Cash for Homes Arizona brings to you 6 tips for finding the perfect rental house. Here they are …
Set Your Budget
Before everything else, you must decide on the budget. Be sure to consider the following:
- How much of your monthly income can you afford towards rent?
- How much of your monthly income do you want to put towards savings?
Most financial experts suggest that the rent should ideally be approx 30% (after taxes) of your monthly income.
So, if your monthly income is $10,000, your ideal rent range should be within $3,000.
Although this rule seems to work for most; you can always tweak this equation and set your own budget based on whatever seems comfortable.
Make sure you take your saving habits and spendings into account. It’s important to know your finances before setting a rental budget aside.
Brainstorm the Features You’re Seeking
If you’re looking for more than just a basic bedroom and a bathroom, you must brainstorm the other ‘good to have’ features rather than just the essential ones.
Asking these questions might help you:
- Would you prefer to have a backyard, deck or a patio, or some kind of shared outdoor space?
- Would a shower suffice or do you want a full bathroom?
- Would you like to include a fireplace?
- If you cook regularly, perhaps you would want a gas stove-top in the kitchen?
- Do you wish to live on the ground floor or are you comfortable using stairs?
- Are you okay with street parking?
- Do you work regularly from home? If so, perhaps you would like the necessary electrical outlets and a private room to set up your workspace?
some decorating ideas to consider
Choose Your Rental Type
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Living in a high-rise building apartment
The upside of a high-rise building apartment is that you’ll be living with a lot of neighbors. You don’t have to worry about maintenance and often these buildings are within an urban area making necessary facilities easily accessible.
The downside is that these apartments are often smaller than single-family homes or townhouses. For a family, space may not be enough.
Parking is also rather expensive and because management companies are involved, there’s less flexibility on credit scores. There’s also not much room for negotiations the way you can with landlords.
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Townhouse
Townhouses promise privacy. You also get a multi-floor plan and a yard along with a patio. That means you can spread out and enjoy a large space. However, the downside is that if the house is being sublet by the owner, it can be difficult to predict the maintenance.
Also, most townhouses are in suburban areas so you may be compromising on the location for space. Because of the suburban location, utilities may be a bit expensive.
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Single-family homes
Single-family homes are better for large families. They serve well for pets and children’s needs who have noisy habits such as playing loud music. Pets can run around the yard. Bathroom and bedroom count is also higher with added privacy.
However, these homes cost typically more and the utilities are also more expensive (especially if the fittings are old and not energy-efficient). Also, if the house is privately owned (and not managed by a company) it can be difficult to address maintenance concerns in a timely manner.
Use a Real Estate Broker
If you don’t have enough time to search for a rental property, it makes sense to hire the services of a real estate broker. But, you must work with a broker who works with rental properties and not just buying and selling the property.
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Also, if you’re seeking a rental home in a population-dense area with tight competition, it makes sense to work with multiple agents. The reason is that different realtors have unique relationships with different buildings.
It’s good to have an agent who works with buildings in your preferred neighborhoods.
Contact the Neighborhood Association
It’s possible that you’re already interested in a few neighborhoods. If that’s the case you should get in touch with the citizen’s association. Often their advice is valuable and they can help you sift through myriad rental options available in the area.
If there’s no such association, you should try to call the township instead. To go to the official site, all you have to do is type in the village name in Google.
other related articles of interest:
Best Appliances for Rental Homes
How to upgrade your rental apartment without upsetting your landlord
Search for Rental Listings Online
It’s good to know what kind of rental property you want. But, that’s not enough. You should also know all the right places to look for it. Rental listing websites can be of immense help such as Zillow, Trulia, and Hotpads.
Best sites will let you narrow your search through filters like price, location, type of home, number of bedrooms, and amenities. You can also input searches like homes with yards, parking spots, etc. to narrow your options and quicken the research.
Bottom Line
The key to the right property is thorough research and taking your time. Hopefully, this post will make your research somewhat easier.
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Image credit: looking for rental housing by twenty20.com
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