Tenant Frequently Asked Questions

• Question: What can I expect in terms of cleanliness of the apartment?
  Answer: The Massachusetts law standard is broom clean, an empty fridge, and a clean kitchen. Anything above that we can have arranged.
  
  
• Question: Are you guys really the biggest and best agency on this side of the Charles River?
  Answer: Yes.
  
  
• Question: Where do I send my rent?
  Answer: The landlords name and address are on the front of your lease.
  
  
• Question: How do you qualify me, financially, for an apartment?
  Answer: Your monthly rent cannot be more than 1/3rd of your (combined, if roommates) monthly salary/income.
  
  
• Question: How much do the utilities cost for this apartment?
  Answer: We don’t know the exact numbers. The best way to get hard numbers is to call Nstar. Give them the address of the apartment and they will give you the average highs and lows over the past year for gas and electric utilities.
  
  
• Question: What personal documents do I need to bring to rent an apartment?
  Answer: Apartment Rental Experts will need employment verification (copy of pay stub/welcome-to-the-job letter), and sometimes a driver’s license, passport, or social security card (depending on Landlord).
  
  
• Question: What do we need to do in order to take an apartment off of the market?
  Answer: ADSL. We need a completed Application, a Deposit, and a Signed Lease. These three things will take the apartment off of the market and will initiate the background check and approval processes.
  
  
• Question: What does the background check consist of?
  Answer: Based on the information on the application we will run a credit check, call the former landlord for a landlord reference, and contact your employer for employment verification (however if a paystub/welcome letter is provided we will not need to contact the employer). The landlord reserves the right to contact the personal reference supplied on the application.
  
  
• Question: Can we move in early?
  Answer: Assuming the current occupants vacate the apartment beforehand, it is up to the landlord if you can move in early. Sometimes landlords are okay with it. Sometimes landlords will want to prorate the rent to include the days prior to the lease start-date (if you move in 3 days early some landlords will ask you to pay for those 3 days prorated according to your monthly rent).
  
  
• Question: What is the rental fee?
  Answer: The rental fee is equal to one month’s rent. There are 3 fee options, full fee to tenant, half fee to tenant, and no fee to tenant. Full fee to tenant is self-explanatory, half-fee to tenant means the landlord will split the fee 50-50 with the tenant, and no-fee means the LL covers the fee.
  
  
• Question: Why pay a rental fee?
  Answer: For convenience, security, and access to apartments that you want to rent.