Renting

1. Figure out your housing budget.   Don’t spend more than 1/3 of your take-home pay on rent. Think you might qualify for low income?   Click here for links to local housing assistance information.
   DW Jones http://www.dwjonesmanagement.com/application  
   Mahube/OTWA: http://www.mahube.org/services/family-development-and-housing/    
   Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation https://www.mmcdc.com/
2. What do you need to live in an apartment or home?   Identify your “must haves” from “nice to have”.   Start your search for availability.   Link to Craigslist for Fargo https://fargo.craigslist.org/d/apts-housing-for-rent/search/apa
3. Ask questions- lots of questions!   Talk to the landlord about your security deposit terms, length of the lease and what happens if you break it early, maintenance issues and who is responsible, pet policies and what expectations they have.
4. Be prepared with references, a deposit, and possibly a credit and/or background check or a copy of your pay stubs.