We know what you’re thinking: houses seem out of reach, impossible, too expensive to make a reality. While we believe houses are possible for anyone, it is true that saving for, buying, and caring for a house can get expensive. Take a look at the St. Albert homes for sale to get an idea of what the real estate market is like.
For some people, an apartment is the way to go. Your monthly rent might seem expensive at first, but you won’t own the place, so you won’t have to pay for property taxes or anything else associated with home ownership, excepting the utility bills for the energy you yourself use.
Of course, the first thing you need to do to move into an apartment is to get approved. How do you do that? That’s what we’re here to explain.
Shop in Your Budget
Your potential future landlord will want to know that you’re able to afford the expenses associated with renting the apartment, so to come out looking like a serious candidate, you need to look at apartments within your budget.
Try to go for no more than 30% of your gross income when looking at rent prices. You don’t want to go poor just to live somewhere. When the landlord checks your finances, he or she will see that you’re not stretching yourself too thin.
That reminds us…
Have Gainful Employment
Not all landlords do this, but many will want to verify that you work where you say you work and make what you say you make. It’s just prudence; they want to protect their investments in their rental properties by ensuring you can pay for it.
Given this, it’s vital that you show you hold down a job and possibly have held the same job for a good while. Be honest when it comes to this because it’s all ultimately to your benefit. If you make enough money to rent an apartment, you’ll be able to save for your future while continuing to pay rent.
Have References Handy
Again, every landlord is different, but some will ask for references before leasing the apartment to you. There’s nothing really hard and fast here, but the landlord just wants to know that there are some people out there who can speak to your character and verify that you are a good, responsible person.
References will do a lot to ease the landlord’s mind, so choose maybe three good ones, and have them on standby in case the landlord calls.
Keep these three tips in mind as you hunt for apartments, and you should have your new home in no time!
