Buying a personal piece of property is a lifelong dream for many Nigerians, but until you have the means to purchase your own house or apartment, you need to be prepared for years of renting a place. Since you are looking for a long-term rental, you have to put extra effort into finding the apartment or house that has everything for comfortable and stress-free living. Here are some things you need to look for in property for rent.
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Storage space
There is a small part of rental property that comes fully equipped with furniture and home appliances, but most renters take their possessions with them when they move from one location to another. If you like to bring your own devices and furniture to your new home, make sure the rental you’re considering has enough space to accommodate your possessions. If the free space is occupied by the owner’s old furniture or appliances, ask him to get rid of them – for example, he can sell them on Jiji.
Quiet environment
Even though we spend from 8 to 12 hours every day at work, the majority of our time is spent at home. In order for the whole family to get proper rest, the house or apartment you choose to rent should be as quiet as possible. First look for inside noises – if the apartment walls are too thin, you will hear everything happening in the next door apartment, which can prevent you from having a nap or putting your baby to sleep. Outside noises are also very disruptive, so if the house or apartment block is located in a busy street with lots of car traffic and bypassers, you’ll need to decide whether you can handle the noise.
Parking space
If your family has at least one car, think about where you’ll park it for the night. Some houses and apartment complexes come with big parking lots where there is a parking place for every tenant. However, smaller houses often have limited parking space, which means that by the time you come back from work, every parking place can be taken. If you’re determined to get a separate parking place, you can include a respective clause into your rental agreement. You can also look for independent parking lots nearby your new house, so that even every parking place in your block is taken, you wouldn’t have to leave the car in the street.
Avoid getting pressured
If you’re not looking for the rental property on your own, but instead have your real estate agent do the search for you, you’re putting most of the responsibility on the agent. In case you reject too many offers, your agent can start pressuring you into making the decision and signing the agreement. He can say that if you don’t accept a particular apartment right now, someone else will instantly rent it, or that if you turn away too many options, you will never find a good place. However, you should know that these are attempts to manipulate you and you don’t have to accept the offer you don’t like.
Conveniences
When you become a homeowner, maintenance and repair become your own responsibility, but when you’re renting a place, you should expect the landlord to do it all for you. This is why you need to check all the conveniences and see if the electricity, plumbing, and other home systems are working properly. Any future repairs should be negotiated with the landlord from the start, so that you wouldn’t end up with a broken pipe and no one around to fix the problem.
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