Past Tense

If you are in that joyful period of life where you are looking for a new place to live (sarcasm intended) it never hurts to make the process as painless as possible. A good plan of action and a little wisdom will make sure your next place of residence is the best yet. A few simple mistakes can be the difference between a good living situation and a bad one.

If you are going to look at a new place it pays to look responsible. Shower, wear clean clothes and don’t have a cigarette butt hanging out of your mouth. Baseball caps and flip flops will impress no one, even if the person showing the place is wearing the exact same thing. You are the one with something to prove.

It’s not a bad idea to bring your checkbook with you when you go to look at a place. Maybe there is an application fee or you fall in love and want to make sure it doesn’t get snatched up from underneath you, you are in a position to take care of business right then and there. It also helps you look like you mean business, which is a good thing (in case you didn’t know).

If you know you are going to be moving ahead of time, you might want to use that to your advantage by cleaning up your credit. If you are behind on any bills, get caught up, renegotiate the late payments if you can and try not to have any new credit inquiries. If none of that is possible then take the advance time to save up for a larger deposit. Often, that can be enough to offset your bad credit.

When you finally find that place and you are ready to sign on the dotted line, make sure you actually read the document for the love of pete. Think about it. You are putting your name behind every word in that document and making promises to be responsible for every single stipulation. Don’t you think it makes sense to know what you are promising? Be smart and thank me later.

So once you get your new place and you sit down to sign your lease make sure you read it. You might have certain hobbies that are prohibited or be responsible for further fees. Know what is in anything you put your name to. It matters to your life so don’t be lazy about this.