1st Time [Apartment Thread]

Ampersand

I'm a newly minted law student moving up to State College, PA (PSU) in August to begin three years of law schooling and I've never rented before... :!:

Advise me.

What do I need to know about distance apartment hunting - I'm about 3 hours away - and the process of signing a lease in hopes that come August 1st I have a nice and cozy 1 bedroom efficiency to call my own?

Sub-question: What's the time line for these things? When will I be expected to shell out the security deposit and 1st/Last month's rent?

BlochWave

Distance hunting? Three hours is nothing, I'd suggest visiting any place you're interested in (you could do them all in a day). There are about 475634897563 apartment finding/review websites, and in my experience they're all equally useless for determining true apartment quality compared to just visiting. And no matter how thoroughly you check it when you visit, you'll find small surprises crop up over time. So use the internet to get a feel for what's out there, make a long list of complexes that you may be interested in that offer an apartment that you may be interested in. Call them, tell them your moving timeframe and the apartment you're looking at, and they'll tell you if they'll have one available. This process will drastically reduce your long list to much shorter.

If you went to an apartment tomorrow and liked it, you could sign the lease right then and there, but the move in date on the lease would be August 1st. They'd expect whatever payments they want (1st/last, security, etc.) then as well

Zek

If at all possible you should never rent without seeing the place yourself. Are you going there for anything before August? Or is there anybody in the area you can trust to look at places for you? If not you should just make the trip, it's not worth the risk to do it blind(which you might as well be if you're trusting photos and/or apartment reviews).

Another question to piggyback on this thread - I'm going apartment hunting myself this weekend, does anybody have any tips on potential problems to look for? Namely stuff that might not be obvious at first glance, or hints that the landlord is sloppy. In particular I'm curious if there's any good way to determine how much noise gets through the ceiling/floor/walls without having access to adjacent apartments - any good rules of thumb based on the materials or something?

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up

Zek wrote: »

If at all possible you should never rent without seeing the place yourself. Are you going there for anything before August? Or is there anybody in the area you can trust to look at places for you? If not you should just make the trip, it's not worth the risk to do it blind(which you might as well be if you're trusting photos and/or apartment reviews).

Another question to piggyback on this thread - I'm going apartment hunting myself this weekend, does anybody have any tips on potential problems to look for? Namely stuff that might not be obvious at first glance. In particular I'm curious if there's any good way to determine how much noise gets through the ceiling/floor/walls without having access to adjacent apartments. Any good rules of thumb based on the materials or something?

as far as noise cancellation goes it depends on the insulation, which is inside the walls so you're not really gonna get a feel for it until someone is on the other side of the wall yelling at 5 in the morning for their kids to wake up for school after you've had a long day at work and just fallen asleep (thanks family behind us) it's usually pretty good though and something i would worry about last. as far as things to look for they give you a piece of paper to list problems with the apartment when you first move in USE IT. I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. we got charged like 60 dollars to fix the front door which didn't hold closed on it's own (we just got used to bolting it every time we walked in and ignored it). it was maybe a 20 dollar problem tops. make sure all doors work and close properly, nothing is wrong with the window/screen, no major problems in the bath or any plumbing, and heavily inspect the kitchen area.

as a side note: yes you always want to look at the apartment yourself, 3 hour drive just means choose a weekend to go up there and hunt apartments. don't even send someone to look for you these sites make the buildings look a lot fancier than they ever end up being (mine also showed a tennis court which was a huge selling point for me, only to find my friend never asked about it, and they took it down before i moved up there (in my defense it wasn't a 3 hour drive it was a move from alabama to utah...yeah))

Manda

as a side note: yes you always want to look at the apartment yourself, 3 hour drive just means choose a weekend to go up there and hunt apartments. don't even send someone to look for you these sites make the buildings look a lot fancier than they ever end up being (mine also showed a tennis court which was a huge selling point for me, only to find my friend never asked about it, and they took it down before i moved up there (in my defense it wasn't a 3 hour drive it was a move from alabama to utah...yeah))

I cannot lime this hard enough. Last summer my fiance and I had to move into an apartment sight-unseen and it was a disaster. Obviously you can have issues that are apartment-specific (dirt, mold, leaks), but you can often get a good feeling for the complex as a whole by looking around.

Another question to piggyback on this thread - I'm going apartment hunting myself this weekend, does anybody have any tips on potential problems to look for? Namely stuff that might not be obvious at first glance.

Obvious stuff: Is the apartment office open when they say it will be? Are the roads in good shape or are they full of potholes? Are the buildings well-maintained? (I once visited a complex where the window glass was held together with tape.) How old are the fixtures/appliances? Is the neighborhood nice? Does the complex have a resident police officer? How is the traffic, particularly getting into/out of the complex? Are there any apartments near the dumpsters and if so, how bad is the smell?

