Ah, apartment rentals: an experience that will make you sweat, whether it be the first time or the fifth. It’s always exciting to rent an apartment and move to a new place, but it’s also stressful, and comes with a big commitment of time and money.

Today, I want to talk about one big aspect of apartment rentals: whether to rent from an individual person, or from a company. In other words, will your landlord be a human who owns the place, or a corporation that owns or manages the building?

I’ve personally rented from one individual and two companies, plus I helped out my wife Lily when we were in sweet courtship and she rented from a person. So, I’ve seen it both ways a few times.

Having said that, let’s get into it.

Should You Rent an Apartment From a Person or Company?

Getting the Apartment

Apartment Rentals From A Person

I’ll start from the beginning. In my experience, when you rent a place from a person, there’s a lot more flexibility with everything. For example, you can negotiate the apartment rental agreement, including the all-important cost. They have their “list price”, but you can make a lower offer and haggle a bit.

In that sense, your personality, and how the owner sizes you up, will come into play. They may ask you for things like income verification and might check your credit, but there’s more room for you to explain any issues. You might even get away with not having to pay three months’ rent upfront (first month, last month, and security deposit).

On the other hand, if the owner doesn’t like you, you can be turned down for a stupid or unfair reason, and there might not be much you can realistically do about it. And even if that owner dislikes you but is still willing to rent to you, it’s probably a bad idea to take the rental, because you don’t want a bad relationship with your landlord. So, you need a good rapport.

What About If You Rent An Apartment From A Company?

It’s a much more formal and inflexible process. The person who you deal with will work for the company, and will probably have little leeway in negotiating with you. So, the price may be nonnegotiable, as will be the apartment rental agreement (including the required deposits).

You’ll also have to fill out an apartment rental application, and will be required to hand in documents such as proof of income and employment. They may even ask you to list past landlords or other references, and might call them up to get the dirt on you.

In the end, it’s probably going to come down to whether you meet their criteria, or not. If you do, great. If you don’t, then you’re living somewhere else, no matter your charm or explanations. The more desirable the apartment, the stricter the requirements.

But this can be a positive, because it cuts down on the chances you might be refused the apartment rental for a reason that is unfair or doesn’t make sense.

Renter’s Insurance

It’s important to know about this often-forgotten-but-important thing, in that there’s a much better chance a company will demand you get renter’s insurance for the duration of the lease. It’s something you should have either way, but a company will require it, while an individual may not.

Of course, there’s a cost to renter’s insurance. In my experience, the policy I had to buy cost about $170 for a year. So, it’s not chump change.

Which Is Better?

Neither. If you’ve got strong financials and want a quick, standardized process, I’d say go with a company. On the other hand, if your financials are not that great or you have some issues that you need to explain, or if you want to try to charm or negotiate your way to a great deal, go with an individual.

I will say one other thing. Go over the apartment rental agreement carefully, and have a lawyer friend look over it if possible. Landlords will write it in their favor either way, but companies will generally not go too crazy.

With individuals, however, I’ve seen people slip outrageous things in there, along the lines of “if tenant breaks the lease, there will be a $25,000 cash penalty”. That may or may not hold up legally, but you don’t want to find out in court.

Living in the Rental Apartment

If You Rent An Apartment From A Person

Renting from a person can be…unpredictable. At best, you’ll get a straight-shooter landlord who’ll be fair and on top of things. Did the air conditioning suddenly die? They’ll send someone to fix it right away. Do they want to sell the place? They’ll give you a day’s notice before a showing, and be reasonable with the time they’ll have their potential buyers over.

In the middle, you’ll get an average landlord. Did the refrigerator break down? They’ll say “ok, call a repairman and deduct the cost from next month’s rent”. And you get stuck with the hassle of finding and scheduling a good repairman, plus you’ll have to take money out of your pocket.

Or, worse, the landlord will ask you to prove it (like send pictures), and force you to get three written repair quotes. That, of course, can be a real time and energy drain for you. The landlord doesn’t care, ’cause he’s not the one with rotting cannolis in the fridge.

At the low end, you can get a terrible landlord, resulting in a real nightmare. It can be someone who’s crazy, or who just doesn’t give a flying fig.

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I had one of these in college. The heating broke in the middle of winter, in Massachusetts. We reported it to the landlord, but the, uh, “gentleman” took about five days to fix it. My roommate resorted to turning up the oven and opening it for hours at a time (in hindsight, probably not a good idea).

How do you avoid one of these? Nothing’s for certain, but you can try to get a general impression of the person before you sign that apartment rental agreement. Are they diligent, do they answer you calls and e-mails? Do they seem to be well-organized in their lives? You can even ask them for references (past renters) if you feel comfortable with it. And don’t forget to Google them.

On a different track, when it comes to paying rent, individual landlords can be somewhat of a pain, since some are old-school and will make you mail them a check. It’s not that big of an issue, but you have to go through the hassle of writing it out and mailing it several days before it’s due, and hope it doesn’t get lost in the mail.

Also, if the landlord/owner wants to sell the place, there’s a chance they might break the lease and kick you out if they get an enticing offer. They might have to compensate you somehow, but may decide it’s worth it and kick you out anyways.

