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    The Renter's Bible
    The Renter's Bible
    The Renter's Bible
    Ebook158 pages1 hour

    The Renter's Bible

    By Abe Voegtle

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    About this ebook

    When you buy a car, you usually get an owner's manual. When you rent an apartment, you're kind of on your own. That's why i wrote The Renter's Bible. It's an in depth guide to rental housing, designed to help the average renter save time, money and avoid hassles.
    When it comes to renting, you're either..looking, living, or leaving. The book is laid out into three main sections covering these phases of the " renters life cycle", as I like to call them. In this way, you can use the book as a reference manual whenever an issue arises, and issues usually arise.
    In the book, you'll find detailed information on apartment hunting, reducing rental costs, dealing with neighbor issues, recovering deposits, pet issues and so much more!
    As a renter, you will spend between 30-50% of your after tax income on housing. Shouldn't you have an owners manual? Shouldn't you have...The Renter's Bible?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbe Voegtle
    Release dateAug 27, 2015
    ISBN9781311063533
    The Renter's Bible

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      Book preview

      The Renter's Bible - Abe Voegtle

      The Renter’s Bible

      Abe Voegtle

      Copyright 2015 Abe Voegtle

      All Rights Reserved

      Smashwords Edition

      Notice

      This book is intended as a reference manual. The information given is designed to help you make informed decisions about renting and living in apartments. It is not intended to be a substitute for obtaining legal advice. If you suspect that you might have a legal issue, you are urged to speak with a qualified attorney.

      Mention of specific companies, organizations, or websites does not imply endorsement by those entities.

      Copyright 2015 by Abe Voegtle

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the author.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Section One – Finding the Right Apartment

      A Place to Live

      Determine Your Needs

      What's Your Life Like?

      Rental Options

      Triangulation

      Mainstream vs. Ma & Pa

      To Mainstream or Mom-and-Pop?

      Mainstream Property Management Structure

      Narrowing the Search

      Comparison-Shopping

      Window Dressing

      Drive-By (not the bad kind)

      First Contact

      The Tour

      The Leasing Agent

      Specials

      The Close

      Rate Your Experience

      A House is Not a Home

      Application

      Screening

      Rental History

      Lease Options

      Renters Insurance

      Security Deposits

      Fees

      Tenant Rights

      Discrimination Practices

      Pets

      Maintenance Considerations

      Get It In Writing

      Lease Terms

      Rental Payments

      Utilities

      NSF Checks

      Lockouts, Lock Changes, Lost Keys

      Trash

      Storage

      Notifying Management of Maintenance Issues

      Alterations

      Quiet Hours

      Smoke Detectors

      Section Two-Inside and Outside Your New Apartment

      During Your Stay

      Hot Water Tank

      Washing Machines

      Dryers

      Refrigerator

      Ranges/Ovens

      Dishwasher

      Microwaves

      General Plumbing

      Toilets

      Electrical

      Carpet

      Walls and Paint

      Counter Tops and Cabinets

      Lighting

      Blinds

      Doors

      Ventilation

      Heating

      Garbage Disposal

      Windows

      Mold and Mildew

      Work Order Requests

      Permission to Enter

      Documentation on Maintenance Issues

      Emergency Calls

      Parking

      Pets

      Noise Complaints

      Rights of Access

      Occupancy

      Use of the Apartment

      Lead Based Paint

      Other Potential Hazards

      Pest Control

      Safety Issues

      More Flies With Honey

      Section Three – Moving Out

      Greener Pastures

      Pre-Move Out Inspection

      Move Out Charges

      Cleaning

      Carpet Cleaning

      Paint

      Damages

      Pictures

      Final Steps

      Introduction

      Thank you for your purchase of this e-book. My goal in writing this was to first and foremost write a book that would save people money on their preferred choice of living arrangements, because saving money is something that most of us are interested in. Additionally, I wanted to share my knowledge and experiences in property management. I hope that with the information that I give you, not only will you save money but you will be equipped to deal with the challenges that arise from apartment living, get the level of service you deserve, choose an apartment that is well-suited to your lifestyle, and enjoy a more problem free existence in your chosen living situation.

