Moving into your first-ever apartment after leaving your family home is one of the most exciting things in life, but it can also be very worrying. To avoid any disappointment and losses with your new apartment, here are some factors for you to consider.
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1. Location
Perhaps, no other factor is as important for choosing a great apartment for rent is the location. Ideally, you already have a stable job, so you want your new place to be close to the office. If you have children, you should also look into nearby kindergartens and schools. Hospitals, shops, restaurants may also be essential to your lifestyle and should be taken into account. The best way to choose the location of your apartment is to draw a circle on the map around the destination that matters to you the most – for example, your workplace – and then look for offers in the area.
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2. Size
The easiest case for choosing an apartment is when you are living on your own. You can easily get away with a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment or even a studio. However, if your family is moving in with you, you should make appropriate changes in your plans. For families with children, the ideal number of rooms is the number of people in the family plus one. Additionally, you need to consider the existing furniture and appliances you have – they will also need to fit into your new place.
3. Condition
The evaluation of the state of the apartment can often be subjective – the place can be clean and properly maintained, but the design and amenities may be simply obsolete. In that case, you can negotiate the renovations with the landlord. However, if the apartment looks unkempt and it’s clear that there isn’t any maintenance done at all, you can definitely expect your landlord to ignore your requests for renovations in the future, and this is not the apartment you want to rent.
4. Price
Before you sign any lease, it’s essential for you to research the rental market and understand the average price for the apartment of your dreams. The price offered by your landlord should fall into the average range. It’s fine to overpay slightly for an amazing location or a freshly renovated place, but you should remember that it’s going to be a monthly payment, so you need to be able to always afford it. You should also beware of incredibly low prices – in most cases, they are a coverup for something shady.
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5. Pets
For many people, pets are their genuine family members and they cannot bear the thought of abandoning them. Unfortunately, not all landlords think the same and some of them strictly prohibit their tenants from having any kind of pets. In most cases, those sanctions mean that the landlord can impose even more restrictions on you after you move in, so if you don’t like being overly controlled by your landlord and want to keep your pets near you, look for a more pet-friendly option.
6. Parking
If you plan to move around by public transportation, this factor may not be too essential to you. For everyone else, being able to safely park your car near the house is a big deal. Your apartment complex may come with a parking lot, but you need to visit it several times during different times of day to see how busy it is. Ideally, each apartment needs to have its own designated parking space, but that is not often the case, so if there are free parking spaces in the evening during your inspection, you should be able to park your car once you rent the place.
7. Landlord
The good news is that your landlord won’t live with you or become part of your family, so you shouldn’t pay as much attention to him as to choosing your future spouse. However, there are many landlords who become too involved in their tenant’s life, are too aggressive, too lazy to fix the issues with the apartment, or constantly try to charge you more money. Many of those things can be spotted on your first meeting, so make sure to watch out for them.
Read more: 5 Types Of Landlords To Avoid
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