9 Things to Look for During an Apartment Walkthrough

By Alyssa Laffitte on July 17, 2017

Before moving into an apartment, many places require you to do an apartment walkthrough. During a walkthrough, you note any damages your future apartment has so that those damages can be deducted from your security deposit. It is usually done with the landlord present to allow both the renter and the landlord to agree on the “damages.”

Clearly, this is a process that should not be taken lightly. Here is a list of things you should pay special attention to while you are doing your apartment walkthrough.

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Carbon monoxide and smoke detectors

These detectors could potentially save your life. It’s extremely important to make sure the apartment has them both and that they are working properly.

Cell phone signal

Imagine moving to a new apartment, only to find that your phone doesn’t get a signal there. How annoying! To avoid this issue, just take out your phone while you are in the apartment and see if it works.

Electrical outlets

It’s a good idea to check all the electrical outlets in the apartment to see if they work. You can easily do this by bringing your phone charger and plugging it into each outlet. If an outlet doesn’t work, make a note of it and have an electrician come and fix it.

Doors and windows

Before moving in anywhere, it’s important to make sure the doors and windows open and close smoothly (especially sliding glass doors! Those are the biggest pain when they don’t work correctly). Make sure the doorknobs aren’t wobbly and that the locks work. Also, make sure the bedroom window opens so that you can escape through it if there is a fire.

Heating and air conditioning

Living without a heater or air conditioner is not fun. Test out your apartment’s heating and cooling system to make sure it’s working. Make sure nothing is leaking, moldy/mildewy, or smelling bad.

Plumbing

Make sure the plumbing works! Go through the kitchen and through all the bathrooms. Turn on each faucet and turn it off. When it’s off, make sure it doesn’t drip or leak! Flush every toilet to make sure it doesn’t back up. Again, make sure nothing is leaking or smelling bad.

Water damage

Take a look at your ceilings, walls, and floors to make sure there is no water damage. Water damage indicates that something is leaking somewhere, so before you start fixing the aesthetic part of the water damage, make sure you take care of the underlying cause of the damage, too.

Cracks

A teeny tiny, minor crack is not a big deal. But if you can slide a quarter through the crack, you should look into getting it fixed. In some cases, cracks are a sign of bad structural integrity. For that reason, you should take major cracks very seriously.

Kitchen appliances

Similarly, turn on all the kitchen appliances to make sure they are working. Check the stove top burners, the oven, the microwave, the fridge, and the freezer.

Washer and dryer

Do you have your own washer and dryer in your unit? If so, check to see if they work. If you don’t, find out where you can get your laundry done.

To read more about things to look for during your apartment walkthrough, check out this post on Allstate’s blog.

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