If You Rent An Apartment From A Company

If it’s a good company in a nice-ish area, it will probably be smooth sailing. They’ll have a regular maintenance and repair crew that will take care of issues that come up, and be proactive with preventative maintenance.

For example, when I rented from a company in Miami, anytime something came up, I would go to their website and report it. Usually, they had a maintenance person at my place within 24 hours (sometimes much less), ready to handle it. I didn’t have to pay anything, and it was all quick and painless. In fact, I personally lived in a building where they had appliances in stock. Our washing machine broke, and they actually replaced it within 3 hours!

Some all-rental buildings also have a staffed leasing office in the lobby, which can be great if you need something handled quickly or have a question. They can also hold those Amazon for you, if you’re not at home when they arrive.

As to rent payment, companies are also generally easier to deal with. The good ones will let you autopay through bank account direct withdrawal, which you can set up on the website. They’ll also let you put in requests for some things, like lease extensions. And, they’ll usually have the apartment rental agreement on file right there, in case you need to look at it.

Also, since they are normally not looking to sell the place, companies are very unlikely to break the lease early. I’ve seen them sell the entire building, but to another rental company who just assumes the leases.

A Word of Caution On Student Apartment Rentals

Based on my experience, corporate landlords are not as good when you rent an apartment as a student (versus as a full-time working adult). That’s not to say they’re bad, but they can be a bit more careless when dealing with student renters. I’m guessing it’s because of the rotating cast of tenants, but I’m speculating here.

All I can say for certain is that the company I rented from as a young adult worker was more diligent and service-focused than the one I rented from as a college student. Of course, as in most things in life, the higher-end the building, the more attentive the landlord will probably be.

Which Is Better?

I’d say a company. As I lived it, they’re simply better-organized and more efficient. Plus, having a permanent maintenance staff can be worth its weight in gold when your HVAC breaks down in the middle of winter or summer and you need it fixed now. It can be the difference between being back in comfort within a day, versus sweating or freezing for a week.

Moving Out of the Rental Apartment

If You Rent An Apartment From A Person

Here, the process can be pretty quick, informal, and painless. If it’s not already set up via the apartment rental agreement, you contact the landlord to square up the exact day you’ll hand in the keys. If you need an extra day or two, they’ll probably be flexible (provided you pay the extra rent), unless they need the place right away.

On move-out day, they’ll come over to inspect the place themselves, or even send a family member or other helper in their stead. Unless they’re really fussy, they’ll likely give you back your full security deposit, so long as any damage is minor (ordinary wear and tear).

If you have a good relationship with them, they might even let you “live out” the deposit, in the sense of you not paying the last month of rent, in lieu of them returning the deposit to you (if you didn’t prepay the last month when starting the lease).

If You Rent An Apartment From A Company

They can be strict, rigid, and inflexible. For instance, it’s less likely they’ll let you change the move-out day. You might also be required to give formal notice of moving out by a certain time window (like 30 days or more), using their specific form, under pain of financial penalties.

And moving out-day. Ha! Talk about a bad day. I had one corporate landlord that forced me to hire a professional carpet cleaner at a cost of hundreds of dollars, regardless of whether the carpet was dirty or not, and provide the receipt. (I didn’t complain because it was in the apartment rental agreement).

Rental companies will also probably be far stricter as to damage and the security deposit. I was charged a few hundred dollars out of my deposit for a carpet problem that was arguably not my fault. (The carpet got stained because the refrigerator ice-maker water line broke, and the water that poured out mixed with some books I had in a closet. That made book ink run off into the carpet. Even though I reported it to the rental company at the time, they still screwed me with the deposit).

I suspect that one big reason they do this is because they know most people won’t put up a big fight over a couple hundred dollars.

Which Is Better?

An individual landlord. As long as it’s a fairly responsible person, moving out will probably be a smoother experience, and you’ll likely get to keep a bigger part of your deposit (if not all of it).

Summing It Up

Like most things in this crazed world of ours, renting from an individual person and renting from a company each have their pros and cons. In general, though:

If You Rent An Apartment From A Person

• You’ll have more leeway to negotiate the price and the details of the apartment rental agreement.
• They’ll be more forgiving of affected credit and other negative issues.
• They might not require that you buy renter’s insurance.
• They’ll be less diligent in fixing problems during the rental period itself.
• You’ll have more flexibility in choosing your move-out date.
• You’ll have a better chance of recovering your full security deposit.

If you’re a risk-taking “people person” who wants to save as much as possible, this may be the best option.

If You Rent An Apartment From A Company

• The price and details of the apartment rental agreement may be nonnegotiable.
• You’ll probably be approved or denied for the lease depending on how you fill out the apartment rental application, as well as your background (including your credit).
• Expect a far more rigid and mechanical application process.
• You’ll probably be required to buy renter’s insurance.
• A good company will be very diligent in fixing problems during the rental period itself.
• Expect a rigid approach during move-out, including more paperwork and less of a chance of getting back your full security deposit.

If you’ve got a rules-focused personality, good finances, and need a reliable landlord, this may be your best bet.

What has been your experience with apartment rentals? What do you think of renting from a person, versus renting from a company?