6 Apartment Hunting Mistakes

By Kylie Exline on October 30, 2016

When apartment hunting, we tend to have this extreme idea of what we are getting ourselves into. We assume we know what we want, and strongly believe that we know how to find it. However, this is not always the case when we are apartment searching.

There are various mistakes that we can make when on the house hunt, including the wrong area, monthly price, and the roommate situation.

To discover which mistakes you are likely to make, continue reading below. And it is okay if you make them because it is all a learning experience. Remember that.

1. Wrong location

Apartment location is huge, especially when you plan on settling down for a few years and having the same address for longer than two semesters. We need to start adulting, y’all. To decide an area in which you want to live in, there is no better way than physically visiting the place.

You can walk through the parks, eat at local diners, and see where the nearest police station is because safety is always best, people. A location is vital for obvious reasons, but also because we want to be close to certain things, such as campus, grocery stores, and gas stations. You never know when you may need something (AKA a late-night taco run).

2. Bad pricing

Pricing is everything. Make sure that you are looking in a bracket you can afford and are willing to pay. Nothing is worse than finding the perfect place and realizing that it is way over your budget. How sad.

It is always a solid idea to plan accordingly and to have money saved. I know this sounds like something your parents would say, but it is actually true. Better safe than sorry. And in this case, better to have money saved than no money. You will thank your past self.

3. Relying on opinions

As we search for apartments, we have a habit of asking others for their opinions. You know, if they have heard about the apartment complex before, if friends have lived there, or been there, etc. It is good to ask around in search of separate perspectives, special insight, or first apartment advice in general.

The problem is when you take everything to heart and fail to make decisions solely based on what others say. Basically, this rule applies to any and everything in life. You should always be willing to listen, but not always willing to agree. That is the entire point of obtaining an opinion, guys.

4. Unstable roommates

Finding an apartment also means that you most likely will have roommates. Whether they are random or not, they are still your roomies. And this means that you should attempt to find stable ones that are able to pay their portion of rent, electric, and water every month: the necessities. Plus, stability means being able to feed yourself and not stealing your roommate’s food. That is key.

Searching for a place to live also means that everyone is on board with living there and that down the road, they will not be blaming you for signing the lease. There is nothing like an argument revolving around the lease. Say hello to awkwardness and potential end of friendship.

5. Narrow choices

Apartment searching does not mean that you plan on locating your dream house, but also does not mean that you should be settling just because. You want to go into the hunt with a general idea of what you want, but then also not limit yourself.

Having too narrow of choices can make it extremely difficult to find an apartment, as well as putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. And no one needs more reason to be stressed and anxious. AmIright?

6. No amenities

This is vital because who wants to pay $200 more a month just because there is a community pool? If anything, it should be maybe $200 in total, and the apartment should be coming with a lot more than just that.

Common amenities include a gym, washer and dryer, visitor parking, pets accepted, and of course a pool is always nice. Try not to limit yourself once again, though. You may be missing out on really nice apartments just because they do not come with a deluxe gym (think about what you need versus what you want).

Looking for the very perfect apartment is not only difficult, but pretty much rare. You are not always going to be completely pleased with your results, but you can definitely be happy for the extent of the lease.

There are various mistakes that you can make, although you should attempt to steer clear of them to the best of your abilities. This includes location, pricing, advice, choices, roomies, and amenities. Plus, who knows, you may find the perfect apartment in an area you never thought twice about.

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