Your first apartment, in the right order.

Before you tour: set your limits

List the monthly amount you can manage, your preferred move date, the bedroom count and the daily routes you need. Separate essential features from nice-to-have options. Your personal budget is different from a community’s screening criteria.

Build the budget with base rent, required recurring fees, estimated utilities, parking and other costs that apply. Keep upfront fees, deposits, moving costs and any overlap with your current housing separate.

At the tour: check the apartment you would lease

Ask whether you are seeing the actual apartment, the same floor plan or a furnished model. Record differences in finishes, view, floor, appliances and access. Check the usable furniture space, cell signal, storage, noise and routes from parking or transit. Confirm how maintenance and urgent concerns are reported.

Bring the printable tour checklist. You can ask for another way to view the apartment or help with access.

Before applying: get these answers in writing

• The apartment number, lease term and expected availability date.
• Base rent, recurring fees, estimated utilities and optional charges.
• Application charges, holding conditions and refund terms.
• Deposit and first-payment amounts, due dates and any concession conditions.
• The current rental criteria, accepted documents and secure application instructions.

Read the application guide before sending sensitive documents or money.

Before signing: read beyond the advertised rent

Check the lease dates, notice method and deadline, payment schedule, guest and parking rules, insurance requirements and any early-termination terms. Ask where written special offers appear in the agreement. Pet policies and disability-related assistance-animal requests follow separate processes.

If school enrollment matters to your plans, confirm the full street address, apartment number, grade and school year directly with the district. A nearby school or a model apartment’s address does not establish enrollment. See our school research guide.

After confirming the lease: prepare for keys

Arrange required utilities and insurance, confirm key pickup and moving access, and keep the leasing contact handy. Photograph the apartment’s condition and follow the community’s condition-report procedure. Use the move-in checklist for the practical details.

Frequently asked questions