Tens of thousands of Arizona college students will be
moving into off-campus housing and home rentals this month and signing lots of
paperwork. For those renting a place, perhaps for the first time, there should
be some serious considerations before you sign your lease.
Once you find that perfect apartment or rental house, you
will need to sign a formal, legal agreement. The lease protects you and the
owner/manager of the property. Most leases spell out specific responsibilities
of managers and tenants. It’s worth the time to review this lease in full so
you understand what utilities you are responsible for, parking issues, rules of
the community, and fees and rent rates.
If you are planning to move in with roommates, there’s
due diligence you can do at the front end to save you headaches later. Sharing
costs can help when making payments for first and last month’s rent, security
deposits, and opening utility accounts. Determine who will have their names
(and their credit) on the lease and utility bills or insurance.
Consult with a parent or real-estate expert before you
sign a joint lease. When you and your roommates sign a joint lease, you all
assume liability for damages, late fees, etc. If one of your roommates fails to
pay rent on time, everyone on the joint lease is responsible and your credit
can be impacted.
Some owners/management companies will do individual
leases but these are not as common. Under these leases, you would only be
responsible for your share of the apartment and damage/ costs that you incur.
Consider drawing up a roommate agreement at the start of
your lease to outline expectations and responsibilities for costs and behavior
for your new home. You can find sample roommate agreements online.