Have you been looking for a rental property, but you cannot for the life of you seem to find something you both love, and can afford? When looking for rentals there are some key points you are going to want to look for! The first step is to simply know what you are looking for in a rental. Make a priority list, starting with how many bedrooms, bathrooms, back yard or no back yard, and fireplace. Will you need a community for family time that has a pool, or a club house! More than just writing a list down, I suggest you prioritizes it with your MUST HAVES and WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE. Sit down and really think about those two options. After you have made a list of all of your needs, you will want to set a budget. Not just what you can afford to get by, but renting a home that will let you have some extra cushion to fall back on! Most sources recommend that your rent is only about 30% of your monthly income after taxes are out. For example, if you get $3000 a month your rent should only be around $900 a month. While most people recommend that, what you set your budget to be, is truly up to you. After you have set your monthly budget, you will want to start searching on the right sites to avoid scams, like Hotpads, Zillow, and Trulia. All of these sites have very good search engines that allow you automatically put in your rent, room, and bathrooms, and location, this will take you to all the listings that fit your needs.  Once you have typed in all your information, you will want to recognize good listing vs bad listings. Solid listings will show you all the information like rental price, amenities, multiple pictures, the address, and the landlord’s contact information. The more extensive the listing is the easier it will be to find. Ultimately the quality of the listing is a direct reflection of the landlord or property manager. The more effort they take to list the property, the more effort they will put into the home while you as the tenant are living in the home. A high quality listing will outline the entire rental process. It will tell you if there are a rental application, application fee, background check, and all the deposits you will need for the home. Once you have found a rental home that fits your needs, you will want to reach out to the landlord. This is when you will really be able to tell if who you are working with is who you will want to rent from for a year. How to determine will be, how long they take to write back, how well she answers your questions, what the rental app requires, and how he or she manages the property. After you have reached out to the landlord, you will want to schedule an appointment to see the home. Make sure they are not rushing you through it, you will want to take you time and really make sure everything is how it looks in the pictures, and make sure you are asking questions as you go through the home so you are not blind sided with anything at the end of this process. Take your time and be patient, the perfect home will come along, don’t just settle for less than you truly love!

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