Real Estate Matters | The Definitive Guide For Tenants: Part 1 – Finding a Property

Juliet Risdon

The Yearly Guide For Renting A Home
In this ‘Guide For Tenants’ series over the next 5 weeks we will cover:

• Finding a home
• Securing the Apartment
• The Process of Moving in.
• The First Week in Your Property
• On Going Living and ‘Moving Out’

Part 1 – Finding a Property

Finding a place to rent and call ‘home’ is a major headache for anyone, and it is especially difficult for newcomers. There are so many different elements that contribute to making a property ‘great’.
Everyone looking for a rental property has a different set of priorities, so the clearer you are on what is important to you, the easier it will be to find a great property to rent.
Priority one; before you go home hunting, make a list of what is and isn’t important to you in a home.
For example, most people are happy to rent a furnished apartment rather than invest money in furnishings themselves.
Again, if you don’t plan to buy a car and prefer to rely on public transportation, being close to an area where you can catch a bus or a taxi is a top priority.
You might need to find an apartment that takes pets if you have a cat or a dog. In Macau and many cities around the world, that one requirement instantly eliminates more than half of all apartments.
Deciding what is most important can be very difficult for some of us, especially if there is more than one person involved and each has his or her own wants and needs.
As difficult as it is, prioritizing what you want in your rental apartment will make finding one you’re satisfied with much easier. You are unlikely to find a place that ticks every box, but of course the more boxes you can tick, the better.
One effective way of finding potential properties is to ask friends and colleagues about the places that they already live in. Be careful with this though, we all tend to exaggerate the good points in order to justify the decision we have made to live there.
If you’re looking to rent an apartment in a new building, don’t be afraid ask around to see if anyone else knows the property.
The schools and parents are a good source of information for this. Most people are very happy to share their thoughts on this, and many other subjects.
Obviously you also have Internet access and can conduct research on a certain building or apartment developments.
Bear in mind that no matter how respected or well managed something is, there are always negative views and comments some people who just did not enjoy their experience. It may have as much to do with the person as the property.
Making sure you have a master list of priorities before you see the property will help you to avoid signing a contract and then end up regretting it a week later. A Tenancy Agreement is a legal contract, and it is not something to be entered into lightly.
Of course we also suggest visiting the JML Property website to search for properties or contact one of the consultants, and they will come up with a choice of properties that are the closest match to your criteria.
Make sure you have done your homework, and hopefully you’ll find a great property to rent in no time

Next week: we look at how you secure the apartment you have found, by talking about what required in fees, deposits and documentation.

Juliet Risdon is a Director of JML Property and a property investor.
Having been established in 1994, JML Property offers Investment Property & Homes. It specializes in managing properties for owners and investors, and providing attractive and comfortable homes for tenants.

www.JMLProperty.com
[email protected]