🚀 go-pugleaf

I'm looking to rent a house in the DC suburbs.  What are good things to
look for when I looking at the houses or talking to prospective landlords?

So far, I've thought of checking for appliances I want, what's on the
floors, whether there have been pets or smokers living in the house
recently (allergies), how old the house is, and what the last year's
utility bills have been.

What else do I want to check to get a little closer to knowing that
nothing's going to surprise me later?  

Also, it seems most of the private landlords I'm talking to have houses
available right now, not in two months.  I'm looking to move in at the end
of May, about two months from now; is it too early to be looking in the
newspaper for potential houses?