How to rent an apartment without intermediaries and avoid mistakes

In order to save money, many refuse the services of real estate agencies and look for them on their own. To avoid possible risks and not fall for scammers, you need to know the intricacies of choosing an apartment and drawing up a contract.

How to quickly find the best quality and price option

If you want to find a respectable owner, ask relatives and friends if someone rents an apartment.

Do not rush to submit an ad on the Internet yourself - scammers may come out. Clearly draw up the requirements for the property and price range, and choose an apartment among the ads on the city's forums and in periodicals.

Compare all the offers in this category of apartments to understand the price range. For example, for how much you can rent a one-room apartment, depending on:

• location;
• area;
• repair;
• environment.

Go to the analysis of ads by all factors. It is better to make a list in advance of what you need in the apartment, and a separate list of characteristics - in which you are ready to compromise.

Mistakes at the stage of choosing a property

Finding an apartment in a good location at an affordable price is a difficult task, because there is a risk of being deceived. In order not to waste time, it is necessary to weed out unprofitable offers at the stage of finding an apartment.

Take a look at the ad itself:

1. Photos must be real, not staged design shots.
2. If the price is greatly underestimated, this means that the shortcomings of the apartment are silent.
3. A laudatory description may point to scammers.
4. Give preference to advertisements in periodicals, rather than signs on poles.
5. Avoid ads where the owner lists a move to another country or a long business trip as the reason for renting.
6. Do not rent an apartment whose owner requires a deposit or offers an installment plan.

During a telephone conversation, the owner must provide all the information of interest, and not insist on an immediate meeting.

Where to choose an apartment

The area plays no less important role than the state inside. When choosing the location of the apartment, go out of your own needs: it should be close to work, relatives or a place of study.

Consider lifestyle and needs - someone will like a noisy center with bars and discos, someone - a quiet cozy area outside the city.

If you have children, pay attention to the presence of good schools, playgrounds and kindergartens nearby.

When choosing an area, pay attention to the following:

1. Ecology- find out if there are factories and enterprises nearby that emit harmful gases into the atmosphere.
2. Safety- Avoid crime areas where patrol cars and police officers are rarely seen.
3. Transport fork- there should be public transport stops near the house. Check if there are airstrips and a railway near the house
4. Developed infrastructure– a huge advantage will be a market, a supermarket, cozy cafes and recreation parks.

How to inspect an apartment

Before you enter the apartment, carefully inspect the outside of the house.

Pay attention to the presence of cracks, the condition of the roof, the lighting in the entrance, the presence of an intercom and an elevator. A dirty, unkempt entrance will indicate dysfunctional and uneconomic neighbors.

If there is a fungus in the entrance and dampness or high humidity is felt, flooding often occurs in the house.

The first thing to do when renting an apartment is to talk to the neighbors in order to identify the owner of the apartment.

For official confirmation, you can resort to the following actions:

1. Creating an electronic application in the system - for this you need to go to the official portal of Rosreestr, fill out a form, indicating the address of the object and the type of statement, as well as personal data. After paying for the service, information about the real owners of the apartment will be sent to your address. This information is for informational purposes only and has no legal force. For official data, please contact the regional authorities. This service will cost 150 rubles.
2. An appeal to the Housing Office, which stores all information about the owners living in the territory under their control. Such appeals are rarely crowned with success - the Housing Office reserves the right not to distribute personal information about residents.
3. Communicate with the precincts and the police. Scammers are rarely found, but law enforcement agencies keep "black lists" that contain information about scammers and addresses of apartments that become objects of scams.
4. Contacting the services of a notary is a last resort, as it requires additional costs. The notary has the right to receive information on the request for ownership.
5. The Tax Service stores data about the subject, which regularly pays property tax. A significant disadvantage of this method is that a serious reason is required to file an appeal.

You can also identify a dishonest owner in person - he will uncertainly answer uncomfortable questions, hurry up when inspecting an apartment, and convince you of how profitable the deal is. He will also reduce the cost of rent, and avoid questions about his place of residence.

Advice! When communicating with the owner, mention that you have previously encountered scammers and contacted law enforcement agencies. This will scare away unscrupulous owners.

List of documents to check:

1. Passport of the landlord or other documents that confirm his identity.
2. Checks from ZhEKa for payment of utility bills.
3. Information from the tax office on the payment of property tax.
4. Notarized documents that confirm the ownership of the leased object. Most often, this is a contract for the sale of housing.
5. real estate, which indicates the state accounting of living space.
6. Confirmation in writing from all residents that are registered in the house that they have nothing against renting the apartment and agree with the provisions of the contract.

Main risks

In order not to fall for the tricks of scammers, it is important to take precautions in time.

Main risks:

1. Renting an apartment to several clients at once - to insure yourself against unexpected guests, persuade the owner of the apartment to change the lock on the front door before moving in. The lock must be changed while both parties are present.
2. Renting someone else's apartment - sometimes scammers rent an apartment for one day, and then re-let it for several months. To prevent this from happening, always ask for documents for an apartment and talk to your neighbors before drawing up a contract.
3. Prepayment for the inspection of the apartment - you find a suitable advertisement, and the owner invites you to the office by phone, where a small amount is required for a preliminary inspection of the apartment. At the specified time, the person does not come, and the office moves to another location.
4. Claims for the right to tenancy by relatives - after renting an apartment, other owners (grandmothers, children, grandchildren) may visit who will oppose the right to reside. When processing documents, require a complete list of tenants that are registered in the apartment and their permission to rent an object.
5. Creating conditions after which the tenant himself decides to move out of the apartment - carefully inspect the apartment and negotiate the conditions of residence with the owner in advance.

To avoid various scam schemes, follow these rules:

1. Always get to know your neighbors and the precinct.
2. Don't give money up front.
3. Write down and check the owner's address and home phone number.
4. Ask a lot of questions about the apartment and about previous residents - the swindler will be nervous and lying.
5. Require documents from the owner.

Advice! Insist on inspecting the apartment in the evening - scammers work mainly during the day.

How to draw up a lease agreement

When compiling, pay attention to the following points:

1. Rental period- if it is not specified in the document, this means that either party can terminate the contract at any time.
2. Rent price– the contract specifies the amount of the regular payment and the method of payment. In the future, this amount may be changed, but not more than once a year.
3. The contract must be drawn up exclusively in paper form (no oral agreements) in several copies.
4. Creation of living conditions- the owner is obliged to create all conditions for a favorable stay of the client. If necessary, the contract can specify a clause on the repair work, indicating which of the parties will pay for them.
5. Responsibilities of the tenant- he must maintain housing in decent shape, pay rent on time and protect property. For failure to fulfill obligations, both the tenant and the landlord may be liable, which consists in paying a fine or terminating the contract.

How to write a property inventory

If you rent an apartment with the property of the landlord, it is important to correctly inventory all items that are in the apartment. The inventory of property is attached to the contract in writing and can be used during the resolution of disputes and conflicts.

The inventory is carried out by both parties: the lessor records the model, condition, quantity and year of manufacture of the item, and the lessee checks its performance and actual condition.

It's no secret that most well-renovated apartments can only be found through realtors, because they have huge bases. Is it possible to find the owner of a good apartment on your own? The video provides tips for self-searching, plus answers to some other questions that arise for those who are looking for an apartment to rent. Answered by Evgenia Skrynnik.