Looking for and moving into your first apartment in Dallas is an exhilarating, sometimes crazy, and generally frenzied adventure. Preparing is the best you can to do keep things from becoming overwhelming. If you are moving into your first apartment, here are five things you should think about before you move any boxes.
1) Ask questions before signing anything.
A lease is a legal, binding agreement between parties. Oftentimes, the language can get confusing and the terms might not be understandable. Or, perhaps, you notice something in the contract that bothers you after you scrutinize it. Perchance you see something in the initial walk-through that you would like to know more about. Whatever your question is, do not wait to ask it. A good landlord would rather have you walk away with the answers and not signing a lease than see you sign it and have issues later because you were not clear about something from the start and never asked for an explanation.
Landlordology has a great list of questions to ask your landlord prior to signing your lease - 20 Revealing Questions that Every Renter Should Ask (from a Landlord's Perspective).
2) Do a walk-through of the apartment with the landlord, if possible, before moving anything in.
On the day you plan to move in Dallas, before you get occupied with the nuttiness of moving in all of your furnishings, ask the landlord to do an inspection of the apartment to inspect for damages or any other pre-existing issues that might have been overlooked when they were prepping it for your move-in date. This is a good idea for multiple reasons. The first is so that you both can understand what is going on without the disarray of furniture and boxes. The second reason is that once you move your possessions in, your landlord can argue that they have no way to know for sure the problem was there before you arrived. If the damage can be blamed on you instead of the previous renter, the cost of repairs will most likely come out of your deposit when you get ready to move away. Depending on what that cost is and the terms of your lease, you might not get any money returned.
3) Ask for help.
Part of being an adult is being independent, but part of it is also recognizing when you cannot do something alone and need to ask for help. When it comes to moving, you will always need help - with moving boxes and setting up furniture on move-in day at the very least. If you have family or a friend you trust in the area you are moving to and you cannot do a walk-through before you move in, ask them to do it for you. Be sure they are aware of what information to seek out beforehand.
4) CLEAN before unpacking.
Generally, renters are tasked to make sure an apartment is clean and in fair condition before they move out, and most landlords will give the apartment a more thorough cleaning between renters. However, every now and then, an apartment sits vacant for some time or things get overlooked. Also, there is the mayhem that can happen when you move in. Cleaning up before you unpack will help you catch what might have been neglected. It will also familiarize you with the layout you have and give you a better sense of how you can arrange things than you might have gotten during the walk-through.
5) Be considerate of nearby residents while moving items in.
When you are in the middle of moving in, it is easier to look for time-saving ways to get your possessions into your apartment. Unfortunately, the most convenient [methods|ways]166] to do so can make it more difficult for your neighbors to come and go as they need to and give them the wrong initial impression of you as their neighbor. It is their community you are joining when you move in, after all. You will have an easier time assimilating with the community in Dallas if you are considerate of them from the onset.
If you are ready to find your first apartment in Dallas, A-1 Freeman can help you from start to finish. We can handle every move, no matter the size. Click below to get started with your Free Estimate.
