What questions should you ask on an apartment tour?

Ask 30, grouped into six categories: the money, the lease, the unit, parking and storage, management, and the three questions most leasing agents hope you skip. A tour that produces no uncomfortable answers was not a tour. It was a sales presentation you attended.

I own and manage the two communities this site represents, so publishing this list is not neutral. It is deliberate. If a checklist written by a landlord costs us a lease because a prospect asks a question we answer badly, the checklist worked.

What should you ask about money?

These change the real number you pay, and almost none of them show up in the advertised rent.

1. What is the advertised rent, and what is the rent on the specific unit I would take?
2. What monthly fees are charged on top of rent, and what is each one for?
3. Which utilities are included in those fees, and which do I set up and pay myself?
4. What is the application fee, is it per applicant, and is it refundable?
5. Is there a holding deposit, how much is it, and is it credited toward what I owe at move-in or charged on top of it?
6. How is the security deposit calculated, and does my credit change it?
7. What one-time fees are charged at move-in, such as a cleaning fee or a document preparation fee, and what is the total cash I need on the day I sign, not the day I move in?

Question 7 is the one people forget, and the one-time fees inside it are the ones a leasing office is least likely to volunteer. Ours are a $350 cleaning fee and a $125 document preparation fee, both one-time, both due at move-in, $475 together. Application fee, holding deposit, first month, security deposit, one-time fees, and a pet fee can land in the same two-week window, and a holding deposit that is credited rather than added changes the total by four figures. Work the whole number before you tour, not after you fall for a kitchen. Our own figures are broken out in what move-in actually costs.

What should you ask about the lease?

8. What is the minimum lease term, and what does a shorter term cost?
9. What is the renewal process, and when will I be told my renewal rate?
10. What did you raise renewal rents by last year?
11. What are the penalties if I break the lease early?
12. Is renters insurance required, and what coverage minimums do you enforce?
13. What is the notice period at the end of the term, and does the lease auto-renew if I miss it?

Question 10 is the single most useful question on this page. A community that will not answer it is telling you something. A community that answers it with "it depends on the market" is also telling you something.

What should you ask about the unit itself?

14. Is this the actual unit I would rent, or a model?
15. What type of air conditioning does this unit have: central, or a wall unit?
16. Is the washer and dryer in the unit, and are the machines full-size or compact?
17. What is the square footage of this floor plan?
18. Which direction does the unit face, and what is above and below it?
19. Am I allowed to paint, mount a television, or change fixtures?

Question 15 matters more in Michigan than people expect, and it is a real difference between our own two properties. Question 14 matters because a renovated model is a marketing asset. Ask to stand in the unit you are being asked to sign for.

What should you ask about parking, storage, and laundry?

20. Is parking assigned or unassigned, and how many spaces per unit?
21. Are there garages or carports, and what do they cost?
22. Where does overflow and guest parking go?
23. Is there storage beyond the unit, and what does it cost?

What should you ask about management and maintenance?

24. Who actually manages this property, and are they on site?
25. How do I submit a maintenance request, and what is the response time for an emergency?
26. Who handles snow removal, and when do the lots and walks get cleared?
27. What is the pet policy, including species, fees, and monthly pet rent?
28. Is the community smoke-free, and how is that enforced?

What are the three questions landlords hope you do not ask?

29. What is the current occupancy, and how long has this unit been vacant? A long vacancy is leverage. It is also information about the unit.

30. What is the most common complaint you get from residents here, and what has been done about it? There is always an answer. A leasing agent who says there are no complaints is either new or not being straight with you.

And the one that is really a follow-up to question 9: will you put the renewal terms in writing before I sign the first lease? Most will not. Ask anyway, and note who hesitates.

What do these answers look like at our properties?

Since I am asking you to put landlords on the spot, here are our answers to the hardest ones, in writing, on our own site.

Starting rents at the time of writing were $1,499 for a one-bedroom and $1,699 for a two-bedroom. Check the availability page for current pricing, because advertised rent moves and third-party listing sites do not always match.

What I cannot put in this table is a renewal increase number. We set renewals unit by unit against the market at the time, and publishing a figure I have not verified would break the rule this whole site runs on. Ask me the question on the tour and I will tell you what we did last year.

What should you do after the tour?

Write the answers down during the tour, not after. Memory blends three apartments into one by the second evening. Then read the lease itself, because the lease governs, not the tour. Michigan security deposit handling in particular is set by statute, not by what anyone tells you in a leasing office. See Michigan security deposit law.

If a property will not give you the lease to read before you pay an application fee, that is your answer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most important question to ask on an apartment tour?

Ask for the all-in monthly cost in writing: rent plus every recurring fee. At Z on Plymouth and Z on Coolidge that means rent plus a $99 or $135 utility fee covering gas, heat, water, sewer, and trash, a $26 administrative fee, separately billed electric, and required renters insurance. That is $1,624 and $1,860 all-in at starting rents. Advertised rent alone is not comparable between buildings.

What should you ask about move-in costs?

Ask what is refundable, what is credited, and what is neither. At our communities the $65 application fee per applicant is non-refundable, the $1,000 holding deposit is credited toward total move-in costs rather than added to them, and the security deposit equals one month's rent and is refundable if the unit is returned in original condition. On top of those there is a one-time $350 cleaning fee and a one-time $125 document preparation fee, both due at move-in. Application through move-in comes to $3,663 on a one-bedroom and $4,099 on a two-bedroom at starting rents.

What should you ask about air conditioning on a tour?

Ask whether the unit has central air or wall units, because the two are not the same thing in August. Z on Plymouth has central air conditioning. Z on Coolidge has wall unit air conditioning. That difference is worth asking about at every building you tour, not only at ours.

Can you read the lease before paying an application fee?

You should ask, and you should expect a yes. The lease governs, not anything said on a tour. Michigan security deposit handling in particular is set by statute rather than by leasing office policy. If a property will not show you the lease before you pay, that is your answer.

What should you ask about qualifying before you apply?

Ask the income and credit standards before paying a non-refundable fee. At Z on Plymouth and Z on Coolidge, gross monthly income must be 2.5 to 3 times the monthly rent, and credit is reviewed individually with 625 or above preferred rather than a hard cutoff.

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Want to run this list on us? Schedule a tour at Z on Plymouth or Z on Coolidge.

Last verified: September 2026

Sources: Z on Plymouth · Z on Coolidge · Availability