Perusing through landlords can be daunting, so how can someone make sure they’re making the right decision?
Off-campus housing can be a joy at college. After all, you aren’t confined to the dorms any more and you get a little bit more of that freedom that college usually offers. However, moving off campus comes with its own dilemmas like finding an affordable place with good landlords as well as trying to find an apartment close to campus (nobody likes the hikes in the winter).
Usually, if you get an early enough start, location will be easier. Landlords, on the other hand, could prove to be difficult no matter the time you start looking.
Cortland landlords can either be a big company that control multiple houses or just a person. Some of the landlords that do student housing don’t have public websites or places to see any comments about their abilities as a landlord, which makes it difficult to double check to make sure they’re reputable.
Everyone should know if the people they’re renting from are easy to contact and fast to fix a problem, or if they’ll take their time and drag their feet. Nobody wants a lazy landlord. A good way to be able to tell who’s good to rent from is by asking friends or people in your classes. You never know if the person next to you could know really great companies or landlords that are attentive and easy to talk to.
Sometimes it takes some digging, but good landlords are out there! Not all of them are perfect, but some of them really do try and make it as easy for you as possible. Another way to tell a good landlord is when you go to check out the apartment, talk to the tenants, and listen to what they have to say.
The current tenants can provide you first hand accounts of whether the landlord has been helping with issues or if they’ve been shirking off responsibilities. Even if the show person is there, they’ll likely give some indication to you if things are not working out. They were in your position once, you know.
Bad landlords do exist, there’s really no debating that. Thankfully, they usually they can be easy to avoid if you know what to look for.
In my personal experience, bad landlords usually don’t care much for questions. They’ll often push you through the apartment because they don’t want you looking too far into things. It’s hard to bring up issues you don’t see.
Also, if you’re ever checking out an apartment and the tenants look surprised to see you or having you touring, that in itself is a sign; landlords should always keep you updated with any events like showings, maintenance, or visiting for any reason. The best way to keep yourself from being duped is to have a question list and go through with it, and see what you can pick out from their answers.
Overall, landlords in Cortland can be along the whole spectrum, some of them being very good, others being very bad, or just the middle section of they’re okay and keep updated, but that’s really about it.
P.S. Always get renters insurance, no matter your landlord. You never know if you’ll need it.