Have you ever heard the saying, “if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is”? The saying couldn’t be more true than when you’re hunting for a new apartment. This is especially true if you’re a brand new renter or someone who doesn’t have a lot of renting history, because these kinds of landlords know who to keep an eye out for to pull the wool over your eyes.
If you’re hunting for apartments for rent in St. Joseph, MO, then it’s always a good idea to explore all of your options and take every precaution that you possibly can. After all, not every complex is going to be as amazing as AE Lofts! But it’s still important to make sure that you’re covering all of your bases when going apartment hunting.
If you’re new to the apartment hunting game and you need some tips on what to keep an eye out for, here are some major red flags to avoid when you’re looking for a new apartment:
1.) No photos? No contract.
One of the reasons why Zillow is so popular is that people have a natural curiosity. People love to see what a house looks like on the inside! From the decorations, to the flooring, to the bathroom, and everything in between, we love to see what a home looks like.
The same is absolutely true for apartments. And, in fact, AE Lofts even has our floor plans on the website for you to plan exactly where you want things to go. Cool, right?
If you were a first-time homebuyer and the seller of the home was trying to get you to buy the home without seeing any photos and without a visit, would you take the deal? Of course not! So why should an apartment be any different? If the apartment that you’re wanting to rent doesn’t have any photos in the advertisement (or they’re only photos of the outside of the building) and doesn’t want you to go and see what it’s like on the inside for yourself, then that is a major red flag. Don’t sign any contract or lease without seeing what you’re getting into first!
2.) Are there any reviews for the complex? If not… stay away!
Just like you do when you’re inspecting a new restaurant to go to, check the reviews for the apartment complex you’re looking at moving into. There’s no reason why a well-established apartment complex shouldn’t have at least a few reviews. (Of course, if the apartment complex is brand new, that’s a little different!)
Along those same lines, if the complex that you’re looking into has really poor reviews, that’s another sign that you should stay away. You wouldn’t want to go to eat at a restaurant that only has 1-star reviews, right? Of course you don’t! So why would you want to live in that same kind of environment?
Doubly important is to check to see what those reviews actually say. If they’re low, look into why they’re low. It could be a sign of poor cleanliness standards, a bad landlord, a bug problem, or worse. Do your research!
3.) There’s no kind of approval standards or minimum requirement.
This isn’t to say that affordable housing shouldn’t be for everyone, because of course it should! However, you should really make sure to look into what kind of environment that you want to be living in, because knowing that all of your neighbors also had to go through this vetting process can be a huge weight off of your shoulders.
Typically, landlords or apartment managers like to see three major things: your credit score, your rental history, and your income. If your new complex doesn’t ask for any of these things or an extremely reduced list, then that should be a red flag.
4.) There’s no easy way to get in contact with the landlord.
We’ve all been there: it’s always the middle of the night when the worst things tend to happen. From a broken pipe to a leak in the fridge, emergencies like this don’t wait for 8 a.m. when the office formally opens. So what do you do?
Your immediate answer should be to call your landlord. It’s his or her responsibility to take care of this situation and get you the assistance that you need in a timely manner, because in this kind of condition, your apartment just isn’t safe to live in. But what if they don’t answer?
Apartment complexes or landlords should have at least some kind of way to communicate with them in times of emergency like this. If they don’t have one, or are unwilling to provide you with one, then that’s a major red flag. After all, there’s no telling when some kind of situation could crop up that you can’t handle, and it’s on them to fix. It’s not safe to have water pouring all over your apartment floor for hours at night, or your window to break during a storm, or a myriad of other things. If your future landlord has no kind of protocol for this, then stay away!
Check Out AE Lofts
You can trust us when we say that you’ll find absolutely no red flags here! Our apartments for rent in St. Joseph, MO provide beautiful, historic loft-style units in a great area of town, with the most modern amenities that residents could ask for. Not only do we have plenty of pictures on our website, we eagerly invite our potential new residents to contact us and schedule a tour to visit the facility.
We are proud to offer an apartment complex that appeals to everyone: a place that renters, whether new to the game or experienced, will feel comfortable in calling home. If you’re looking into apartments for rent in St. Joseph, MO, then contact us and schedule a tour today!
