What to Look for When Renting an Apartment in a Two-Family House

Utilities

• Ask the property owner how the utilities are managed. If you are told that each apartment has its own utilities, ask to see each utility meter. Look closely at the electric, gas and water meter. If the apartment is empty, you shouldn't see any movement on the meter unless the property owner has the utilities left on in the apartment and is using the utility. If the utilities are shared, you need to know who controls the heat and how the bills are split.

Parking and Yard Maintenance

• Generally, the lower tenants care for the yard and have access to off-street parking more so than an upper tenant. Find out if you are responsible for yard work, or if the it is split between tenants. If the property has a garage, find out if you have half of the garage or at least a place to park your vehicle off the street. If you must park on the street, check the local ordinances about parking. Some localities don't allow parking on streets during the winter months and some don't allow street parking any time of the year.

Basement and Storage

• Check the basement and/or storage area. Find out if the basement or storage area is shared and how each tenant accesses the area. If the apartment doesn't have a washer and dryer inside, find out from the property owner whether you can hook up these appliances in the basement and who would have access to these appliances if the basement is shared.

Entrances

• Check the entrances to the apartment you will rent. If any entrance is also an entrance for the other tenant, you should ask the property owner who has keys for the entries and if the doors are left unlocked for any reason where anyone could walk in and access your apartment door. If the entrances are separate, this won't be an issue.

Privacy

• Two-family homes with an upstairs and downstairs apartment may have privacy issues. In some homes, the heating vents, thin walls and floors will allow noise to travel between apartments. Ask the property owner about the construction of the walls and floor to address the noise levels between the two apartments. If you can visit the apartment when the other tenants are home, it would help you judge if you will have privacy issues.