Questions to Ask Landlord During Tour
Twenty questions to ask while you are standing in the place, about water, heat, noise, neighbors, repairs and turnover. These are the things that are hard to find out once you have signed, and easy to check while somebody is showing you around.
The questions
Open any question for the note
Can I run the shower and the kitchen faucet at the same time?
Why ask it
Water pressure and how fast hot water recovers are among the most common daily complaints and among the hardest things to assess after you have moved in. Do it rather than ask about it, and flush the toilet while the shower runs.
How is this place heated and cooled, and can I see a bill from last winter?
Why ask it
An actual bill settles in ten seconds what a claim about efficiency cannot. A landlord who has one to hand is used to the question, and one who refuses is usually protecting a number you would not like.
How old are the furnace, the water heater and the air conditioning?
Why ask it
Age predicts both breakdowns and how long you spend without heat or hot water while something is replaced. Ask when each was last serviced, since a well-maintained older unit is often better than a neglected newer one.
Which windows open, and are any painted shut or broken?
Why ask it
Open a few yourself rather than taking the answer on trust. Windows that do not open affect summer temperatures, cooking smells and, in some buildings, whether the place meets basic habitability rules.
Who lives above and below, and what are their hours?
Why ask it
Most landlords answer this honestly because they would rather not place a tenant who will complain. Hard floors above, a dog, a night shift or a toddler each change what living here is actually like.
Can we stop talking for a minute and just listen?
Why ask it
The most useful thing you can do on a tour and the one almost nobody does. Sixty seconds of silence reveals traffic, trains, a compressor outside the bedroom window and footsteps overhead, all of which a running conversation hides.
How is the phone signal in here?
Why ask it
Check it yourself in each room, including the bedroom and the bathroom, since interior units and older buildings can be effectively unusable. This is one of the few problems with no realistic fix after you move in.
Which internet providers actually serve this unit?
Why ask it
Buildings are frequently wired for only one company, and some have an exclusive arrangement. Take the exact address and confirm on the provider's own site before you sign, because a leasing office's answer here is often out of date.
Where is laundry, how many machines are there, and what does a load cost?
Why ask it
Ask for the machine count against the number of units, which is what determines whether Saturday laundry is possible. If it is in-unit, run the machines briefly and check whether the dryer is actually vented outside.
Where would I park, is the space assigned, and what is street parking like overnight?
Why ask it
Assigned and available are different things, and permit rules, snow rules and street cleaning can make a free space a monthly cost in tickets. Ask what the guests do, since that answer is usually more honest.
Has there been any pest treatment in this unit or the building in the past year?
Why ask it
You want the specifics rather than a denial: what, where, when and by whom. A landlord with a scheduled preventive contract is a better sign than one who says there has never been an issue in a large building.
Has there been any water damage here or in the unit above?
Why ask it
Ask them to point out anything that has been repaired, then look at ceiling corners, the area under any bathroom above, and the base of exterior walls. Fresh paint in one patch of ceiling is worth a direct question.
What needed fixing in this unit last year, and who did the work?
Why ask it
This gets you a concrete repair history and tells you whether they use a professional, a handyman or their cousin. A landlord who cannot recall anything at all either has not owned it long or does not track requests.
How long did the last tenant live here, and why did they leave?
Why ask it
Turnover is one of the best available proxies for how a building is managed. Several short tenancies in a row is a question to keep pulling on, and a five year tenant who left to buy a house is reassuring.
How many units in the building are empty right now?
Why ask it
High vacancy in a desirable area usually signals a management or maintenance problem, and it also tells you how much room you have to negotiate. Ask how long the empty ones have been sitting.
Where does the trash go, and how often is it collected?
Why ask it
Go and look at the area before you leave, since it is the one part of a building nobody stages. An overflowing bin room on a tour day is a reliable indicator of both management attention and pest risk.
How do packages get delivered, and have there been thefts?
Why ask it
Whether there is a locker, a doorman, a mailroom or a lobby floor determines a small daily annoyance and an occasional real loss. Ask what tenants currently do rather than what the policy is.
What are you planning to renovate or replace in the next year?
Why ask it
Landlords know their plans, and a roof replacement, a repiping or a unit gutted next door is months of noise and access. It also hints at whether a rent increase is being prepared.
Is the building for sale, or has it recently changed hands?
Why ask it
New ownership commonly brings raised rents, non-renewals or renovation programs. A sale in progress is worth knowing before you commit to a year, and the answer is easy to verify in public property records.
Is there anything about this place you would want to know if you were moving in?
Why ask it
A blunt closing question that many landlords answer honestly, often about the parking, a noisy neighbor or the summer heat. A long pause followed by nothing is itself worth noting.
Touring a Rental Properly
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Things to do, not ask
Run the water and flush
Shower and faucet together, then flush the toilet, and time how long hot water takes to arrive. Thirty seconds of testing beats any answer you will be given.
Test outlets and check the panel
Carry a phone charger and try the outlets you would actually use, especially in older buildings. Look at the electrical panel for its age and whether circuits are labeled.
Look under every sink
Open the cabinet doors and check for staining, buckled wood, a bucket or the smell of damp. Slow leaks live there and they are the beginning of larger problems.
Check the locks and ask when they were last changed
Look at the deadbolt, the strike plate and whether any window on the ground floor latches. Ask whether locks are rekeyed between tenants, which is a reasonable expectation.
Go back at night
Drive or walk past around eight in the evening and again on a weekend. Parking, noise and the feel of the street are entirely different from a Tuesday at eleven in the morning.
What to bring with you
- Your phone, for photographs, for the flashlight, and to test signal in every room
- A phone charger, which is the fastest outlet tester you own
- A tape measure, since a couch or a washer that does not fit is an expensive discovery
- Your written question list, because tours move quickly and the practical questions are the ones that get forgotten
- The exact unit number and address, so you can check internet availability and property records afterward
- A note of what your current place costs to heat, which gives you something to compare a bill against
How tours mislead people
Being shown a model rather than the unit
In larger buildings the apartment you tour may not be the one you get. Ask to see the actual unit, and if it is occupied, ask to see it before signing rather than after.
Deciding on the finishes
New countertops are visible and cheap to install, while a failing furnace, thin walls and bad water pressure are invisible and expensive. Weigh what you cannot change over what you can.
Touring only in daylight and good weather
Heat, cold, noise and parking are all seasonal or time-dependent. If you can only see it once, ask specifically what it is like in the opposite conditions.
Handing over money at the tour
Application fees are common, but a deposit to hold a place before you have read the lease is not something to pay on the spot. Take the document away, read it, then pay by a traceable method.
Letting the conversation crowd out the walkthrough
A friendly landlord talking the whole time is how people leave without having opened a single window. Say plainly that you would like a few minutes to look around on your own.