Cardinal Rule for the Renter: Don't Be Anxious!

You need a place, I need a sale. Between the two of us, we are both anxious. However, we shouldn't be, because when we act in this way, one of us might do or say something that might cause us to miss out on what we both want.

I think of all of the new residents who were eager to get a place when they walked in my office some years back, and I recall how later they were disappointed after moving in. Their disappointment may have been due to a lack of funds, the apartment location, a nosey neighbor, something overlooked in the contract, and other things that caused that once smiling face to turn upside down.

No one is to blame. Feelings take over and you just want that coveted place now. Sometimes desperation exuding from a apartment shopper would make me second guess whether he or she would be a good resident. Other times, I was the one guilty of moving too fast with the interview to close the sale.

A few words of caution: take the time to go over that vacant apartment with a fine tooth comb, so to speak. Read and re-read the contract. Bring a second set of eyes with you when you look for an apartment. Most of all, sleep on it. If it's meant to be, it will be there the next day.

Nicholl McGuire