3 Ways to Make Your Apartment Search Stressless

By Jaclyn Gata on April 1, 2014

Looking for an apartment can be the most stressful part of your school year if you let it. Now that that time of the year has come upon us once again and you just don’t know if you have the time or energy to deal with it. Here are three ways to make your apartment search stress-less.

Photo via Wikipedia

Research

The easiest way to narrow down your search is to research as much as possible (pun aside). This means looking for places that fit the parameters that you have, such as it’s on a bus route or comes with washers and dryers. Asking friends for their recommendations about their experiences with off-campus housing is one of the best ways to get good information on apartments. They have the experience of living there and not just the spiel that the staff tries to sell you. If you don’t have any friends that have experience off-campus then you can look at their websites and even online reviews. Beware though, all online reviews should be read with a grain of salt because most of the time the online reviewers are only the angry reviewers. So don’t be alarmed if you see only negative reviews because most people with positive experiences will not find the need to rave about it online. However, if the reviews supply a consistent complaint that are less than a year old it is something you should keep in mind.

Answer as Many Questions as Possible Yourself

When doing said research (see above), make sure to answer as many questions that you have on your own so you can spend your tour asking really important questions. You don’t want to waste time asking what a guarantor is when you should be asking if subleasing during the summer is allowed. Some questions you can probably find out yourself: How long is the lease? What deposits are needed when signing? Are pets allowed? What utilities are included?

Bring a Checklist

If this is your first time looking for an apartment you have no idea how many things need to be checked when looking for an apartment. These include but are not limited to: utilities, prices, amenities, furniture, roommates, staff, etc. The best way to make sure you get all the information you need is to bring a checklist with. I would suggest making your own so you can specify it to your needs but there are tons to find online if not. Here’s a clear and informative one.

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