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I hope to sign a lease tomorrow for a duplex that will most likely stay in for a while. Are there certain things one should look out for on a lease or request to have added?

free rent clause

Definitely look for any provisions that might make you responsible for repair or maintenance. Some rental properties sneak that in.

There could be a clause requiring you to do yard maintenance. I'd argue against that.

And eyeball the clause on conditions that would cause you to forfeit your deposit. These tend to be standard, but look to see if anything stands out.

I would highly doubt this would be applicable in your situation, but in college, they used to charge us all the time for repairs, and we'd come back the next year and the exact same damage was done (i.e. an iron burn in the carpet).

Also, avoiding pet surcharges?

I'd get permission in advance to be able to hang paintings/put holes in the wall (or at least check what the lease has to say about this). They might require you to fill those holes when you leave, though.

clement wrote:I'd get permission in advance to be able to hang paintings/put holes in the wall (or at least check what the lease has to say about this). They might require you to fill those holes when you leave, though.

I thought that fell under the category of "usual wear and tear" or whatever they call it.

G. Keenan wrote:

clement wrote:I'd get permission in advance to be able to hang paintings/put holes in the wall (or at least check what the lease has to say about this). They might require you to fill those holes when you leave, though.

I thought that fell under the category of "usual wear and tear" or whatever they call it.

That might vary from state to state. I know it does from country to country. I had to fill in the holes in my overseas apartments. I imagine if there is a clause in the lease saying that you cannot put holes in the walls, then that will go outside of usual wear and tear. Plus I collect a lot of art (cheap stuff though) and so my walls are not of the sparse variety. Maybe a few holes is considered usual, but if it's a dozen or more holes in one room, that might be a problem to some landlords.