The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Please Give Me Apartment Advice
Captain Awesomeftw
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Alternate title: COMING OUT TO MY PARENTS- EPISODE III- I'M COMING ALL OVER
Well, things have shifted for the better. My parents have allowed me back into their home, without unreasonable terms for the time being. A huge, huge thanks to everyone who helped me out during my homelessness stint.
Now I've got a pleasant pickle to ponder: They've given me free rent and board until the end of March, when they want me to have my own place, and move out. I live in Jacksonville, and I'm looking to move to Greenville, SC. That gives me about two months to save money, and learn how to move out successfully to an apartment that's a good eight hours north of here.
Basically, I need to know what to do/not to do during the whole apartment search. I've already found one spot that is totally ideal as far as price and location go. But I'm doing basically all of my reconnaissance by telephone, since I live in Jacksonville.
Here's a list of things I'd like to know:
* How can I spot out a slummy apartment from afar?
* What are common lease terms to be presented with? I don't want to be there forever, I'm eventually shooting to rent out a house with two reliable friends of mine.
* What are good, economical options for moving stuff? My parents are giving me a brand new king sized bed for a going away present. That's not going to fit into my two door Volkswagen hatchback.
* Can you haggle or negotiate with landlords over rent before you sign a lease? If utilities aren't included, how can I give myself a ballpark idea of what to budget for myself?
* What are some dumb ass mistakes that everyone makes when they get their first place that I can avoid?
* I currently have no credit cards. Should I get one? I've thought about it just to try and establish good credit. My bank account is a little fucked up now, and has been pretty overdrawn for a while now. I've almost got it back above board, but is this going to fuck me over? How can I compensate for it if so?
* What are good places to look for short term work to sock away extra cash to facilitate this move? Right now I work nights, 5-10. Where can I look to make that extra money during the days?
Right now, my income is sort of limited, but hopefully I'm going to have over a thousand dollars to work with getting up there. Also, the company I currently work for has a branch in Greenville, so hopefully there will be no gaps in income whatsoever. My car is in great repair, but it's not paid off. Other than that, insurance, and some speeding tickets, I don't have any debt going up with me.
Well, things have shifted for the better. My parents have allowed me back into their home, without unreasonable terms for the time being. A huge, huge thanks to everyone who helped me out during my homelessness stint.
Now I've got a pleasant pickle to ponder: They've given me free rent and board until the end of March, when they want me to have my own place, and move out. I live in Jacksonville, and I'm looking to move to Greenville, SC. That gives me about two months to save money, and learn how to move out successfully to an apartment that's a good eight hours north of here.
Basically, I need to know what to do/not to do during the whole apartment search. I've already found one spot that is totally ideal as far as price and location go. But I'm doing basically all of my reconnaissance by telephone, since I live in Jacksonville.
Here's a list of things I'd like to know:
* How can I spot out a slummy apartment from afar?
* What are common lease terms to be presented with? I don't want to be there forever, I'm eventually shooting to rent out a house with two reliable friends of mine.
* What are good, economical options for moving stuff? My parents are giving me a brand new king sized bed for a going away present. That's not going to fit into my two door Volkswagen hatchback.
* Can you haggle or negotiate with landlords over rent before you sign a lease? If utilities aren't included, how can I give myself a ballpark idea of what to budget for myself?
* What are some dumb ass mistakes that everyone makes when they get their first place that I can avoid?
* I currently have no credit cards. Should I get one? I've thought about it just to try and establish good credit. My bank account is a little fucked up now, and has been pretty overdrawn for a while now. I've almost got it back above board, but is this going to fuck me over? How can I compensate for it if so?
* What are good places to look for short term work to sock away extra cash to facilitate this move? Right now I work nights, 5-10. Where can I look to make that extra money during the days?
Right now, my income is sort of limited, but hopefully I'm going to have over a thousand dollars to work with getting up there. Also, the company I currently work for has a branch in Greenville, so hopefully there will be no gaps in income whatsoever. My car is in great repair, but it's not paid off. Other than that, insurance, and some speeding tickets, I don't have any debt going up with me.
Captain Awesomeftw on
0
Posts
1) If it looks shitty on the outside, it looks shitty on the inside, but remember you're paying for quality.
2) Usually 6 months or 1 year unless it's some kind of fancy complex or townhome. You will probably be required to give 1-2 months notice when you are moving out.
3) Don't buy the bed until after you move, then have it delivered to the apartment. Borrow a friend's truck or get a Uhaul.
