4 Things to Check Before You Start Your Apartment Search – 2024 Guide

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Hunting for a new apartment is an exciting time, albeit a stressful one with many different challenges and problems. Changing your address and moving to a whole new place brings along a whole range of things worth worrying about that have to deal with practically all aspects of your life. Therefore, it is a much bigger decision and it should be approached with more care than average people care to admit. In the article beforehand, we will help you with your next apartment search and determine the most important things to check before you actually start looking for a new place to call home.

The key part here is that we will mostly be talking about what you should do before you actually start browsing for apartments. Most of the things have to deal with preparation, planning, and determining what you need. Therefore, be ready for brainstorming and thinking about all the different things you want from your new home. To further help you, make sure to check this website and learn more about apartment hunting and how best to do it.

1. The Location

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The most obvious thing to consider when moving is the location of your new home. Chances are you are not moving just because you want to. You are either in need of a bigger space or something in your life caused this new situation. Whether it is work, school, or something family-related and private, the location is the most important thing. However, here we do not mean the country or the city. You already know where you are moving. We mean something more precise, like the neighborhood or the area of your new city. Think about what you require from your everyday life. Where do you go each morning, how long are you willing to spend commuting? Where do your family and friends live? What other points of interest do you need close by? Think thoroughly about all of this and find a street or a neighborhood that offers the most from your list. Do not settle and be firm about your decision.

2. The Size

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Next up we have the size of the apartment, that is, the number and size of the rooms and how many of them there are. If you are alone, you do not need much. However, you also do not want to be crammed in a tiny one-room place where you will probably go crazy after a few weeks. Having enough space is highly subjective, which is why it is up to you to pick and choose the right apartment size. Remember that they will vary in price greatly based on the location and size, so the first two things to worry about are also the most important. After you have narrowed down the size you are willing to go with, next up is the number of rooms. Most people are satisfied with a separate little bedroom and another room that acts like a living room, dining room, and kitchen. A bathroom and a small balcony round up an average modern apartment for one or two people. For larger families you will obviously need more, but single people and couples are more in the market of new apartments.

3. Are You Living Alone?

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Speaking of the number of people who will be living in this new space, you have to think about whether or not your current situation allows you to live alone. If you are a student or a young person with their first job, it may be difficult to pay the rent and the bills all on your own, so a roommate may be in order. Think about who you can live with, maybe a relative like a cousin or a close friend. If not, you can always try to look for a suitable roommate you will get along with. You will share the costs of living but also build a lifelong friendship in the process. It is also better for security reasons since it is better for someone to be on the premise more often than not. For couples, this decision will be easier and not really an issue. After the location and the size, it is natural to try and fill up the space or balance out the costs. Therefore, spend some time evaluating your roommate options if it is expensive to live alone.

4. Utilities and Bills

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Once you have the aforementioned things solved, the next up is determining what services you will need and what you will be paying for during your time there. Obviously, you will have to pay the rent, alongside the basics such as electricity, water, and sanitation. The rest is up to you. First and foremost, you will probably want internet access alongside the Wi-Fi coverage for the apartment. Depending on your needs you can pick and choose the best provider for your specific scenario and their best package deal for you. If you do not really watch television, you can do without cable and subscriptions, on-demand, streaming services. In addition, you probably do not need a landline since you can do all you need through your mobile device. Again, it is highly debatable what you need and how much of it. The only way of determining it entirely is to sit down and calculate how you will spend your free time and what you can live without. It will help you greatly with balancing the costs later.

Once You Find the Apartment

When you find an apartment you like, you will want to check for these things in particular during your tour and while conversing with the landlord:

-The landlord and their rules, regulations, and behavior

-Pet friendly or not

-Furniture, appliances, other elements

-Existing apartment damage

-Insulation, humidity, temperature

-Pipework and electrical outlets

-Parking, public transport

-Neighbors, neighborhood, shops

-Insurance and rent

If you go out of your way to make sure that all of the above things are satisfactory, on top of the four things to check before you even start looking for the apartment of your dreams, you will surely have a good time with your new home. At least until there is a need for a new one, which means repeating the whole process one more time.