Hey guys maybe someone here can enlighten me. I was walking around yesterday hunting for possible apartments. Most of the calls ended up not getting answered and others scheduled me for a visit on Monday...okay no big deal. Anyways there were two apartments that I was able to see and speak with the owners directly. Both times they asked that I need an aval. I have no idea what that was and neither of them knew how to explain it. One of them talked it over to his wife and then told me if I didn't have an aval they would agree to lease if I paid double the deposit. I'd really like to know more about what an aval is because I'm getting discouraged about the other apartments requiring it as well. Should I just offer to pay twice the deposit like the owner suggested? Any advice for me? Thanks! -Ray
Sure, they are asking if you have a local person to act as a guarantor for any and all obligations you are undertaking on the lease. If you don't have one, you could just offer to pay the whole lease term, in advance. That's even better security for them than your having a guarantor. (I wouldn't agree to a bigger deposit simply because it's easier to get your value out of prepaid rent than it is to get a big deposit back in a reasonable amount of time.) If you do that, you must exercise an extra high level of due diligence to assure yourself you're not going to be dissatisfied with the apt. Walk around it at 11 PM to check noise in the neighborhood- ideally on a Friday/Saturday night. You may discover you're within earshot of a club, or have neighbors who like to party. Don't rent in the immediate vicinity of a school- there'll be too much traffic. Look at the ceilings in the rooms for evidence of leaking; check around windows for the same thing. Check carefully to be sure everything works well: turn on the faucets throughout the apt, including the shower; flush the toilet, etc. Ask to see the last electric bill: verify that it is in tariff class 1-C, and not tariff class DAC (which would make your electricity much more expensive than it should be). Ask to see the last water bill to be sure water consumption isn't running amok for some reason, and that that bill has been paid. Ask to see evidence that condo fees are paid up, and have it sorted out whether you, or the landlord, will be responsible for future condo fees. Any honest landlord will be happy to cooperate. If they're not, keep looking, because having a responsible and honest landlord is one of the best guarantees of happiness. _______________________
Thanks for the advice. I did notice leaks on the ceiling but I'm not overly particular. Besides, I wasn't planning to lease with the first owner anyways. I've got a few apartments I'll see tomorrow and I'll make sure to ask about the tariff class. What I'm more interested in is finding an apartment as close to central as possible. Aiming for a 2 bedroom but I can settle for 1 bedroom/studio. It also didn't occur to me to check the faucets/toilet! Great suggestion, thank you. Now I can be a little more prepared tomorrow.
It may seem like a detail, but I was suggesting that you actually look at the bills/receipts, yourself, rather than take the word of the owner/representative. One thing I failed to mention is that, should you decide you are going to pay in advance, looking at these bills/receipts will help you be assured that you are, in fact, dealing with the owner.
