Ugh. Moving. That dreaded "our-lease-is-almost-up" feeling. I hate it!
But you know what I hate more?
The apartment complex we are currently living in.
So that leaves us with two options:
Be fabulous homeless people
Find a new apartment to call home!
Obviously - we are finding a new apartment complex.
But what do we dooooo!!! How do we find an apartment complex that is as nice on the inside as it is on the outside, with awesome tenants and a great management team?
Don't worry. I'm going to tell you how!
1. Do your research
Seriously. How does anyone skip this step? DON'T EVEN LOOK AT A PLACE WITHOUT:
- checking reviews online
- checking nearby crime at crimemapping.com or the local police department's website
- looking at the apartment complex's website (if it doesn't look nice in the pictures, don't bother)
2. Set your budget
You should make 3 times the amount of rent. YES. 3 times. So if you make $3,000 a month (you big shot!) then you can afford to rent a place for $1000 a month. INCLUDING UTILITIES.
3. Know what you want
And more importantly, what you DON'T want! What amenities are important to you? What kind of neighbors do you want to have? What grocery stores do you want nearby? What neighborhoods do you want to be close to?
We started looking for apartments about 60 days before our lease was up! And by the end we were cutting it close.
Always keep in mind:
- your commute to work, family, friends, your favorite restaurants, etc
- the office team... are they nice? Do they make you feel special? Because whenever you have a problem - those are the people you're going to be dealing with
- is section 8 housing part of your apartment complex? You can actually ask that question. And you're going to want to know - because some people who use low-income housing aren't the greatest. We live in an apartment complex that's in a great area! The apartments are SUPER nice. But the tenants suck. Our neighbors have had things stolen from their cars, apartments have been broken into, and there's always a bunch of shitty cars with ridiculously huge rims broken down with flat tires in the parking lot.
- speaking of parking!! HOW MUCH PARKING IS THERE??? There is nothing worse than coming home on a Saturday night at 10:30 pm after a romantic dinner and not being able to park in front of our building. Because then we have to walk (who likes walking? Psh.) AND we can't see our car from our apartment or hear it if the alarm goes off.
- "crime has no address" is complete bullshit. Apartment complexes legally can't tell you about the tenants or the crime in their complex... but this line is just ridiculous. Crime DOES have an address. And it's the ghetto. KNOW the area - or GET to know it. Yes, crime can happen anywhere. But usually, it happens in a well-known and well-avoided part of town. Do you really want to live in the ghetto? Or even ghetto-adjacent? Nope. Probably not.
- What's the average electric bill? Water bill? What does it cost for trash? What utilities are included? Are there washer dryer hook ups? Does the apartment come with a washer and dryer in it, or do you have to rent them?
- can you paint or put holes in the walls to hang things? Do you lose your deposit if you do?
- do they have a military discount?
I do laundry DAILY. So having a washer/dryer in my apartment was crucial! We saw some apartments that had coin laundry rooms, and even coin laundry on the bottom floor of each building. No thanks. I don't want to have to leave my apartment to do laundry!
One thing you should definitely do is talk to the tenants - if you can. We visited our new apartment complex at 4:30 and ran into some tenants on our tour. We asked them about their experience and they told us they loved it! That was a big help to us in making our decision. DON'T FORGET to ask them what their average bill for utilities is!
If you don't want to or can't do all of the things on this list, at least look up reviews of the apartment complex online and check the area at crimemapping.com ! That website was a HUGE help in choosing our new apartment complex. I was actually shocked when I used it to look up our CURRENT apartment complex. Lot's of assaults in these apartments! Yeesh!
We ended up choosing a beautiful apartment with screened in porches, a salt water pool, a brand new gym, and brand new grills right next to a wildlife preserve. We specifically asked for a corner apartment on the second floor! Why? Corner apartment means fewer neighbors and more windows! Second floor means no peeping toms or burglars. Woo!
I hope this helps you find an apartment of your dreams! Take your time looking. Some apartment complexes will make you feel like you have to move in and make a decision within a week or you'll miss out on a great deal. Don't fall for it. Take your time deciding! After all - you'll be stuck there for a year after you sign the lease!
XOXO
Annice
Sprightly Life
