Whether you’ve just started your college, found a new job, or just want to change your living area a little bit (because you’re working over the Internet as a copywriter, for example), renting a property for a certain amount of time will, in all probability, be your real estate ‘weapon of choice’, so to speak.

Although finding a place to rent doesn’t require as much work and effort as building your own house, this process, too, requires you to do some homework in order to pull off properly.

Just try doing it willy-nilly without any prior preparation and you’ll see exactly what we’re talking about!

Now, in order to make your move as swift and as painless as possible, it’s imperative you figure out what your expectations and needs are before you set off on this journey.

In this article, we’ll give you some tips you can follow to make your moving to a new apartment in a new town a relatively easy and worry-free experience.

Without further ado, here’s the deal folks.

Essential Tips for First-Time Renters

1) Take Into Consideration the Rent Costs

Obviously, the biggest chunk of your moving budget will get chomped by the rent itself.

Whether it’s a series of monthly payments, or a single payment of a larger amount in front, you should always have in mind what sort of money you have at your disposal for this purpose, and how much of it you’d be alright with spending.

If you fail to do this, unexpected costs and weird small-print deposits may creep up with you an hit you like a tonne of bricks out of the blue!

To be on the safe side, come up with your own budget and delegate it carefully when you feel you’v e find the place you’re willing to settle in.

2) Account Long-Term Costs Into Your Financial Plan

This would be going one step further in the direction of financial self-accountability, so to speak.

As you may have already assumed, renting a new place to temporarily call home is not just about paying the rents and calling it a day. There are many more expenses you’ll need to take into consideration in order to form a cohesive and realistic payment plan.

For example, unless you plan to emulate Buddha and live off of prayer and cosmic energy, you’re going to need some food while you’re there. Also, you’ll need to count in the washing machine cleaning chemicals, dishwashing fluids, as well as the electricity and other bills you’ll be paying on a monthly basis.

(Of course, as far as bills are concerned, you may strike a deal with your landlord where he or she takes care of it for you. You’d still have to pay a certain amount of money upfront, of course.)

3) Figure Out What You Actually Need For Your Big Move

When you’re getting to a new place, it can get tempting to take all your favorite items, your clothes when you were 4-year old, your pets, AND the kitchen sink on top of that.

This would not only be impractical, but also represent a proper drain on your finances. If you’re about to live on you own, or with a couple of roommates (meaning you don’t have a family of your own to take care of), chances are – you won’t need any elaborate luggage.

Simply taking what matters to you most will more than suffice or the time being. After all, unless you live in a place like Australia, where the nearest town is thousands of miles away, you can always go back home and take some more of your stuff.

Australia, in particular is well-known for its vast stretches of land (especially in the North), so even if you’re technically only moving to the ‘next town’, the distance you’d be covering can often be measured in hundreds and hundreds of miles!

If you feel the need to move services to help you out with your grand leap, you can always hire some property consultants in Sydney. These folks will know everything there is to know about it.

4) Keep Your Paperwork Tidy

Renting an apartment means doing some paper-signin’ here and there.

While this part of the whole moving process may come across as a simple necessity of no particular importance, it’s actually a fairly important part of the deal that needs your full attention. Often enough, it’s the small print that gets inexperienced tenants in trouble, so ensuring you’ve perused the document in question before you sign it is of utmost importance for the subsequent course of your life as a rent-payer and a tenant.

Also, once you’ve sealed the deal and signed everything, make sure to keep the papers you’ve received somewhere where you can find it later on.

Nothing worse than not being able to remember where you’ve put a crucial document. This will also save you from any potential abuse.

5) Inquire About Pets With Your Landlord

Speaking of smallprint, pets are one of the matters that either make or break a potentially promising rental deal.

If you’re a pet owner, it’s essential you ask your landlord about their pet policy and whether or not it’s acceptable for you to keep pets in your new apartment. Also, should they say ‘yes’, you should further inquire about the neighbours and their stance on pets, especially if it’s some sort of exotic animal you’re planning on bringing abord.



As you can see, moving is not a simple matter in and of itself, but it can be tackled with relative ease if you’re willing to do a bit of homework and invest a little bit of effort. The important thing to remember here is that, to be able to pull off a successful move, you need good organization and planning. As long as you keep everything under control, you’ll have nothing to worry about.