24/04/2020
WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN RENTING A HOUSE
It can be a very stressful experience looking for a new home to rent, especially when you are moving to a new or unfamiliar area.
With the abundance of poorly qualified and unprofessional brokers on every corner, you can be taken for a ride from the onset.
‘‘I need a three bedroom family home for rent in a safe neighborhood, with a decent environment, a boys quarters and within 10 minutes drive of my workplace’’. So they proceed to show me 2 bedroom apartments with no boy’s quarter in an area 20 mins out of town with a burning rubbish pit next to the front gate, while charging me for their time.
Firstly find someone that clearly understands your criteria, knows the area well and can fit your requirements into your budget.
This advice will cover the things you should be considering when searching for a new rental property
Neighborhood
Its important to check the area around the house that you are looking at, is it family houses, apartments units, bars, clubs or commercial activity going on in the neighborhood. Knowing what’s going on in the area is of upmost importance when looking to settle into your new rental home.
Leaking Roofs
As with older rental properties and to some extent newer buildings (depending on the quality of contractor who built them). Leaking roofs are a common issue and the best time to view an older property is just after a heavy rain, taking note of any damp patches in the ceiling.
It’s often the gaps in the tiles that causes water to seep through, however, it can also be due to the fact that the contractor didn’t put a waterproof lining between the roof and the ceiling.
Landlord
Getting a feel for the type of person your landlord is or in some circumstances, their mmanager is an important consideration. Speaking to them through your agent is always useful, to understand how familiar they are with having tenants and their willingness to carry out repairs and maintenance on their property. Make sure everything agreed verbally is written in the tenancy contract including the refunding of your security deposit.
Tenancy Contract
Putting together a tenancy contract between landlord and tenant is often overlooked and can lead to all sorts of problems later down the line. Being a key component to managing the relationship with your landlord as well as providing evidence of what was originally agreed on from the onset on the tenancy period. Drafting and signing a tenancy agreement, ensures disagreements are minimized when issues arise in the future. It also ensures an understanding and commitment from both parties from the onset. Ask your agent to guide you on the formulation of a legal tenancy contract and what to expect from your landlord.
Current condition of the property
The state of repairs, tidiness of the compound and the overall appearance of the house can give you a fairly accurate insight into the importance that the owner places on the condition of their property. Almost all properties need an upgrade or minor renovation but if the place looks an absolute state, then it’s advisable to stay away unless it’s a real deal and the owner is committed to fix it up. Nonetheless it’s important not to judge a property with long grass or a few minor paint issues here and there because it could be due to the caretaker being absent for a few days, or a tenant having just moved out the day before. Make sure to ask your agent how long the property has been vacant.
Water pressure
A common but often over looked plumbing issue in residential properties is the water pressure. Check the taps in the kitchen, bathrooms and the showers to see whether water is flowing at a decent speed. In a multi story building also look to see if there’s any significant difference between the pressure on the different floors in the building. The cause of poor water pressure is usually corroded and rusty pipes in older buildings or the lack of a header tank in newer developments. Be sure to ask your landlord to have his plumber rectify the issue before occupying the house or as a last resort ask for a water pump to be installed
On the subject of water, ask the landlord to check the water bill to see if sewage charge is added to the consumption rate. Somewhat surprisingly, you can visit rental properties that have the 75% residential or 100% commercial sewage charges applied on the monthly water bill, yet there is a septic tank in the compound which is for the same purpose of collection 9f sewage and waste water.
Ensure you are not billed when a septic tank is available and make sure the owner or management is aware of the situation and have national water and sewage rectify any discrepancies.
All in all, there are quite some things to consider when looking to move into a new rental property, especially if you are intending to stay for a long time. We hope these tips can assist you in finding the right home.
