When everything goes right, renting your first apartment can be a great experience. Whether you are a college student moving out of your parents for the first time, or you finally have saved up enough to move out from your friends house, having a place that you can call you own for the first time is a truly unique experience.

Unfortunately, not everything is smooth sailing for first time renters. Instead, there are likely to be a lot of roadblocks that get in your path as you try to move into your new apartment. To help you make the path as easy as possible, here are some tips every first time renter should know.

Start Your Search Early

Remember back when you got your drivers permit, or even when you started applying for colleges? With big, life-changing events like this, it’s likely that you will start the process for these things very early. Looking for your first apartment should be no different. The earlier that you start looking for a place, the more time you will have to make sure you get the apartment you’ve always wanted. However, if you leave it till the last minute and plan a move just days before you have to get the keys, then your options will be much more limited. As with most things, the early bird gets the worm, or apartment in this case.

Get Everything In Writing

You might meet a landlord who is very nice and accommodating, or work with an apartment leasing company that promises you the world. However, it’s important that first time renters understand that they should get all of their promises and agreements in writing. It’s an unfortunate situation when a tenant agrees to terms, but fails to get it in writing, and then they are held accountable for the issue.

To make sure that this doesn’t happen, everyone can help to avoid problems by simply making sure everything is in writing. If the landlord doesn’t agree to having you put things in writing, chances are you’ll do yourself a favor by avoiding them in the long run. Understand that you can walk away, which you should do until you find the perfect apartment that you want to live in.

Plan For Unexpected Expenses

If you’ve never heard of the term, “house poor,” it’s not something that you want to become associated with. But if you don’t plan accordingly for your financial standing before renting an apartment, then you’ll most certainly end up finding out what house poor means first hand. That is why you’ll need to account for your rent, utilities, electric, and other bills, as well as unexpected expenses. While you may not prepare for a leaky pipe or broken window, these things can commonly happen. But to make sure that they don’t put you behind financially, then you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of financial savings prepared for emergencies.

You are going to really love moving into your new apartment. But to make sure that it’s a place that you can truly come to enjoy, then remember these tips if you are a first time renter.