5 Things To Know About Your Home

By Danielle Wirsansky on March 4, 2020

Whoo-hoo! You graduated high school, made it into college, made it through a year of living in the on-campus dorms and your first year of college, and now you are on your own at last and safely ensconced in a home of your own (albeit with a roommate or two). The world is your oyster, and the place you call home, whether it be an apartment or a house, is your pearl.

It is probably your first time really living on your own, with the responsibility of keeping up with and maintaining a home fully on your shoulders. So what do you do with your home (besides live there of course)? What do you need to know about your home?

This might be a bit of a stumper at first. What do you need to know about your home? Well, there might be a lot of things you never thought of or considered that might actually be important to know, especially now that you are on your own. There is no guarantee that your roommates will know these things or that your parents will be available to answer your call every time you have a question. And what if the internet were to go out and there was no access to Google? The horror!

Gird your loins and prepare yourself—this list will prepare you to be prepared about your own home (that is a lot of preparedness). Read on to learn some of the things every college student in their first home on their own should know!

When is Rent Due?

The first thing you need to know about your home is when your rent is due. That is because if you do not pay your rent, you will get kicked out and evicted, and then your home will not be your home at all anymore. Paying rent and paying it on time is paramount.

A lot of pop culture show depictions of hands-on landlords that come around demanding their rent and that are either easily avoided or are somehow convinced into giving the story’s hero a break on the payment.

This is not like real life.

Most of the time, especially in college towns, there is not a hands-on landlord. You live in a complex run by a huge organization, with property managers that come and go so often you cannot remember them and they definitely do not recognize you. There is no one to forgive and forget your rent. It is the real world, you have signed a contract, and if you do not live up to your end of the contract then you are simply out, no discussion.

You need to pay your rent by a very specific time, with very little grace period. Otherwise, you will get slapped with a late fee. After that, they will evict you.

Every complex has its own date for rent. For some, it is the first of the month. For others, it is the end. Others prefer it in the middle of the month. Find out when your complex wants its rent paid and how many grace period days you get before a fee (or after that, an eviction) so that you can stay on top of your payments and keep yourself in your home and off the streets.

How Do You Pay Rent?

Once you know when your rent is due, then you need to figure out how to pay it. Each complex will be different so do find out immediately how your rent will need to be paid. The whole process is usually digitized, with the transactions happening online and without any real person interaction or intermediaries.

There is usually some kind of online portal that you can pay through, either using a card or an electronic check. You will want to check and see if there are any fees associated with paying with a type of debit or credit card though so you do not get slapped with needless fees.

Others may require you to pay with cash, a check, a cashier’s check, or more. These types of payments can be more difficult to lay your hands on, so if you have any issues with the way that you might be required to pay your rent, you will want to know that in advance (and hopefully before you choose to live in a home that requires such an unwieldy method of payment.

Renters Insurance

The next thing to know about your home is if you are required to get renters insurance or not. If you are unsure of what renters insurance is, Investopedia breaks it down for you like this: “Renter’s insurance is property insurance that provides coverage for a policyholder’s belongings, liabilities and possibly living expenses in case of a loss event. Renter’s insurance is available to persons renting or subletting a single-family home, apartment, duplex, condo, studio, loft or townhome. The policy protects against losses to the tenant’s personal property within the rented property.”

Some complexes require you to purchase renters insurance and to provide proof of that in order to move into the complex. And if they do, they might require it to cover a certain amount of damages.

You will want to know this in advance so that you can budget accordingly for your renters insurance and know that you will be able to afford it. You also want to make sure you are getting the right policy so that you do not end up paying for a renters insurance that does not satisfy your complex’s requirements.

Even if your complex or landlord does not require you to purchase renter’s insurance, you may still want to consider purchasing your own. A landlord will have their property insured and protected. But anything that belongs to you like your clothing, your electronics, your furniture and more, will be unprotected without renters insurance. So if someone breaks into your home and steals your belongings, or if the water heater explodes and floods your home and ruins your stuff, or if there is a fire and you lose all of your belongings, you will not be protected or compensated unless you have insurance. So while renters insurance is an added expense for an already stretched thin pocked of a college student, you may want to seriously consider getting some, whether or not it is required of you.

Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels

Maintenance Requests

Another important thing to know about your home is how to request maintenance service. Most college students do not own their own homes, they just rent. One of the lucky perks of renting a place is that usually, you are not required to repair or even find repairmen to make any repairs for you. But if you do need a repair made, how do you request it?

Is there a number that you have to call? Do you need to send someone an email? Do you need to go down to the main office and speak to your property manager? Do you log into your complex’s portal and make a request? Know what initial step you might need to take to get the issue taken care of.

Then, know what the request requires of you. Do you need to describe the issue in detail? Do you need to provide photo evidence of the issue?

Learn how long it might take for a request to go in and for a repair to come on out and actually happen. Will you get immediate service? Or is your complex a little slow on the draw with those kinds of things? Are repairs first come first serve based on reported issues, or do they rank issues by severity and order services in that way? How long should you wait before you check in with your property manager about the maintenance request again? Talk to your property manager in advance and get a feel for how the complex runs things so you know better than to wait until the last minute or to jump the gun and pull the trigger too soon on a request.

Then know if you have to schedule a time or appointment for a service person to come by your home to solve your request. Do you need to be home for the appointment or do they come in on their own? Does the property manager stay with them while they do the repair? Or are they all alone with your belongings? How much of a heads up will you get about the service appointment too? These are all important questions to ask in advance so that you can manage your calendar best.

The last thing you need to find out about maintenance requests is what exactly they cover. Sometimes, students new to being on their own might abuse the privilege of having someone come over to do maintenance requests for them. You should not submit a maintenance request to have someone clean something for you. If it is something you can fix yourself, you should probably just do it. Some things, you may not know how to fix and that is okay. If your toilet is leaking or your heat will not come on and it is winter, then, of course, you should ask for help. Just make sure what you need help with is an appropriate request.

Photo by Christa Grover from Pexels

How to Unclog A Toilet

A clogged toilet is one of the biggest issues a tenant can face in a rental situation. Sometimes, you can make it work if your home has more than one toilet in it. But if your home does not, you are going to want to fix the problem ASAP.

A lot of the time, even with a maintenance request, you are not going to get immediate service. Some clogs you may not be able to fix, but you should at least give it your best shot before leaving yourself to suffer or making a maintenance request.

Start by avoiding making the toilet overflow. If you flush and the water does not go down, this does not mean that you should flush again. In fact, you should definitely not flush again. If you can identify it (and are willing to stick your arm in the water) (PS—remember the water in the tank is generally clean), open the tank and close the flapper so that the bowl cannot fill with more water.

Next, get yourself ready. Make sure you are wearing clothes (and shoes especially) that you will not be devasted over if they are touched by dirty toilet water in case the toilet overflows. You also want to prepare towels and have them ready in case the water boils over. If you are really nervous about it, you can lay the towels out before it overflows just to help minimize the water damage and flooding if you really think the overflow is inevitable. If you have got them, also get your waterproof or rubber gloves ready because you may need to touch some unsanitary things.

Then get ready to reach in and try to remove the obstruction. If you can see the obstruction, just reach in and grab it. If not, it is time for the plunger. You will insert the base of the plunger into the bowl, submerging it in the water. Be sure to completely cover the hole so it suctions properly and can suck out the obstruction for you. Then start to pump the plunger over the opening, repeatedly. It will probably take several times for it to clear. You should be able to hear or see a difference, with the water draining back out of the bowl. If you are successful, flush the toilet to make sure that all truly is well and good.

There are so many things to make sure you know about your home that it might even be a little overwhelming, but it is easier to dive right in rather than wait until it is too late. You might not be able to remember all of the items listed, but a vague awareness is also better than nothing. Just do your best and remember that you can always reference this handy list of things to know about your home.

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