Apartment Hunting – 4 Factors To Take Into Consideration
When searching for an apartment, you’re looking for a place you’ll be calling home for at least the next few months, so don’t settle for an apartment just because you feel rushed into finding a place.
Although most apartment locating services are free, not everyone has the free time to take advantage of these services. If this is the case for you, you can research your options from home. In most urban areas, apartment complexes advertise online, and for those who don’t, a phone call will usually yield the answers you need when choosing an apartment.
Today being the age of social media, it is much easier to trace out an apartment that falls under budget constraints and you can search for the locations that best match your preference and convenience with a simple search online through Google. Park Central Residence is the first preference for most people as it is spacious enough to house a number of people, not to mention being quite affordable to its standards but those who cannot think of Parc Central Residences price have to look for other alternatives as they are not privileged enough to be born in well off families.
Read on for a few tips on how to take the headache out of apartment hunting so that you can make a smooth transition to your new home. Of course, cost is one main factor that people consider when searching for an apartment, so I want to cover a few other aspects that you might want to keep in mind when apartment hunting. These include deposits, security, online reviews, and location.
Waived Deposits
Many complexes offer a waived deposit. Normally they’ll charge from $100-$250 for a security deposit, but sometimes they will waive this charge as an incentive to sign a lease. It’s up to you whether you want to take advantage of this or not; however, keep in mind that if you accept the waived fee, you might find yourself dealing with extra charges at the end of your lease.
Although you might leave the apartment in excellent condition, you never know whether the apartment complex will attempt to charge you for items for which you shouldn’t be held responsible. Normally these charges are covered by the security deposit, but if that fee was waived, you might be charged once your lease is up.
Security
It’s best to find an apartment with a peephole on the door rather than a window. A window on the door is not too secure – it could easily be broken and the knob could be turned from the outside. Also, if someone suspicious is at the door and you don’t want them knowing anyone’s home, they might be able to see the silhouette through the blinds or glass.
Windows should sit at least 2 1/2 feet from the ground; if they are too low to the ground, they can provide an easy way for potential burglars to get in and out of an apartment quickly. If the apartment has a sliding glass door, the door should have a lock bar, and the porch on a ground floor apartment should be closed off.
Online reviews
These are of questionable reliability – you never know who wrote the reviews or what their motives are. For example, positive reviews could have been written by a leasing agent, or the bad ones written by other competing complexes. A bad former tenant with a grudge could be attempting to mar an apartment complex’s reputation.
Ask around to see if anyone has lived at the apartment complexes you’re considering; they will be much more reliable than online reviews. If you don’t find anyone with firsthand experience, keep in mind that online reviews don’t necessarily reflect the quality of an apartment complex. In these cases, you might
Location
One complex on my list of potential apartments faced a heavily wooded area, which probably served as a safe haven for dangerous animals as well as a hiding place for potential attackers and burglars. Considerations like this are crucial to safety, especially if you often come home after dark. Also, if you don’t have a car, will public transportation provide quick access to your workplace, a hospital, and the grocery store? Make sure that you have all the essentials within a reasonable distance.
By taking these four factors into consideration, you can likely narrow your search down to just a couple of complexes that you can check out in person. I hope that these tips come in handy for anyone who is currently searching for a new apartment.
