If you are looking to rent a home, you need to be very careful: it is not enough for the rent to match your wallet, and to like the living room layout – you should also look at who you are renting from! Life is good with the right owner, but you could easily make the wrong choice, and find yourself in a nightmare. To avoid such situations, we will tell you why we do not recommend renting an apartment from an individual!
There are lots of great rental opportunities in Budapest, which is good news if you are looking for a new home, because there is a great variety. But you should be cautious before plunging into an unknown world. We can basically divide the market into two large groups: some apartments, real estate, and offices are offered for rent by individuals; others are offered by companies. If you want security, transparent conditions, professional maintenance and quality furniture, in our opinion having a contract with a company like Flatco is better for you.
Finance and paperwork
It is a common experience in too many private homes on the market, that the owner does not wish to record his tenancy agreement in writing. This, on one hand is illegal and on the other hand exposes you as a tenant to a great deal of abuse, property damage and frustration. Never rent an apartment from someone who doesn’t want to sign a contract with you, or if they urge you to sign it without reading it carefully first! Also be suspicious if you do not get a clear answer as to when and how you will be notified about your monthly utility cost or what are the exact terms of the deposit.
Service, termination
Believe us, you’ll find out whose apartment you moved into quick enough, at the first moment when something goes wrong: some household appliance breaks down, there’s wetness in the walls or the shutters fall off. Many have already experienced first-hand what it means to have a landlord who is late or gives you the responsibility of contacting and arranging for a mechanic – in extreme cases, they make you pay the service fee, or even blame you for everything.
Last, but not least, we should write down a few thoughts about eviction. If you do not have a contract or if you accidentally damage the apartment, and you rent it from an individual, you can face humiliating eviction with an unenforceable deadline, during which you may lose your deposit. Or better yet, they can just tell you one sunny day that a close relative has suddenly decided to move in and needs your apartment right away – Whatever the story is, it has one end: you’re stuck with little to no time to find a new apartment and are forced to settle for the first thing you can find.
To prevent this from happening to you…
If you are looking for an apartment or office for long term and you don’t want any unpleasant surprises, forget about private ads and middlemen – Flatco is your professional partner! There is no unlawful eviction, illegal business, delay or unjust prosecution.
We rent our own apartments, our contract is free of hidden lower case letters, our own maintenance team will fix any malfunctions in the shortest possible time, and our helpful staff at our office will cover all your wishes. Sounds good? Not to mention that from time to time, we’re arranging super cool games for our tenants where they get to win cool gifts & gadgets, and giving our Flatcommunity members a chance to make new friends in their area, to help make them feel right at home!