First Time Renting? What to Know

Overflowing toilets, gorgonlike roommates, landlords from you-know-where: To many people, they're an inescapable part of the rental experience. But that doesn't have to be the case.

Every year, millions of young Americans leave the loving embrace of their parents' home or student housing for an apartment of their own, and it takes only a little education to keep this rite of passage from turning into a hazing.

Here are 10 things that experts say you should know (and that experienced renters say they learned the hard way).

· Location Matters. Visit potential neighborhoods a few times, at different times of day, before settling down.

"It might look fine on a Wednesday afternoon, but factors like noise, parking and security can change at night or on weekends," said Peggy Luers, coordinator of off-campus housing services at California State University at Sacramento.

Luers's office, and others like it at universities around the country, are great places for first-time renters to find legal information, advice, even apartment listings. These offices also have insider information you won't get from friends or family -- for example, that neighborhoods near college campuses might not be the best places to rent.

· The landlord is not your buddy. Your landlord might be perfectly nice, but your relationship is about business, not friendship.

"First-time renters tend to be somewhat naive," Boysen said. "You need a dose of cynicism."

That means checking into your potential landlord's reputation before you sign a lease. You can do that online through Web sites such as http://www.apartmentratings.com.

Even if the landlord passes this test, Boysen cautions that you still shouldn't let your guard down. Get everything in writing, even something as simple as an assurance of when a problem will be fixed, and keep copies of all documentation and correspondence between you and the landlord.

· Don't skim the lease."First-time renters often forget that this is a binding legal document," Luers said, "while longtime renters might assume they're all the same, and they aren't."

If you have questions about something in your lease, make sure you get a good answer. If repairs are needed before you move in, have that written into the contract. And never let anyone pressure you into signing with just a once-over.