It takes some preparation along with a little luck to find the perfect apartment. Each day, many new apartments come onto the market for your consideration. You need to have the required cash on hand as part of the preparation, but it takes more than that. You have to ask yourself questions to know exactly what you want and expect out of the perfect apartment. Once have this answer, you will be able to move quickly to find and secure your rental unit.
Go In With An Open Mind
If you limit yourself to only one particular style or location, you greatly reduce your choices of prospective properties. If you feel that a two-bedroom unit is the minimum you can accept, don’t be afraid to look at three bedroom units as well. Sometimes the price difference is minimal, if at all, and you could end up with a ‘bonus room’ to use for a den, game room, or guest room.
Conduct your search through a variety of sources. If you limit yourself to looking in the weekend classifieds, you may just miss out on what you’re looking for. Everyone has their own idea on how to market their apartment for rent so this can include alternative sources of advertising such as postings on bulletin boards, fliers, special rental listing publications, and Internet listings.
What’s Included And What’s Not?
Different apartments include different amenities so it is vital that you know what yours includes. If you have your own washer and dryer, it would be a waste of money to rent a unit that comes with the washer and dryer. Check to see if cable television is part of the rent or if this be an added expense to include in your budget. Water is often included, but check to be sure. You don’t want an unpleasant surprise of having the water bill arrive when you had the understanding it was part of the rent. It boils down to finding the place that has the services you need without paying for those that you don’t.
Added luxuries are always nice, but if you’re not going to use them, don’t pay for them. Many places will have playgrounds or swimming pools. This is great if you want to use them, but a waste of money if you don’t have children and don’t intend to swim. The same goes for workout rooms, gyms, game rooms, conference facilities, etc.
Check Out The Neighborhood
The first thing most people check out before even seeing the inside of a rental unit is the surrounding area and neighborhood. If you have children that attend school, you may want to concentrate your search efforts on rentals that are near the school of your choice. If you enjoy softball, basketball, and other sports, check out how close the nearest park or YMCA is before you sign a lease. In the long run, you’ll find apartments are much more enjoyable when you realize it’s so convenient to the places you need and want to go to on a regular basis.
Look at the neighborhood at different times of the day and week. What may appear to be a quiet area on a weekend may be subject to heavy traffic noise during the weekday.
Keep Track Of What You Look At
Often times it seems people are on an apartment marathon. They may look at dozens of places in a row but after seeing only a few, they all start to look alike. It’s hard to remember which one featured this over that. Take a notebook with you when you do your search. You can make notes of what you liked or didn’t like as you visit each place.
Another idea is to make a ‘must’ list that you are looking for in a place and put check marks next to those that meet this requirement. If you have a cell phone that can take pictures, snap a few of the interior and exterior to go along with your notes. You’ll be surprised how much detail you may have forgotten and a quick look at the picture can refresh your memory.
Define what you want in your next apartment and you’ll be one step closer to finding the perfect place. With so many places featuring endless options, it can often get confusing. Check out the neighborhood, take pictures, and make notes as you go along. You’ll be moving in no time.
Christine O’Kelly is the author for the Rockford IL apartment providers Louis Capra & Associates. They offer apartments in Rockford as well as commercial and retail properties throughout the area.
