David Morey 
The best method of ensuring that you acquire the information you require before making a commitment to lease an apartment is through preparing the apartment tour. Most renters are preoccupied with the aesthetic value of a unit and they fail to consider the importance of direct questions. The right questions are those that will bring out the key information concerning the building, the landlord, and a long term stay. This is particularly necessary in competitive markets where rent and availability are likely to vary rapidly. Preparation helps you focus on your questions, thus being in control, preventing any surprises, and you will make better-informed decisions.
Understanding Your Housing Needs
It is always helpful to consider your own priorities before you make a list of questions. Each renter attaches importance to various factors, and depending on your needs is what you need to enquire during the tour. Other individuals are concerned more about quiet halls or natural lighting; others concern themselves with storage or parking. Cogitating over these preferences gives the bright road map of most important questions to you. It also makes you not forget important details as soon as you get to the premises.
Your long term plans should also be related to your needs. In case you have more than one lease period of the apartment, you might have some questions about the trend of rent hikes or long term maintenance of the building. The knowledge of how a unit will assist you in your future life can help you to think as you make your list. Rent in Calgary or other cities change with the market conditions, prior information will reduce uncertainty.
Assessing Building Condition
The general building condition will give an idea of the level of maintenance in the property. Inquiring about repairs made within the last few months, cleaning schedules of the common areas and how the landlord deals with routine building maintenance can tell how serious the management is with running the building. The property in a good condition will also have their problem solving procedures well defined, and the knowledge of this will also help you in deciding whether the daily living will be easy or not.
Long term building improvements should also be questioned. There are those buildings which are renovated periodically and these projects can interfere with your everyday life. Before making any renovation or repairs, inquire how this would affect your stay. Such questions allow you to know what may be going wrong, and they make you have a feeling of whether the building is being properly maintained or not. The method will make it easier to compare buildings when visiting several locations with comparable amounts of rent.
Evaluating Services and Amenities
There are numerous apartment buildings that have services or amenities that may add up to daily living. Asking the questions concerning the laundry facilities, garbage areas, package delivery process, or parking space will let you know whether the building suits your schedule. These characteristics can significantly impact the convenience, particularly when you expect to use them on a regular basis. Life would be easier knowing these early so that you make assumptions that will frustrate you in the future.
Also, one should inquire how often amenities are washed or repaired. Gyms, lifts and common outdoor areas should be taken care of regularly in order to be safe and functional. In answering this question about these responsibilities, you will get a clear understanding of the standards that are expected of the building and the commitment that is made by the management to maintain the building. This fact comes in handy particularly in the bigger complexes where there are common areas that people share.
Clarifying Lease Terms and Policies
The policies laid down in the lease will tend to affect your daily life. It is better to prepare questions regarding the terms of renewal, ways of paying the rent, and the terms of dealing with the late payments to be sure of knowing the rules. Although such issues may seem simple, posing them during the tour will provide you with an understanding of the way the landlord speaks and responds to the issues. An open discussion of rent also can assist you in predicting the future alterations and spending sensibly.
Your living environment can also be determined based on policies regarding guests, pets, noise, or maintenance requests. Inquiring about such rules provides an idea of the strictness of the building operations and conflict management. By realising these expectations at an early age, you will be able to make decisions about the building based on whether it is suitable to your lifestyle or not and you will not experience misunderstanding once you have moved in.
Learning About the Surrounding Area
The surrounding neighborhood of the apartment is a key factor in determining your level of satisfaction. You can read questions in advance regarding the availability of transit, grocery stores, the proximity of local services, all of this to learn how convenient living will be. Observations On this front, it can be worthwhile to ask the landlord or property manager what tenants tend to love about the neighborhood. These insights can sometimes show some of the concealed benefits of a place that you would not have realized on a brief visit.
It is also useful to inquire about the noise patterns, traffic or construction in the vicinity. These aspects might affect comfort and quality of sleep, and are not always evident when sightseeing at a peaceful hour of the day. By collecting such data first hand, you will have a more accurate understanding of the level of compatibility the area has to your expectations.
Conclusion
It is a good idea to consider the questions to ask during an apartment tour to have some meaningful information to rely on the final decision. By bringing into the tour a clear understanding of your needs, a list of your topics in an orderly manner, you can be sure you do not miss anything of importance. With a mixture of observations and properly selected questions, you are forming a more extensive view of the space, the building, and the landlord. This guidance will allow you to select a home that fits your way of life, finances and long term plans more accurately.