      Throughout the book, I believe I have represented landlords and tenants equally. Both, at times exhibit bad behavior, and both, at times, have proved to be exceptional. Will this book solve all the problems that exist in landlord/tenant relations? Probably not, but perhaps, the divide between the two could become a little smaller.

      Section One

      Finding the Right Apartment

      A Place To Live

      Welcome to the first section of the book. This section is dedicated to the process of finding an apartment. With the information and techniques outlined in this first section, you should be able to find a place to live that suits who you are and what you do.

      For whatever reason, you find yourself in the position of having to find a new place to live. Perhaps this is the first time you will be living in an apartment or you may have lived in apartments for many years. Whatever your particular situation is, I hope that the specific techniques I'll be talking about can guide you into making a decision that will satisfy your needs. In my experience, I have found that the frustration people have associated with the place that they live comes from a few different areas.

      * perceived incompetence or rudeness by office staff

      * slow or no response by maintenance or office staff

      * disruptive conditions from neighbors or surroundings

      * flaws in property or structure

      * shortage of something, available parking spaces or staff

      * regret over the rental price they agreed to

      There are things that can be done to minimize these situations. But we have to know how to do that and which battles are worth fighting and which are not. I believe that within this book you will find the information and strategies you need to address these core problems.

      Determine Your Needs

      What does this mean in terms of finding an apartment? This could be a tough question if you haven't thought about it. The reason this is the second chapter is because I believe that this is so crucial to apartment selection that it needs to be covered early on. So when I say to determine your needs I'm asking you to ask yourself the following questions. What is my budget? How big of an apartment do I need? How many bedrooms do I need? Do I want brand-new appliances? Do I need a garage? What kind of storage is available? Do I need a community that has a pool or other specific amenities?

      The list of potential questions that you could ask yourself might be more than you have considered in the past. Really taking a moment to thoughtfully answer these questions will put you on the path to choosing a good place to live. A good first exercise is to get out a piece of paper and split it into two columns, needs and wants. Focus on the needs first. This is a much more important criteria. If your needs are not being met from the place you live, the wants may not be enough to make up for what you are not getting.

      As humans, we all share a basic set of needs. Food, water, shelter, security, love. It is only after these needs are somewhat satisfied that we can focus on what we want. To put it another way, needs are what you're going to have to spend money on. Wants are going to cost you extra. Only you can determine what those needs and wants are going to be.

      Think about the places you have lived in the past. Include the good and bad aspects of both. Was there a street light next to your window that interfered with your sleep? A constant smell from a nearby factory? Too much traffic noise? Take those situations and incorporate them into your search criteria so you can avoid nuisances. Don't take the leasing agents word for it. Do a good scan out the windows of the apartment and look for potential problems.

      What's Your Life Like?

      It's a very important question when determining wants versus needs, and ultimately will affect your decision on what kind of apartment you want to live in.

      There are only 24 hours in the day. If you're lucky, you spend one third of that time sleeping. Another third is an eight hour workday. Now we have eight hours left to ourselves. Subtract commuting, eating, hygiene, and anything else you do on a daily basis. Not much time left for us is there?

      With your available time, think critically about how you spend it. Are you involved in sports, community service, online gaming, family and friends, travel? If you work from home or don't go out much, you'll want to be even more selective since more time will be spent inside your new place.

      It could be an eye-opening experience to create a pie chart of where your time actually goes. Sometimes the perception of how our lives seem and the way they actually are do not line up.

      Also consider not just what you do with your time but where you want to do it and with whom you want to do it with. Here's some more questions to consider. What kind of environment do I want to live in? A bustling neighborhood with bars and restaurants. An apartment community that is situated on the lake? A small complex with only a few neighbors? A place that is five minutes away from your sister?

      When you know the honest answers to these questions, it makes it easier to select an apartment that is less likely to disappoint later.

      Rental Options

      Although this book will focus primarily on apartment living, I thought it would be beneficial to discuss the other options available to you when it comes to housing. Perhaps after determining your wants and needs and your lifestyle, signing a one-year lease at a standard multifamily complex just does not make sense. This could easily be the case.

      Here are some of the varieties of structures you could live in. Apartment, condo, townhouse, dormitory, single-family home, mother-in-law, mobile home.

      If we want to think

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