10 things to keep in mind when shifting houses

1. Property dealers commission: If you are planning to finalize an apartment through a property dealer, make sure to discuss the commission amount in the beginning as they usually charge at least one or two months of rent from you. If you don't want to pay any brokerage fee, there are many startups such as CoHo, Nestaway, Grabhouse that can help you find flats on rent brokerage free.

2. Landlords reputation: It's important to have some basic information about your landlord. He must be willing to share his pan cards details with you as it will be required while claiming tax deduction on the rent paid.

3. Contract: There are certain inclusions that must be a part of your rental agreement to avoid misunderstanding with the landlord. These include start and end day of tenancy, security amount or deposit paid, conditions of termination of agreement, notice period for vacating the house etc. The discussion on increase in the rent must be taken up at the time of signing the agreement. Usually, landlords increase rent after 11 months.

4. Cost of shifting: Before hiring a packers and movers company, ask any of your friends or relatives who recently moved to a new house or have already used the service. This is a way to get a good idea of which company is the best in the market and can offer you better service. If you have limited budget you can always go for the smaller companies with good reviews.

5. Check public transport: Availability of public transport is an important criteria that one should consider while renting a place. It is not possible to hire cabs every time you go out for work. So, if you don't want it to burn a hole in your pocket, keep the public transport option available near your place.

6. Neighbourhood: You can go for the residential areas instead of the commercial ones if you are willing to live in a peaceful surrounding, away from the city hustle. A park in the locality is a plus if you like jogging or exercising in the fresh air or if you like going for evening walks.

7. Local market: Before renting a place make sure there is a local market-place nearby. It will make daily household things easily accessible to you and you don't have to rush to supermarkets every now and then.

8. Water availability: Water supply is a huge problem especially in urban cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai etc. There is no use of renting a good place without proper water supply.

9. Electricity: Electricity cuts can lead to no access to Wi-Fi, air conditioner and what not. So, before renting a place see to it that there is proper power backup system.

10. Immediate neighbours: You should always check on your immediate neighbours before picking a place on rent. If you go to office, you wouldn't want loud music and late night parties disturbing you every other day.