The Top Things To Look For When Apartment Searching
I think that just about everyone knows that searching for an apartment can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! Here is a list of a few things to look for when you are apartment searching.
Location
The location of your apartment is one of the most crucial things to look at when you are searching for a place to live. Living in a crappy area can really make or break your living experience, so it is very important to research! Perhaps you are moving for work or school, you want to make sure that you are close by or even within a walking distance. You don’t want to find your perfect apartment, but then soon learn that it is forty minutes away from school or work. You want to be able to make sure that your location is reasonable and convenient for you, otherwise why would you want to live there?
Another important part of location is what is surrounding your location. You don’t want to be living in an apartment that is thirty minutes from the nearest coffee house or restaurant. you want to make sure that the location of your apartment is reasonably surrounded by shops and restaurants. This way, you will not have to make an inconvenient trip to satisfy your midnight cravings, instead you can simply take a five minute walk to your nearest donut shop.
Finally, you want to make sure that the location of the apartment is somewhere that you want to live. If you don’t like being in the city, then its best not to find an apartment in New York City. Making sure that you are a hundred percent sure about the location of your apartment is an important and crucial part of your apartment search.
Parking
Parking may be the last thing on your mind when looking for an apartment, but it is very important and can make or break your bank account. If you are planning to live in a big city then parking may be something that is hard to find. It is important to look and make sure that parking is something that is including in the apartments that you are looking for. For most, there may be a parking garage that you are granted access to with an assigned parking spot. For others, you may have to pay extra and many not even be granted a parking garage, but rather a spot on the side of the road. Personally I would pay extra to put my car in a parking garage, to me it is safer. Overall, it is important to make sure that you are guaranteed parking if you plan to bring your car with you. With this said, a lot people decide against taking their cars, especially if they are moving to a big city. If this is the case for you then I say to make sure that you are not having to pay for parking as fee, even though you wont have a car!
Fees
When you are apartment searching you may notice that yes it is affordable and that is exciting! However, once you look more into the apartment you start to see that there quite a few fees that get tacked onto the monthly rent. These fees can be really taxing on your budget so it is very important that you are looking at all of these fees before considering looking into the apartment. There would be no point in further pursuing an apartment that appears to be your dream apartment when your budget is $1500 and the apartment is $2,000 a month even before the fees. Just remember you wont have to live there forever and will one day get to have your dream apartment. It is very important to be smart about these decisions and more realistic about your financial situations.
Animals
When moving into a new place or city you may end up getting homesick and a way you may try to combat that is by getting a new pet. Nowadays it can be very hard to find an apartment that does allow you to have pets, which is very upsetting and makes your apartment search even harder. If you know that you want to have a pet live with you then it is important to be on the lookout for apartments that do allow you to have a pet. After your long search and you finally do find an apartment that allows pets, then the thing to look at next is the fees. Fees that apartments place on having an animal can get very price and take a toll on your monthly rent. So, it is important to take that money into account when you are looking for a place to live. Also, if you do not plan on having a pet, make sure that you don’t end picking a place that makes you pay the fee regardless of if you plan on having an animal or not.
Roommates
For many of you, apartment searching is a way to be on your own and finally have a taste of freedom. For others, you simply need to move for a job or to go to school. A lot of the time when you are looking for an apartment, you may not be able to afford to live on your own. A single bedroom can get to be very expensive and the best option for you may be to find a two bedroom apartment. Finding a roommate can be tricking, but finding a good roommate can be even trickier. You want to make sure to see if you are able to afford a single bedroom and if not, then the hunt is on for a roommate. There are plenty of apps that you can go on to find you a roommate. With this said, make sure that you are able to get to know them the best you can before you decide to live with them. It is possible that you may not live near by to each other, but if you can then try to get together and meet them before you make this difficult decision. Having a bad roommate can make you wish you never moved out in the first place, but the with the right you will have an amazing experience!
