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Helpful Tips for Finding Your First Apartment

Article by Heather Kraus

Getting your first apartment is a wonderful experience but it can also be a bit frightening and overwhelming. There are so many options to choose from, so many factors that come into the equation. You want to chose the right apartment so you can fully enjoy being on your own but you don’t know where to start. To help make the process of finding your first apartment smoother I have compiled a list of what you should look at when getting your first apartment.

The Room Itself: How large do you want the apartment to be? Are you planning on sharing it with someone in the future or is just going to be you? Are you bringing a pet with you? Do you want one bedroom or two? And how many bathrooms do you want? All of these questions need to be carefully considered when searching for your first apartment. It all depends on what you need in the present and what you feel you will need in the future. It also depends on how much stuff you are going to be moving into the apartment, you want to make sure you have enough room for everything that’s important to you. It can be hard to determine exact size by simply hearing the measurements or looking at a picture of the apartment online. Your best bet would probably be to look a few apartments first and get an idea of what size you want.

Amenities: Every apartment and apartment complex is different so before you start looking you should make a list of what your new apartment “must” have and what you would like it to have. For example do you want it to have a washer and dryer in the apartment itself or do you care if the complex uses a shared laundry room? Do you want a full kitchen or is half a kitchen alright? Other amenities include internet, if the apartment has a patio, new kitchen appliances vs. old ones, cable hook up, air conditioning and possibly a shared fitness center. You have to pick which of these you can’t live without and which ones aren’t that important. Once you have the list made it will narrow down apartment options significantly.

Pets Allowed: Are you going to bring a pet with you? And if so you need to find a apartment that allows pets and that would make living with your pet a comfortable experience. For example if you are going to have a pet with you there is a good chance that you’re going to need a patio. It doesn’t have to be huge just enough so that your dog or cat can get some fresh air and not get stir crazy being in the house all day. Also having a pet requires more money so you have to make sure that is feasible for you. Some places want a extra deposit up front and that’s it while others require a monthly fee.

Location: This is huge and covers a lot of territory. Location is about wanting to be where you are and safety but it’s also about what you need close to you. If you have a dog you may want a dog park or just a part nearby so you can easily take your dog there. You may want to be in walking distance to the places you use most often like grocery stores, cafes, hospitals, restaurants, even a movie theater. If you don’t care about walking distance you probably want to be at least centrally located so you can get to all these places in a 15 minute drive or less. Again it’s about deciding what’s important to you, what you can and what you can’t live without, and what you want your first apartment experience to be like.

Price: This is a pretty obvious one. You need to get something that you can afford each month without breaking the bank. You want a nice place in a good part of town without going broke. Those can be hard to find but not impossible.

Management: I recommend meeting the management before you decide on a place. I have seen complexes that were beautiful but the management were very cold and uncaring. You may think it doesn’t matter as long as your place is nice but you’re wrong. If something breaks in your apartment and needs to be fixed you want to have confidence that maintenance is going to take care of it and not let it sit for months before getting to it. Plus you want to feel safe and comfortable in your house but if you have management who is harsh you may not feel that way. Essentially since you are going to be living there for awhile you want the management to be a friend, someone you can count on not the opposite.

Once you have thought about what you want out of all these options it’s time to find a real estate agent. You tell them what you want in the apartment, what location you would prefer ect. and they will help you narrow down the choices so you can find the right one. I hope this article has helped you know about what to look for when getting your first apartment. If you follow these guidelines and realize what you truly want from this experience you should be finding your perfect apartment in no time.

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“When a defining moment comes along, you can do one of two things. Define the moment or let the moment define you.”

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