As you may or may not know i currently am having to up and move out of my current town home.
When we originally moved out we were supposed to have a few weeks until our roommate moved in, but he never did. We kept getting excuse after excuse... it seemed like a never ending cycle. eventually all of our savings had gone and we couldn't afford the rent.
A right when we were giving up looking for a new roommate we found one! Everything was fine and dandy until he decided to move up north and join the military.
So he gave us two months rent and a fair warning that he was leaving and he was just gone. So here we are, looking for a new place to stay, We went ahead about two weeks ago and put in our 30 days at our apartments to let them know we are going to be leaving. were currently moving in with my father which is all fine and dandy except the fact that granted we may all love each other.. but I'm looking to move out asap :)
(No offence daddy!! <3 ^_^ love you!)
We have seen and toured a total of seven places with all the different prices, policies, etc.
I decided to come up with a list of things to remember when looking for a new apartment/flat.
I am in no way an expert, just a young adult learning as i go.
1. While looking through the endless piles of online ads, Sunday papers and Google maps
don't forget that the price they give you is ONLY the base price. They will end up adding maybe
a sewage fee, a valet trash fee, if you have a pet there is normally a pet rent, pet deposit, or
sometimes even both!
2. Square footage!!
Think about the size of apartment you want, obviously your budget will mostly
determine the size of apartment you get but you could choose between different square footage.
Somethings to think about are how many people will you be living with, just you? a boyfriend/girlfriend? A roommate or two? That can change things a lot so make sure you plan accordingly.
Also the smaller apartment the less furniture (duh) lol, your electricity bill will be lower than if you rent a larger place, smaller may be cozy as a large place might not be as cozy, less furniture to buy in smaller places, A large place would have more space for furniture, you can have more people over and
maybe even stay the night, as well as have more storage space than in a smaller apartment.
3. ALWAYS REMEMBER: Think about the surrounding area you could be possibly living in, if its a not so nice area with the perfect apartment... It might not be worth it. Your costs of fixing slashed tires,broken windows and possibly a burglary may just push your budget over the edge.
Sometimes car insurance companies wont cover damages done by an
individual for who-knows-what reason. :/
4. Think about how far you are away from your family, friends, and school/work.
You may save on rent but not on gas. :/
You could always take the bus :/ I've never liked the bus.
5.Your floor plan may look nice on paper, but when you start trying to put furniture in the
apartment it just might not fit. Some apartment complexes just do not have a good use of space.
these are just a few things that i think about a lot while looking at an apartment, It helps if you take a peice of paper or little composition book with you to rate these things and take notes!
You will really appreciate it in the long run ^_^
