Real Estate Matters | The 25 questions you must ask as a tenant renting a property – Part 3

Juliet Risdon

Juliet Risdon is a Director of JML Property and a property investor.
Having established the company 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.

The most important questions to ask…
If you have not seen the earlier articles on this subject, here is a brief introduction to the series. Of course you can find the articles online on the Macau Daily Times website.
With the high costs and the potential happiness of your family at stake, it is natural to be concerned that you are both making a good decision and getting value for money
The trouble is you may find yourself renting a property whilst starting a new job, moving your family to a new country and enrolling the kids in a new school all at the same time.
Of course it is important to do your homework about any potential property you are considering to rent, and with so many things going on you also have to remember to ask your agent the most important questions about the property you are considering.
The list below is in no particular order, and is intended as a starting point to help identify which questions to ask.
This week we start with…

Will I get good cellphone reception/WiFi connectivity?
What is the strength of signal you get in the apartment?
It might pay to know where the dead spots are in the apartment before you sign a lease in case you have to consider going ‘old-school’ and getting a landline installed.
For wi-fi, the thickness of the walls and strength of the signal will determine whether you can get wireless connectivity in the apartment with one router.
If not, you might need to get additional equipment which can be both frustrating and expensive.
The connection speeds vary tremendously dependent on the type of service available. Some of the older low-rise buildings do not have a high speed connections, whilst most of the newly built high-rises may offer the high speed service as a service or an option.
What do you do if something goes wrong in the apartment?
The procedure for getting things fixed should be fully documented in the lease, and if not it’s certainly worth asking about.
Some buildings have on-site building management company on-site, and they will be able to recommend someone when the faucet leaks.
Some landlords hire a property management or administration company to assist with maintenance, usually during business hours.
In some cases the landlord might ask you to call him directly, in which case you may have to ask a friend or colleague that speaks Cantonese to liaiase with the owner on your behalf.

How do you handle emergency repairs?
No one wants to deal with a burst pipe at midnight on a Tuesday, but it’s a repair that has to be handled ASAP.
You need to know how the owner wants you to respond in an genuine emergency: Fixing a running toilet on your own because it was driving you nuts and the manager didn’t respond quickly enough may leave you stuck with the bill.
Before choosing an apartment it’s important to know how all kinds of repairs are handled as mentioned in point 13, but particularly the emergencies.

Can I paint?
You may assume the answer is “yes, of course!” because you think “This is MY apartment!”

But you’d be wrong. Most leases stipulate that when you move out, the apartment must be restored to the same condition you got it in.
If you painted the walls purple, you could be expected to repaint them to their original boring beige. And covering over purple paint isn’t such an easy task.
Some landlords have a clause in the lease that says written permission is required before painting or decorating.
Putting up pictures, driving nails into the walls to hang artwork, all things that might need to be pre-approved and/or reversed when you move out.
Basically, the landlord will accept normal wear-and-tear to occur in the apartment, and everything else is on the tenant.
Before moving in you may be able to do a walk-through with photos to record the actual condition of the property.
It is important. Don’t forget that damages to the apartment will be deducted from your security deposit. Do you still want deep purple walls?

Can I have a pet?
Many owners simply forbid any cats or dogs.
Those that DO allow pets usually have a clause to say the apartment must undergo a deep clean upon termination of the agreement, and funds will be withheld to take care of this (a deep clean typically costs around HKD2,000).
Check your landlord’s policies, and while not all landlords refuse to allow pets, many say they do for financial reasons.
Dogs can scratch up doors and hardwood floors, and not every pet can handle long hours left alone in an apartment while their human is at work.
Barking also disturbs neighbours, and accidents can stain carpets, cause hygiene issues and wreck flooring.
If the landlord and the building management does allow pets, you may be asked to pay an extra pet security deposit. And of course pet owners are absolutely expected to clean up after their animals.

Next Week: “Where’s the exit” and others…

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