Help, I need to rent an apartment – Top 10 tips

My dream home is waiting for me. Yes, that’s right, but the more requirements your dream home has to meet, the longer it will have to wait for you. Thus, it is really very important that your list of wishes and requirements is very realistic. Of course, it may be so that you have a very large budget, and can therefore fulfill all your wishes. But if not, divide your list into “must haves”, your requirements, and “nice to haves”, your wishes. When you start your search, only use your must have list and only consult your nice to have list when you find enough properties that meet all your requirements and fit within your budget.

Everyone has their preference in terms of location; Cozy neighborhood, close to work, lots of greenery, easy parking, etc. Every neighborhood has a different combination of these wishes. But what people often forget is that they don’t know some neighborhoods at all and only rely on what they hear from others. You may be able to search for the ideal home in the Center for years, while you can still move into “South” this week. Regardless of the city, you are doing yourself a great favor if you take a bicycle for a number of afternoons / evenings and tour the neighborhoods that you do not know well yet. Also talk to the local residents. Maybe it is a nice place to live. And the larger your search area, the faster you will have a home.

Now that you know what and where you are looking, it is important to respond very quickly to all the properties you find. New homes are constantly coming onto the market, but they are always rented out very quickly. Usually there are enough applications from potential tenants within an hour. So you really have to refresh all websites where properties are offered at least 10 times a day to have any shot at being among the first 10 people who responded. So: Refresh, Respond, Repeat.

Ok, great, so you have found a nice house, and you are going to apply. Often people are rejected because they write things in the text that gets them rejected immediately, when it may not have to affect their chances at all. Example: “What a nice house. I love to play the drums… ”. Never mind, the rest of the text is not even read anymore. Noise pollution is immediately considered. And that while you may only practice at a different location, and never in your own home. So write as short a text as possible and only provide the information that is specifically requested. Everything else can only work against you.

Nice… You have been invited for a viewing, oh dear, now what? Keep it simple. Be on time, dress well and be polite. This is about the impression you leave with the landlord/estate agent. They want to be able to trust that you will behave as a good tenant. And they do that partially based on how you present yourself during the viewing. And if you mess up, you can also forget to ever be invited to any other viewing by this agency.

Real estate agents and housing associations often need documents from you. Papers such as an employment contract or salary slips and a copy of your Passport or Driver’s License are almost always part of the rental process. If you already have them at hand during the viewing, you are already ahead of your competition.

Read the contract carefully. Ask someone you know who has experience with this. Not all landlords use good contracts. And of course, you want to avoid having to move out when the landlord simply wants you to. Very high rent increases can also be annoying, keep that in mind.

Rental properties that are already online have already been made public. A broker who mediates for this is in principle employed by the landlord and may not charge you commission as the tenant. Sometimes they do it anyway. If you don’t pay, they rent it out to someone else. You can choose to pay it anyway and, once you live there, reclaim the commission. Usually, you get it back.

Beware of scammers. It remains a big problem, and unfortunately, they are getting better at it. Be very careful. Is the owner abroad and does he ask for money to be sent via Monygram or something like that? Then it’s a scam. There are many ways in which they operate, but remember this: If it is too good to be true, then it is not true.

If you want to save a lot of time and increase your chances, use RentSlam. We search more sources than you can imagine, so we find many more homes than you can yourself. We also search 24/7 every few minutes, so you can always respond on time and you will never again hear “sorry, this property is already rented”. RentSlam isn’t free, but it’s well worth it. Read the reviews on Klantvertellen.nl if in doubt.