4) Get a credit card. Put stuff on it(even if you don't need too) and pay it off promptly. Avoid doing the minimum payments every month. When you don't plan on using it, don't keep it in your wallet. Since it sounds like you have no credit, you may need to get someone to cosign on the apartment with you. DO NOT use it if you can't pay it off.
5) Any retail place. Day shifts? Probably a fast food joint, most other stores don't have a high amount of staff on during the day.
Pay off as much stuff as you possibly can before you move. You will spend more money than you think.
Well, in-person inspection is always best. But some questions that can help you figure this out include:
- When was the apartment built?
- Is there an apartment manager or landlord who lives on-site?
- When was the last time the carpets were replaced? Walls were repainted? Wiring and plumbing inspected?
- Do all the AC outlets have a grounding wire? (The third hole that appliances and computers use.) Is there are least one grounded plug in each room? A lack of grounded plugs may mean the wiring is old. Some states (California) require that all plugs be grounded by law.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
1. Everything from Month to Month (MTM/M2M to 12 months). Be prepared to pay an additional premium every month in your rent for a shorter lease.
2. Moving is tough; U-Hauls are about as good as you can often do but they can be expensive. That $19.95 a day price they quote on the side of the truck is the base price; that doesn't include renting the dolly or the mileage charge or the gas. As others have suggested, if you can buy the mattress locally a lot of places will often deliver it for free. If you can box all of your stuff, price out shipping the stuff you can't fit in your car. There are also "half-service" moving companies that will drive your stuff from point to point, but you have to load it in and out of the truck (U-Pack, Movex). Also, consider it a make/buy decision - is it worth spending $100 moving that nightstand when you can get a serviceable one at Ikea for $60 at your destination?
3. You can try to negotiate rent but maybe not. There are really two types of apartments: those that are managed by management companies and those that are managed by private individuals. Each has advantages: the management company is going to be more predictable and has a good chance of having procedures for dealing with problems, but may charge more and probably has less room to negotiate if any. A private indivdual might give you more freedom to negotiate and a cheaper rate, but you have to deal with the personality of that person.
If utilities are not included, try to get an idea of what bills you'll have. Likely suspects include water, gas, electricity, trash/sewer (sometimes included with water), cable, internet, landline phone. For my apartment (I live alone) water is about $10-20 a month, electricity is about $25, gas is about $15, basic digital cable with internet is about $120 and landline phone is about $40. However I live in a very warm climate and don't use heating/AC nearly at all. That can mess up your bills a lot.
4. Make sure you've got the appropriate finances in order. In general, they will run your credit. A rule of thumb for managed apartments in my area is that you need to show income of at least 3x your rent. This can be looked over if you've got a substantial amount in the bank. You also need a security deposit usually around equivalent to one month's rent, plus a check for the first month upon move-in. Make sure to take pictures of anything you find wrong in the apartment on move-in day and document these things well in your move-in checklist.
5. Having a credit card is good but you need to pay it off (or nearly so; it often is good for your credit to carry a minor balance like $100). If you don't pay it off, you're beginning a life of screwedness. A credit card is an invaluable tool for making purchases these days.
6. Dunno where you can work to make spare cash.
Plan a weekend or something, drive up, make appointments to see several apartments over that weekend, then drive down.
Yeah, this gives you a chance to feel out the landlord as well. When i rented, I was more often put off by the attitude of the landlord than the quality of the property. In the end I ended up with a far from luxurious flat but the landlord was a good guy which is invaluable.
Well look at the price first. Here anything less than around $300 a month is going to be very slummy.
Generally you'll sign either a 1 year lease or you can go month to month but that generally costs more.
Find a friend with a truck or rent one and tow your volkswagen.
Sometimes, it really depends on the property though.
Generally water will be included. For one person I spend around $75-80 in the winter and around $100-120 a month in the winter. Trash pickup is sometimes included in the rent, but not always so you'll probably want to find that out. Cable and internet can cost upwards of $50 a month, Telephone starts around $25 a month.
A credit card might be handy in cases of emergencies. but this could possibly stand a topic all on it's own
Depending on how limited your income is, you may consider also looking into living in Greer, Duncan or Simpsonville. They're all pretty close to Greenville and MUCH cheaper, especially if you live in Spartanburg county rather than Greenville county
Other things to keep in mind before renting:
- Drive by at different times of day and night, and on weekends. What looks great when you tour at noon might be crawling with freaks and criminals after dark.
