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I've been browsing local boards for apartment ads including studios and 1 bedrooms in duplexes, triplexes, etc. I emailed a potential landlord a bunch of questions and one of them was about a beware of dog sign on their neighbor's fence. I kid you not, I asked them what kind of breed the neighbor has because I used to pet sit and love dogs! If it was a German Shepherd, I'd sign the lease tomorrow
After I sent those questions, it got me thinking. You can really learn a lot about a neighborhood by asking the right questions and you don't even have to expose your privacy by giving out your number. Have any questions in mind that can be asked besides the standard ones like is heat included, where's the nearest grocery store, is their public transit nearby, parking, etc.?
I did notice that most advertisers ask you to call with your questions because hmmm, I guess either they're too lazy to reply by email or think people waste their time. But the way I see it is that if a landlord impresses me by answering my emails, then I'm more likely to rent from them. Why do you think many landlords give a number in the ad for potential renters to call, or reply to emails saying please call, instead of answering the questions by email? I think that the way a landlord replies to an email tells you a lot about that person.
For example, I emailed this one landlord a brief intro about myself and included 7 questions. Amazingly she answered them all and even ended her message with, if you have further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
Wow, great first impression.
That is a great start and I hope the landlord continues that kind of courtesy to you throughout a lease should you choose to stay there. I can't tell you how many horror stories there are of landlords that do a 180 to the tenants once they are in. In fact some of the stories I read were right here on these forums. Good luck
Oh and yes I too looked on Google streetview to get a sense of what the area around my apartment looks like during the daylight Very helpful in seeing that
I use google streetview all the time, for all sorts of things, so yes, if I was looking to rent or to buy I would absolutely use it. A lot.
As a LL, I would appreciate a tenant who has done research ahead of time, because they do ask more intelligent questions. Gotta love the ones that say "is this a single level house, when the picture clearly shows an upstairs" or "are there any amenities" when the description clearly says there is a pool. Intelligent questions make a LL happy. (Note, I am not a Landlord, but I do work in a property management office)
Just so you know, we do prefer people call with questions about the rentals. There are two valid reasons for this. The first is that my boss, the actual LL doesn't do email. I do, and I pass messages on to him, but if you email me, I have to get the answers from him, and then get back to you, and then if you have more questions, I have to again get the answers from him and then get back to you. It is much easier to just call him directly.
The second reason is that we do most of our advertising on Craigslist, and most emails that come from Craigslist ads are scams. So by saying "Please call", we can then assume that most of the emails will be scams, and just watch for the very few that are not.
Actually, a third reason is that our office isn't open on weekends, so if you email after hours, you won't get a response until Monday, whereas if you call you are likely to get an answer right away.
Ya, street view is a great screening tool for apartment or house hunting. You can a pretty good feel for a neighborhood using it; the only thing is that it's a pain in the neck to move down a road with it and wait for it to load. It would be pretty sweet if you could preload a selected stretch of road and smoothly move from one end to the other.
As for the phone/email thing, sometimes it's just easier to answer questions on the phone, so that would be fine for me.
I use google streetview for househunting and encourage non-locals to use it to see the neighborhood our rental is in.
Phone/email? The advantage of the phone is that you can get the whole conversation taken care of sooner. I like email because there is a written record to look back at. I know what I've told whom, and what they've told me.
I'm in Canada, and I'm not sure how often Google street view is updated. If I google the address of our new house, Google street view shows the house as it was before we renovated it.
It is an excellent tool to get a feeling of a neighbourhood, though.
I use street Google all the time, to look at neighborhoods where I want to rent/but a house. I usually scan the whole neighborhood several blocks around the house.
Yes I do, but I realize that it's just a snapshot and doesn't necessarily reflect current conditions. I always make sure to go out and touch the property before making any decisions.
I use google streetview for househunting and encourage non-locals to use it to see the neighborhood our rental is in.
Phone/email? The advantage of the phone is that you can get the whole conversation taken care of sooner. I like email because there is a written record to look back at. I know what I've told whom, and what they've told me.
I agree with all of this. I will add that if a tenant and I do talk on the phone, I usually follow it up with an email that starts with 'per our phone call of <date time>..
I am very much on the tenant's side (well, until they give me a reason not to). I prefer email so they are very clear what my position is.
I have never had a misunderstanding. I think this is best for all.
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