you didn't have another copy. That includes any documents attached to the lease.
An issue that's become a huge problem of late, he says, involves rental properties heading into foreclosure. Volk advises renters to scrutinize the prospective landlord's financials as carefully as the landlord will scrutinize theirs.
Find out the landlord's financial status and if the mortgage is being paid that's critical, he says. You may need to investigate with the courts, with title companies you may even want to run a credit check on the landlord. Very often, you'll get stuck in the middle of a foreclosure, and would lose your down payment or deposit.