So you found a great no fee apartment rental. Congratulations! One of the hardest, most stressful parts of moving is over. You now have to pack up all of your worldly belongings and move them safely to their new destination. Before you move all of your stuff into the new place, however, you need to do a walk through with your landlord and document some things that might lose you your security deposit down the line even though they are not your fault.
Check all of the walls. Many tenants who get in a bind and can't be bothered to do things correctly will falsely patch up holes in the wall with white toothpaste instead of spackle. A lousy trick to be sure, but one that fools many landlords. You don't want to be the one who gets stuck with that bill. You should also make sure there are no hastily repaired cracks in the walls. Check near the doors and windows as these are the places that experience the most movement and are therefore likely to crack. Your no fee apartment for rent should not come crumbling down around your ears the minute you move in. Another place to check for cracks is the ceiling.
Don't just look for damage to the walls. Check for places that have dripped paint in a hasty retreat out of the no fee apartment by the previous tenants. You don't want to find they forgot to paint the lilac trim in the bathroom or didn't paint over the avocado green behind the bedroom door and then be stuck trying to fix it.
Check the floors as well. Hardwood floors scratch easily. Make sure you aren't blamed for someone else's desk chair marks or where the coffee table was dragged around. Check in the corners for signs of warping and water damage. Be sure to document all of these with your landlord by taking photographs and making careful, detailed notes.
Your new no fee apartment should be a haven for you. You don't want it to be superficially great only to find out later that the previous tenants didn't leave it in the best condition. It's imperative that you and your landlord do a walk through. Ideally this should be before you sign the lease and get the keys; otherwise you could be held liable for any and all damage done to the property.