Three things to consider when renting a home

By Tiffany Pineda

The choice to move to a new residence does not come easy for most of us. There are many things to consider when choosing a new place to live. People may say, "Well, since I am only renting, I don't have to worry about the things that home buyers need to consider," WRONG! Your home is your home, whether you are renting or buying, you and your family LIVE there. You want to be happy with the home you live in, period. Here are the top three things to make sure you keep in mind when searching for your next rental home:

1. Location
Do you want to live close to work? Do you want to live close to your child's school? Do you want to live in a busy city or a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, or somewhere in between? The location of you new home is a very important thing to consider. If you do not own a car, you may want to live close to a bus stop, or close enough to grocery stores, malls, etc. so you can walk or ride your bike. We all want to "be green," don't we? You also want to check the crime rate in the city where you want to live. You may not own the house, but you do own the property inside the house. You want to be sure to live in a safe neighborhood where your house will not be broken into.

2. Size of the home
How big is your family? Are you single, living by yourself, or do you have a spouse and three kids? You want to make sure everyone in your family will be comfortable living in the home you choose. Is there enough closet space for everyone's clothes? Is there enough storage space? Are there enough bedrooms and bathrooms to accommodate everyone's needs? If you are going to have over-night guests frequently, you may want to consider renting a house with an extra bedroom to be designated only as a guest room. Do you work from home? You may need a room or area that can be designated as an office. When searching for your next home, think about all the furniture you have in your current home. You need to be sure that all your furniture will fit in the new home, or you may have to part with some of your favorite things.

3. Monthly rent
Ideally, you should make a gross income of three times the monthly rent you will be required to pay. If you want to rent a home for $1,000.00 per month, you should gross $3,000.00 per month. You also need to know if utilities will be included in the monthly rent amount, or if you will need to pay those separately. You want to be able to pay your monthly rent and still have money to buy food and enjoy life a little. Don't rent a home that will "max you out" every month, leaving you with no funds left to travel, eat out, or see a movie (unless you love your new home so much that you want to be trapped inside it everyday).

Once these three major components have been considered, and decided on, you are well on your way to finding your new home. One more thing to consider would be if the home is Pet Friendly, if that applies to your situation.

Now that you have decided on the location, size, and monthly rent of your new rental home, start your free search at www.rentalaccess247.com
You can search by city, square footage and number of bedrooms/bathrooms, and by monthly rent amount. You can also choose Pet Friendly homes.
Choose a few homes you like, that fit your criteria well, and submit a request to see the property. A Leasing Agent will contact you via phone and/or email, schedule a show date/time that is convienient for you and your family, and show you the home(s), ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE.
What are you waiting for? You know what you want...go out and get it!
Happy house hunting!