Apartment Shopping. Finding The Right Home

I think it’s safe to say that in today’s world, location, location, location is only half of the thoughts when it comes to living in an apartment.

So much more I find myself looking at the people, people, people. Being the type of person that doesn’t enjoy being overly friendly with neighbors I am forced to wonder in such tight living conditions is there away of avoiding the awkward neighborly fights. Now don’t get me wrong, I love people  but when it comes to home life I also enjoy a quite relaxing time while at home. I keep in mind that these people around me are basically strangers and I take it for what it’s worth. Having said that I look for 5 things when I look for a new apartment which I’ll be diving into head first as you read on.

1) How thin are the apartment walls?

If you walls are a bit thin your neighbors can hear the things that you do inside your home. What if you have a party, or just a gathering of good friends. Will your neighbors get upset if they hear people on your patio, or through the walls? And what about music playing, televisions or can they hear people walking around (If you are upstairs) Noise complaints are never a fun thing to explain to your leasing office.

2) Do they have downstairs units available?

Stairs can be a hassle for many, while moving in or out. Even while just coming home after a long days work. Some prefer not to have to climb back up to their apartment being on the second or even third story if your complex has a 3rd story apartment. I have found it to be much easier to live in a relaxed state being on the lower level. With the proper amount of insulation you won’t hear the people living above you, which is just the way I like it. I enjoy knowing there are people around me, without hearing them live.

3) What specials do they have for new leases?

Many complex’s have what they call a look and lease special. This just means you look at an apartment, and if you decide to lease that day ( Most require a 12 month lease) they offer the apartment at a discounted rate. I’ve signed with a look and lease and ended up getting 15% off my monthly rent. A significant drop when we are talking about a $800 rent bill every month. I simply called apartments that I found online with good reviews and looked further into the management company over that complex. You can always find more information about the apartment online than a leasing agent will offer up, so I would say take that approach. Quite a few apartments also have “First month free” specials in which I would stay away from. If you think about a apartment as a cell phone you can understand what I’m about to explain. When a phone first comes out it’s full priced, newest and best thing on the market but as time goes on you will start to see “Buy one get one free” this is just because of the fact that newer and better are already out. They have discounted the older model phone because of the fact that it’s soon to be obsolete. Same goes with an apartment, it’s been lived in older and probably has some problems. They are advertising free rent just to get people to move in. Filling in spaces from other residents who may have found the complex unlivable. Some other specials that I have found useful is “Friend move in” The most recent complex I lived in offered $400 dollars off next months rent if I referred a friend, family member or just someone to put my name on the referral letter.  This just means the complex has other units on the market, and want to fill them, not really meaning there is something wrong. It’s more a help to you then them.