New Questions For Apartment Rentals
Summer vacation time is here, and there are deals to be had. But as great as the prices may seem, you have to be sure that the rental you get has new policies in place to deal with potential COVID-19 transmission. Whether you're renting a vacation unit, staying in a corporate suite, or renting an actual apartment for your family for a couple of months, you need to know how a complex with potentially several hundred people in it is preventing the spread of this disease, especially if many of the people staying there are short-term residents.
What Disinfection Procedures Are in Place?
How do management and maintenance handle turnover and preparing apartments for the next tenants? Are the apartments cleaned as usual or have new disinfection procedures been put in place? How is upholstery cleaned? While it's become a little clearer that surface transmission isn't nearly as important as droplet transmission for the virus, that doesn't mean that you never have to worry about picking up the virus from a surface. You still want to know that everything has been cleaned.
What's the Laundry Situation Like?
Will you have your own laundry machines in your apartment, or will you have to use a communal laundry facility? If you're staying in a luxury complex, you should be able to get in-unit laundry; if you have the option, take it so that you can do laundry without being exposed to anyone else who might be ill. If you have to use a common laundry room, are there procedures to limit the number of people who are in the room at once? If people can be asymptomatic and infected, and if symptoms take a couple of weeks to show up in people who are not overall asymptomatic, then you need some way to avoid coming into close contact with people.
How Is Maid Service Handled, if Provided?
If the complex offers maid service to people staying in the units for short-term assignments or vacation, then the management should have a policy about when the cleaners can go in and whether you have to be out of your unit at the time to limit contact.
Are There Guest Quarantine Requirements?
This is a big one because you never know how this situation will change. Some states, such as Hawaii, now require people who have just arrived in the state to self-isolate for a couple of weeks before venturing out anywhere. If you're moving to a state with this requirement, does the complex require you to stay somewhere else for those two weeks, or can you isolate in your newly rented unit?
The virus has made a lot of simple procedures become very weird and complex, so asking questions before you go anywhere is essential. You expect great service in a luxury apartment community whether you're there short- or long-term, and that includes having a thorough plan regarding the pandemic and resident health.
For further tips, reach out to a real estate agent that can help you find a luxury apartment community.
