Before You Search for an Apartment

If you've never rented an apartment or it has been a while since you have, you may not know or remember all of the information you need to get together. This page is here to help.

Before you search

Before you get started with your active search for your new home, there are a few things that you need to have worked out. Unsurprisingly, many of these tidbits are the kernels of the questions on my request form, as I need the information before I can look on your behalf. You need it, too, though.

So, have the following questions settled, either on paper or in your mind, before you do anything else:

• Where is your anchor location? Everyone has a single location around which their lives revolve. It may be your workplace. It may be your school. It may be a particular neighborhood, or even your church. Figure out what central point on the map is your anchor - the location you most often are.

• How much you can afford per month? This question needs to be an absolute ceiling and include both rent and any administrative fees (like water or trash collection) that are mandatory to pay.

• How are you going to prove your income? You cannot hope to rent an apartment without explaining to the apartment manager how you plan to afford it. You need to round up your pay stubs, income statements, tax returns, financial aid confirmations (if applicable), or even a note from your boss in order to certify that you aren't going to bail on the lease for financial reasons.

• What's your credit score? You're going to have to submit to a credit check when you lease. If the leasing office doesn't do it, it's actually a red flag for you not to do business with that apartment. Anyway, with all the free ways to check your credit score, you should have a decent idea about it before you let them check. If the report comes back wildly different, you may need to advocate for yourself.

• Who else is going to be on the lease? If anyone else is planning to live in the apartment with you, be prepared for them to have to submit to the same level of financial and credit scrutiny that you will. If they have issues, it might reflect badly on both of you in terms of getting the approval.

• Do you need a co-signer? If you aren't making enough on your own to rent an apartment, then you need to work out if another legal adult - your parent(s), sibling, or friend - is willing to vouch for you and pay any rent that you cannot afford. Understand, however, that you may be changing the nature of your relationship with someone if they go on the line for your lease. So, choose carefully if you need someone to sign with you.

• How do you plan to do laundry? Apartment complexes typically offer one of three options for tenant laundry - washer/dryers inside each unit, washer/dryer connections in each unit, or an onsite laundry facility. In some cases, there may be both connections and an onsite facility. Whatever the case, you need to have a plan for how you'll clean your clothing.

• Are you bringing pets? We all love our friends, but some apartment complexes may not allow pets at all. However, the more common situation is that the complex will allow certain pets, and will require that you pay a deposit and/or monthly fee to keep them. Cats are fairly universal in their acceptance, but you may find yourself restricted if your dog friend is particularly large or is considered to be an aggressive breed (like a pit bull or a rottweiler). You may also have trouble if you have an exotic pet, like a snake or a loud bird.

You may notice that I didn't mention the question about how far you're willing to drive to your anchor location. The truth is that this consideration is a factor to be weighed after you find some properties that you like. You may be willing to drive a bit farther to pay less or, conversely, pay a bit more to drive less.

In general, your answers to the questions above will guide you into the place that you need. However, don't hesitate to reach out to me at bart@abartments.com if you're still feeling nervous about it. I'm happy to help.