Renting a Home:
Deciding to Rent
What Do You Want?
After calculating how much you can afford in rent, think about what you want in an apartment. Decide which things are essential, which are nice to have and what items are not acceptable.
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| Rental Wish List |
Involve everyone who will live in the apartment and make a wish list of features. You can have each person fill out a copy of the Rental Wish List Work Sheet. After completing the wish lists, compare them to see which things you all agree are most important and on which items you can compromise. Also make a note of things you definitely do not want.
When you start, you may be undecided about how important some items are as you go through the wish list. Try using an ABCD priority system that can help you see the relative importance of various features. It can help you make compromises later on. Items you list as “A” would be must haves. Items rated “B” are things that would make an apartment more desirable than another in the same price range but are not essential. Some of these items could make the final list based on various compromises. Items with a “C” rating are things that might be considered frills. These items may only be available in rental units that are beyond your price range. Unacceptable items are given a “D” rating and would make renting a unit difficult or impossible to accept. For items or topics that do not apply, simply place “not applicable” in the rating block. This will show that you have considered the item and did not overlook it.
Because this is a wish list, you can always change your mind later and move items from one priority to another. Once you have worked out your priorities, you are ready to begin shopping for a place to rent.
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