A viewing is short and you will not go back. These are the questions that reveal what the advert does not — worth having on your phone while you stand there.
About the room
- How many people sleep in this room?
- Is this the actual room I would take, or a similar one?
- Does my space have a door, and does it lock?
- Who else holds a key to it?
- Is there an AC vent inside my space, or does the air come over the partition?
- Is there a window?
About the flat
- How many people live in the whole apartment?
- How many share this bathroom?
- Do I have kitchen access, and storage for my own food?
- Who cleans the shared areas, and how often?
About the money
- Is the price all-in, or are bills on top? If on top: what did August cost?
- How much is the deposit, and what can be deducted from it?
- What notice do I have to give?
- Do I get a receipt for every payment?
About the people
- Who runs this building, and what number do I call when something breaks?
Two things to do, not ask
- Photograph the room while you are there. You will view three places and remember none of them accurately by evening.
- Time the walk to the Metro yourself on the way back, rather than trusting the estimate.
What the answers tell you
Any single vague answer is fine — people forget things. A pattern of vagueness, particularly about who runs the building and what happens to the deposit, is the signal. Someone running a property properly answers those two instantly, because they answer them every week.
And do not decide on the doorstep
View two or three, then decide that evening. Pressure to commit on the spot is the oldest technique there is — see how to spot a fake listing.
Then, before paying: what to check before you pay a deposit.