Seeing something before you buy (or rent) it is pretty standard when you’re shelling out hundreds of bucks for it. When it comes to renting a new apartment, this is especially true.
It’s often recommended you see at least three apartments when on the hunt, and that means scheduling tours. Traditionally, those tours happened with a leasing agent on hand. They’d walk you through and show you the highlights of any available units, as well as the amenity spaces throughout the building.
This is still helpful, but can also lead prospective tenants to feel pressured into sealing the deal once they’ve seen any apartment units.
To eliminate this issue and give you a little more freedom when it comes to touring a potential home, ask about doing it on your own. Getting access to an apartment for a self-guided tour are a much better experience all around.
What are self-guided apartment tours?
Touring an available unit in-person is one of the best ways to get a feeling for the space. Virtual tours are no longer the only option when it comes to social distancing, and a leasing office may offer self-guided apartment tours now as an alternative.
While a traditional tour consisted of an in-person experience for prospective residents, it was usually accompanied by the leasing agent. Prospective tenants weren’t searching through the property themselves on their own schedule.
A self-guided tour removes leasing agents from the equation, allowing you to access places with the ability to explore the unit free of any pressure or constraints. The process involves making an appointment, like with a traditional tour, but it’s totally dependent on your free time. You no longer have to coordinate schedules with a guide.
How do self-guided tours work?
To request a self-guided apartment tour, you must make an appointment. The best way to do this is by contacting the leasing office. You may have to fill out an online application and provide a credit card number to protect the leasing agent from any damages that may occur during the tour. Some situations may also require a quick background check.
Once all that’s complete, you pick a time slot that works best within your existing free time, and you’re ready for your visit.
When you arrive, you shouldn’t have to wait at all to gain access to the unit. You’ll most likely receive a code to use on a smart lock or even get access to an app that turns your smartphone into a one-time key. Expect to see cameras in the unit though to monitor your tour from a distance.
What you can do before the tour even starts
If you want to do even more exploring around the building, you can arrive for your tour a little early and scope out a few additional spots around the property, including:
- Green spaces. Are there any and how do they look? Check out the general landscaping to make sure they’re maintaining their property and look like some effort went into the appearance.
- Parking areas. Cars up on blocks or in a state of repair don’t look nice, and non-functioning cars loitering in the parking area can devalue the building.
- Balconies. From what you can see, are the balconies nicely kept, or do they look like extra trash cans for tenants?
- Security. As you enter the building, take note of how secure the entrance is. Did you have to get buzzed through yourself or could you walk right in? Was there a functioning gate to enter the complex itself? What about security cameras?
Looking at all of these features before you even begin a self-guided tour can help give you the big picture of what living here would be like. Things that aren’t up to par are a clear sign to not live here. You can even complete this exterior review before scheduling any self-guided tours by hopping in your car and taking a drive-by trip of your top choices.
How to narrow down your choices
Although a self-guided apartment tour makes it easier to see more places on your own than if you had to schedule a guided tour, you still want to narrow down the options for your next apartment beforehand. Seeing too many possibilities can take the fun out of your hunt, and make it more complicated to remember what you liked about each space. Renters may end up with so many choices, it’s impossible to pick one.
Instead, before you begin visiting, use the renter’s information available online to save time and narrow down your possible home list. To do this:
- Compare lease terms. If you only want pet-friendly places, avoid units that don’t give furry friends access.
- Compare rents. Try to stick to apartments in your budget.
- Review locations. It’s all about the convenience of getting to work and being close to shops and restaurants. Of course, you should see what’s within walking distance of each rental, too.
- Look at pictures. Although online pictures sometimes won’t compare to actually touring a place, they will give you a good idea of what’s out in the world of available properties.
This preparation will save you time when it comes to self touring since you won’t have to waste any time finding slots for a rental without the right amenities. You won’t contact places you’d never rent. You also won’t lose interest while searching by overdoing it.
What to look for on a self-guided apartment tour
Once you’re in the apartment, with the freedom of touring the space completely on your own, use the time well. Walking slowly through lets you inspect everything. You may even want to enlist friends to join you for the visit. An extra pair of eyes is never a bad thing.
When walking through, focus on:
- Appliances. Test them all to make sure they’re working. If the water is on, test the faucets, too.
- Closets and storage space. Are there enough for your stuff?
- Overall layout. Does the unit flow well? Is it big enough?
- Doors and windows. Everything should open and close properly and windows should lock. You may even want to test cabinets and drawers, too.
- Floors, ceilings and walls. Is everything in good condition without scratches, holes or water stains?
If something isn’t working, that can get fixed, it’s not as much of an issue as something that signifies the building isn’t well-cared for (like water stains from a leak). It’s up to you to decide what pushes the apartment over the edge into the ‘it’s not for me’ category.
Red flags to watch out for
As you check the general status of everything, you and your group of trusted supporters need to watch out for specific red flags, including:
- Mold. This is a great indicator to pick up and run. Not only is it hard to get rid of, but mold you can see with your eyes is often only a small sample of what’s lingering behind walls.
- Security features. There are plenty of security features an apartment should have, including deadbolts on all outside doors, peepholes and smoke detectors. Missing any of these could be a red flag that you won’t feel safe living here.
- Noise. As you take your self-guided tour, listen to what’s going on around you. Can you hear the neighbors while you’re inside? How quiet are the halls and stairwells? You don’t want to live somewhere that’s too noisy, and hearing what’s going on in real-time gives you a great indication of what every day could be like.
You should also trust your gut as the biggest red flag. If you don’t feel right in the building or see anything that makes you uncomfortable, this is not your future home.
The benefits of a self-guided tour
Being able to schedule a self-guided apartment tour opens you up to a much better experience as you hunt. You’re able to go at your own pace on your own time. You’re able to control the schedule, as well. This ensures you won’t run into other prospective tenants. It also allows you to pick an off time when a guided tour wouldn’t be possible. You don’t have to have any contact with leasing agents unless you want to, which means you could even tour at night.
Setting up a day of self-guided tours also means more tours are possible one after another. This saves you a lot of time in finding the perfect place to rent. The environment is also pressure-free, allowing you to closely look at both the home and the amenity spaces to gauge how you feel about all the apartments you like.
There are really very few arguments against a self-guided apartment tour other than the fact that you won’t have a leasing agent on hand to answer questions. However, it’s easy to contact them after your tour to ask questions and discuss submitting an application if you discover this is the place for you.
How a leasing agent can derail your tour
In the opposite corner of the benefits of self-guided tours, having someone from the property with you could completely ruin an apartment tour.
If they’re trying to hide anything, they could rush you through making it hard to catch some hard-to-see red flags. You could end up with an idealized version of the place, which could make it a very disappointing home once you move in. Also, having someone watching you over your shoulder could make it hard to feel comfortable inspecting the place.
There’s also the pressure a leasing agent could bring to the tour, making you feel like you need to sign a lease as soon as you’re done looking around. A request to fill out an application could feel forced since you did take up their time going on the tour itself.
Although a good property manager won’t do these things, there’s no way to know what kind of person they are in this first meeting. Self-guided tours remove all these issues from the equation.
Touring is only one part of the rental process
Apartment tours are a major part of renting an apartment, but they’re not the only piece. There’s a lot to do when going through the entire process of renting, but each step leads to you finding your next apartment.
As prospective residents, it’s up to you to treat every step with care, which includes setting up a property tour that gives you the ability to make up your own mind on where you’ll next call home.
