Looking for the perfect place to live off-campus as an OU student? You’ve probably already noticed there are more than a few choices of companies to rent an apartment or house from. There’s no shortage of rental companies in town, all claiming they’ve got the best apartments and the best lease terms. But how can you be sure they’re not just spouting off what you want to hear? Anyone who’s been through the nightmare of signing a lease on a great apartment, only to discover a couple months in that it’s not actually that great, knows that the quality of your landlord is just as important as the quality of your apartment. In fact, the two really do go hand-in-hand.
So, before you fall in love with an apartment and sign on the dotted line, vet the rental company thoroughly. You’re signing a lease for at least a year; you want to make sure it’s one of the best years of your college life, not the worst:
Simple Ways to Suss Out the Best Company to Lease Off-Campus Housing: Looking for the perfect place to rent isn’t the same as looking to buy. There’s no one to tell you what’s true and not true about a listing or to walk around the apartment for you to tell you if there are any red flags to address. That means it’s up to you to do the leg work. Don’t worry; it’s easy, and the benefits of living college life in a super-cool uptown Athens apartment will 100% be worth it:
Check out their track record. Online reviews and local forums will tell you a lot about how past tenants feel about the property manager.
Pay attention to the quality of their website. A solid landlord cares about all aspects of their business; if their website is outdated and rough, you can bet at least a few of their rental properties are, too.
Do they provide a sample lease? They should. Look at that sample lease. Is it easy to read? It should give you a good idea of what it’s like to live in one of that company’s rental units, and it shouldn’t take you an hour to get through.
Quality rental companies will be medium-sized; a property manager with a few dozen properties has the time and resources to pay each tenant and each unit proper attention while still having an array of options for any sort of renter.
Poke around their property listings. There should always be photos, no question.
Pay attention to the finishings in those property photos; you can tell a lot about the quality of an apartment by looking at things like the flooring, bathrooms, kitchen counters, and appliances.
A quality rental company will be easy and pleasant to communicate with, before, during and after your lease. Maintenance and repair policies should be tenant-centered: fast and effective.
Listen to your gut. If you feel like a certain rental business seems sketchy, it’s probably for a reason. Move on.
Kleinpenny Rentals: Transparent Leases, Great Locations, Awesome Amenities
The rental market in Athens is competitive. We see it firsthand all the time – many of our apartments and houses are leased one to two years ahead of time. But it’s not because there’s a housing shortage; it’s because we take care of our properties and our tenants. With a spectrum of options close to OU and uptown, our company leases everything from cool and cozy studio 1-bed apartments, to 3-bedroom rental homes with yards, to massive 8-bedroom houses.
We regularly update our rental properties, providing amenities like laundry, dishwashers, AC, parking space rentals, and more. A quick look at our Property Search will let you see for yourself the care we put into our properties, and a skim of our Sample Lease will give you a sneak peak of how simple it is to choose KPR as your landlord.
Questions? Visit our FAQ page or get in contact. Once you choose your desired apartment and sign the lease, all that’s left to do is schedule move-in day; it’s that easy.