Tips For Making A Good Impression At A Rental Open House
In some rental markets, finding your perfect home can be a real competition. If you are house hunting, make sure to give yourself a fighting chance when it comes to landlords choosing you over other applicants. Here are four ways that you can try your best to make a good impression at a rental open house.
1. Have Your Ducks in a Row
If you can come to rental showings with a deposit, a rental resume, and be available to fill out a rental application, you will come off as a serious candidate to landlords. If you are truly interested in a rental, offer to pay the deposit that day. Many times there might be a fee for running credit checks, but this is a small price to pay if it puts you in the final running on a home.
2. Look Professional
Looking at various apartments for rent can be arduous and take up a weekend, but that doesn't mean you should roll out of bed and show up in sweatpants. Put a little effort into your outfit so that you look like someone that a landlord would like to rent to. Get a good night's sleep so you will be alert and ready to make a good impression.
3. Talk Up the Host
Rental showings can be run either by the landlord, the property management company, or an on-site manager. All of these individuals have a vested interest in renters, so try to chat them up for a bit if you can. Mention how much you like the apartment, mention your employment status or educational pursuits, and try come off as a solid individual that they would be lucky to rent to.
4. Try to Get an Early Viewing
Sometimes the best way to secure a rental is to skip the open house all together. If there is a number or email contact for an open house, get outside your comfort zone and reach out. Ask if you can see the place before the open house. You never know, the landlord might want to just get the process over with and will go ahead and rent to you on the spot.
If affordable rental properties are few and far between in your area, try your best to put in some effort at rental open homes. If you can look for rentals through professional property management companies such as Sterling Realty you will have more peace of mind. Sometimes looking for an apartment can feel like a job, but try to focus and stick with your house hunt so you can find the perfect rental.