5 Steps to Finding the Perfect Rental Home

Are you ready to make the big move out of your parents’ house to something of your own? Are you going away to school? Do you need to live closer to work? Is it time to downsize in your life? All of these reasons fall into the need to look for a rental home. If so, it’s time to find a rental property for you and your family. Follow these five steps so you can find the perfect rental home for your lifestyle and budget.

Create a Budget

As with any other purchase or expense in life you must create a budget. If you fail to come up with a budget you will likely wind up renting a home that you simply cannot afford. The budget must account for more than just the monthly rent due to the landlord. You also must account for utilities, cable, internet service, groceries, renter’s insurance, and much more. Depending on where you rent you might need to pay for things such as a HOA fee, fees for parking, and laundry. When deciding to rent a property you should spend no more than 30 percent of your income.

List Features You Require

Put together a list of features that you would like the rental home to have. This list will differ based on your family size, needs, and desires, so be sure to come up with a list that meets your needs and personality. Some important items to consider when making the list include the following:

• Do you want full bathrooms?
• Do you need a home office?
• Is a yard necessary?
• Do you want off-street parking (garage or driveway)?
• Do you want a patio or deck?
• Do you want gas service to your stove?
• Do you want a fireplace or multiple fireplaces?

Draw a Map

You also need to draw a map when finding the perfect rental home. When you draw the map you should put on it everywhere you spend time during your typical day. This includes the gym, school, errands, doctors, coffee shops, restaurants, and other places you frequent. If a few of these places matter heavily in your daily travels, make sure to take note when property searching.

Choose Type of Home

When it comes to finding the true perfect rental home, you have a couple of choices. You can rent a single family home, a duplex, a side-by-side, and a townhome. This decision might seem like a difficult one, but you should be able to come to a conclusion based on the information you put together in steps one and two.

Apply and Wait for Approval

The fifth and final step in finding the perfect rental home is to complete the application with the landlord and wait for the approval. It’s more than likely you will need to go through a background check when renting a home. Once this is done and it comes back satisfactory you can negotiate the terms of the lease with the landlord.

Make sure you are truthful when answering all questions, including how many people will live in the home, if there will be pets, and what the smoking policy will be for you. The lease should also outline when payments are to be made, what the deposit costs, and if the landlord needs to make any upgrades or repairs prior to your move-in date.

Are you ready to delve into the home rental market in New Jersey? If so, be sure to contact the experienced and friendly staff at Brightstar Realty in Roseland at 973-226-4900 to schedule an appointment today.