Model Unit vs. Your Actual Unit: How to Compare Them
Published by Apartments Texas · Updated
Model apartments are staged to impress. Here is how to compare the model to the unit you would actually rent, and get differences in writing.
Use the questions below for the exact unit and dates you are considering, and record any point management has not confirmed.
Which features of the model are standard, and which are upgrades?
Ask the agent to walk through the model and say which features come in every unit and which cost extra: appliances, counters, flooring, backsplashes, fixtures, and lighting.
Ask whether the model's furniture, decor, and window treatments are staging that leaves with the staging company, so you picture the room empty rather than furnished.
Can you see the exact unit you would rent?
Ask to walk the specific unit offered to you. If it is still occupied, ask to see a vacancy with the same floor plan, ideally in the same building and on a similar floor.
As you walk it, note what differs from the model: view, floor level, distance to elevators and trash chutes, and how much natural light it gets. Those differences are what you will live with.
Which differences should you write down?
Record the appliance models, counter and flooring types, fixtures, and any wear you see in the actual unit. Photos of both the model and the real unit keep later conversations factual.
List anything the agent says will be repaired, replaced, or cleaned before move-in, with the promised dates, and bring that list to the move-in walkthrough.
How do you get promises into the paperwork?
Ask that agreed repairs, upgrades, or concessions be written into the lease or a signed addendum before you sign. Keep the written agreement with your lease records.
The Texas State Law Library's guide to leases explains what a lease can contain. Read the final documents against your notes before signing.