Finding the right apartment can be difficult. Apartment hunting takes a lot of time and energy. You also want to make sure you get the best deal available. Today, with the availability of resources online, it's easier than ever to apartment hunt. And most sites can give you all the information you would need about the neighborhood.
Shopping for the right apartment
Resources like apartments.com are perfect for helping you find available places in your area. It also allows you to use a map to find an apartment in the perfect spot and let's you filter by price, so you know everything is in your budget. Apartments.com can also show you the amenities in the place, so if you need something, like a pool to relax at, you can filter by that. It's a great resource to find the apartment with everything you need. And it's a lot easier than going to every apartment individually.
However, with many online apartment hunting websites there is the risk of fraudulent listings. Even with the safest of websites, these can be difficult to detect, so never give any money or personal information to someone sight unseen. Only after a careful process of vetting and due diligence should any money or information change hands.
Location
It's also important to know that your apartment is in good neighborhood. You don't want to have to worry if anything may happen to you while you're there. You may worry about what kinds of schools are nearby or what there's to do around there. Areavibes is the perfect resource to help. It scores a neighborhood based on a variety of criteria, like crime, schools, and even the weather. If you know what city you're looking at, it can help you nail down the right neighborhood.
Safety is also a top priority when shopping for an apartment. Areavibes can also rank the crime in your area and tell you how safe it is. It also breaks down this statistics into different categories, like robberies and assaults. They also allow you to compare it to averages in the state and the country as a whole. This gives you a holistic view of crime in the area.
Budgeting
You should use a max of 30% of your income, but generally 25% or below is a good rule of thumb. Of course, the lest you're spending on housing, the more you can spend (or save). It's important to keep a budget and make sure that you won't overextend yourself on you new place. While having a really nice place in a great location is ideal, it's not always ideal for your budget. You also don't want to dip into your emergency fund to make your monthly payments.
Finding the right apartment in general
Check it out ahead of time. Make sure you go in person to look at the apartment. You don't want to start renting a place before you get the chance to actually look at it. You may even notice some problems with it that you didn't notice when browsing online. It's important to go by and get a feel for a place before deciding to rent.
It's also important to track the places you like. Keep a spreadsheet of the apartments you like and start giving them rankings. Compare their prices, amenities, and other important factors to discover which apartment may be best for you. Sometimes it helps to give your own holistic approach to apartment hunting.
While finding the right apartment is time consuming and, honestly, not that exciting, it's important since you'll be living there for at least a year. You want to make sure you do your research on a place before signing that lease to make sure it's right for you. Happy hunting.