- Check the trash receptacles. Poorly maintained dumpsters are a sign of a sloppy landlord, if it's a general mess all the time it's a sign of messy, lazy residents.
- Don't rent a new apartment on or below ground level; these units tend to flood and get mold infestations that take years for the owners to fix.
- Knock on some doors and talk to the people who live there! If they all tell you it's a hellhole, don't move in!
I know this sounds ridiculous, but test the water pressure. Turn on the shower. I've passed up a few apartments because of that test. Checking weird things like that is especialy important in house apartments. Check for a decent number of outlets (I'm in an apartment that inexplicably doesn't have an outlet in the bathroom) Check for basic safety features too. There should be two options to leave the apartment - even if it's through a window. Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors.
Don't forget to buy a small fire extinguisher too!
Oh and in terms of bargaining - people are automaticaly going to turn on the defenses if you try to get a price break (that doesn't mean you wont get one). You might find more success in getting utility breaks. Ask for a free hook up into their cable and internet. Make sure you fight it if they try to charge you for water and electric - particularly if there isn't a seperate metre for your apartment.
Supabeast: that is goddamn BRILLIANT. I bow before your wisdom.
Also, worth pointing out: the bed has already been purchased, it's at the house now. So I'm gonna need some kind of moving arrangements.
I suppose a day trip is the next logical step. Greenville, here I come!
Thanks for the advice thusfar, keep it coming!
I strongly second this advice. I've rented sight unseen before, but I would never recommend that anyone do that, especially if its within driving distance. In my case it was three timezones away.
First thing I did was pick up a local apartment guide at a gas station. I went through this for the better part of the first day, creating a paper spreadsheet about what the ones near my place of employment offered. Things like distance, price, whether utilities were included, additional ammenities (some had free washer and dryer service or free internet, etc...). I used this to narrow my options down to about 10 places. Then I called all of those to see which ones would be available for me to check out the next day. If there would not be anyone there to show me the inside of one of the apartments I would just cross it off my list. I ended up with about 6 places and I visited them all the next day.
I found that the quality of the insides of the apartments was pretty matched by the quality of the outside/common areas. These were apartment complexes with maybe 6-10 buildings each. It was pretty easy to see which management companies took pride in their complex and which didn't. The landscaping, the amount of litter, the quality of the parking lots (potholes, etc...) told a lot. I made sure to see which ones had ample parking so I didn't have to hunt for a spot every night.
In the end the really cheap ones looked like dumps and I prefered the midrange ones. Of those, one had much nicer landscaping, and a better floorplan for the design in my pricerange. I ended up living there about 5 years. In that time the ownership changed after the hurricanes of 04 and the place has really gone downhill, so my wife and I decided to buy a house.
I would highly suggest visiting 5-10 places first before agreeing to anything. Even if you get a short term rental and think you can easily move out later, never underestimate how much of a PAIN moving is. You want to find a place you will be happy with for a few years if you can.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
MMOG Comic, Quests, and News. www.thebrasse.com
$395 isn't a bad deal at all. Though being close to downtown isn't necessarily a good thing. Most of downtown is fairly scary at night. Golf courses are all over the place up here for some reason. I know of 4 within 10 minutes of my house. If you need someone local to go check it out for you, let me know. I'm in Greenville quite often. Keep in mind that most of the stuff thats actually worthwhile in Greenville is on the south side of town. Sure there's the zoo and the parks near downtown, but all but one of the movie theaters, all of the shopping and most places people go out are near I-85.
IIRC, the whole fiasco with moving out was instigated by telling your folks you were an athiest? If so watch out for the Bob Jones University people. They're crazy nutjobs there.
Well, I've lived in some scary places before (on my little homeless stint) so I doubt there's anything up there to give me pause that can top living in the worst ghetto of the murder capital of florida. Plus it's five minutes from my friend, and ten from my work, so it's looking decent thusfar. If you are ever in the area, it's at 8500 White Horse (Here's a map) and it'd be awesome if you could just do a driveby, even jus tto tell me what that side of town is like.
As for Bob Jones, I can handle them. I went to a Christian high school, and I've had to deal with Pensacola Christian College before. I might actually go take a tour there just for gits and shiggles, hah.
yeah, Greenville isn't really that bad. It's when you start getting out into the country some where it starts getting scary. I'll probably be over there this weekend. So if i get a chance i'll drive by and take some pictures for ya.