How to Find the Right Apartment

Looking for the right apartment can be annoying and frustrating, especially when the real apartment doesn’t look anything like the newspaper ad said it did. Here are some pointers to make your apartment-hunting much easier.

Things You'll Need

• Daily newspaper apartment ads
• Apartment circulars or booklets
• Pencil or pen and paper
• Phone
• Transportation
• A street map

Instructions

1. Read all the information you can find about available apartments. Decide whether you need to be close to work or to school, or to your friends or family. This determines the location of your apartment. Figure out what you can truly afford to pay in rent each month. (Remember the maximum cost in today’s economy is no more than one-third of your monthly paycheck.)

2. Look in the newspaper ads and apartment booklets to see what's available in the area you like. Will you have friends or family over a lot? Then also look for an apartment complex that has a swimming pool, or maybe a barbecue area. Got a pet? Be sure to check the ads to see whether pets are allowed. Remember to ask what the pet deposit is when you go to see the apartment.

3. Check the neighborhood as you drive or take public transportation to go see the apartment you're interested in for the first time. Is it in a good area? Will you be safe walking to your car or the bus, train or subway stop? Do you see a security patrol or locked gates? Will you have a doorman?

4. Walk through the entire apartment complex or all the floors of the building before you see inside an apartment if the manager will let you. Look for broken windows, lots of trash, loud music or yelling tenants, sagging doors, broken sidewalks or lights. These aren't the signs of a well-kept, well-managed apartment complex. Mark this complex off your list if you see or hear more than two of these items.

5. Go to the manager's office and ask to see an apartment in the size you need. Most managers will go with you, so you can ask questions on the way. Ask how much the rent is and whether you have to pay first and last months' rent. Find out if the utilities are included. Ask if there's a damage deposit. Also ask about a pet deposit if you have a pet. (Even if all these things are in the ad you read, ask anyway. Sometimes the ads aren't accurate, or the management has changed.) Once inside, look closely at the ceiling. Are there water stains from roof leaks? Open the cupboards in the kitchen and look under the sink in the bathroom. Are there bug or mice droppings or insect legs? Use your nose. Is there a 'funny smell' inside the closet? Or inside the refrigerator?

Tips & Warnings

• If you’re a single woman living alone in a big city, try to rent several floors up. Ground-floor windows are too easy for prowlers to sneak into without being seen.

• Check out the laundry room before you sign the lease.

• If you like the apartment, and think you might want to stay, sign the lease for as long a period as management offers. Long-term renters not only don’t get their rents raised as often, but management will try harder to please you because you’re staying.

• Read the entire lease before you sign it. Even if the manager says they’ve never had anyone read every word before, just smile—and continue reading. Remember, an apartment lease is a legal document. You’re responsible for whatever you sign.

• Keep a close eye on the local newspaper, too, as housing break-ins and possible drug or gang activity will be reported.