Not as obvious: If you get to visit your actual apartment and not just a model, make sure to try all the outlets (our apartment this summer had no outlets in the bathroom and two cable outlets, both in the living room, only one of which was functional). Open all the drawers - the awful apartment from this summer also featured some strange pink mold in the bathroom drawers. Look for mold, particularly around the shower (if there are patches of color different from the surrounding paint, it probably means there was mold and they painted over it). Do you see any insects/rodents? If the complex is near a wooded area, do they keep the stairs/doors clean? (Nothing like opening your apartment door to a nest of gigantic spiders.) Lastly, don't forget the apartment managers. If the complex is run by a bunch of college kids you probably want to move somewhere else.

Over all, listen to your instincts. If your gut tells you a place is bad you probably don't want to be living there. The people who are trying to sell you that apartment are just doing their jobs. Your stake in this is much bigger than theirs. At the end of the day, they don't live there - you do.

as far as things to look for they give you a piece of paper to list problems with the apartment when you first move in USE IT. I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

They might not fix the problems that you list, but you really don't want to get stuck with the bill for someone else's fuck up when it comes time to move. (Protip: If you have a problem and are vocal about it, they'll usually fix it for free while you live there. If you leave it until you move you will get charged for it.)

Blake T

Go find a cheap motel and stay there for a night.

Head up early on the first day and leave late on the second.

You will have two full days of apartment hunting that you will be able to utilise.

mugginns

Go to rent.com, you'll get a gift card.

Shadowfire

Manda wrote: »

as a side note: yes you always want to look at the apartment yourself, 3 hour drive just means choose a weekend to go up there and hunt apartments. don't even send someone to look for you these sites make the buildings look a lot fancier than they ever end up being (mine also showed a tennis court which was a huge selling point for me, only to find my friend never asked about it, and they took it down before i moved up there (in my defense it wasn't a 3 hour drive it was a move from alabama to utah...yeah))

I cannot lime this hard enough. Last summer my fiance and I had to move into an apartment sight-unseen and it was a disaster. Obviously you can have issues that are apartment-specific (dirt, mold, leaks), but you can often get a good feeling for the complex as a whole by looking around.

Another question to piggyback on this thread - I'm going apartment hunting myself this weekend, does anybody have any tips on potential problems to look for? Namely stuff that might not be obvious at first glance.

Obvious stuff: Is the apartment office open when they say it will be? Are the roads in good shape or are they full of potholes? Are the buildings well-maintained? (I once visited a complex where the window glass was held together with tape.) How old are the fixtures/appliances? Is the neighborhood nice? Does the complex have a resident police officer? How is the traffic, particularly getting into/out of the complex? Are there any apartments near the dumpsters and if so, how bad is the smell?

Not as obvious: If you get to visit your actual apartment and not just a model, make sure to try all the outlets (our apartment this summer had no outlets in the bathroom and two cable outlets, both in the living room, only one of which was functional). Open all the drawers - the awful apartment from this summer also featured some strange pink mold in the bathroom drawers. Look for mold, particularly around the shower (if there are patches of color different from the surrounding paint, it probably means there was mold and they painted over it). Do you see any insects/rodents? If the complex is near a wooded area, do they keep the stairs/doors clean? (Nothing like opening your apartment door to a nest of gigantic spiders.) Lastly, don't forget the apartment managers. If the complex is run by a bunch of college kids you probably want to move somewhere else.

Over all, listen to your instincts. If your gut tells you a place is bad you probably don't want to be living there. The people who are trying to sell you that apartment are just doing their jobs. Your stake in this is much bigger than theirs. At the end of the day, they don't live there - you do.

as far as things to look for they give you a piece of paper to list problems with the apartment when you first move in USE IT. I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

They might not fix the problems that you list, but you really don't want to get stuck with the bill for someone else's fuck up when it comes time to move. (Protip: If you have a problem and are vocal about it, they'll usually fix it for free while you live there. If you leave it until you move you will get charged for it.)

Everything this man said. Also, look under the sinks for discolored spots showing frequent leaks. If you find a place you like, visit it again late in the day (after people get home from work) to see what the neighbors are like. Knock on their door and ask about their experience with the place. Then go back again at night, and see how noise is. The first apartment I moved into was great, the neighbors were awesome, but the first night living there I found out there was a bar down the road behind the apartment. At 2am, fucking kids with their "souped up" cars tearing ass down the road.

I'd Fuck Chuck Lidell Up

Shadowfire wrote: »

Manda wrote: »

as a side note: yes you always want to look at the apartment yourself, 3 hour drive just means choose a weekend to go up there and hunt apartments. don't even send someone to look for you these sites make the buildings look a lot fancier than they ever end up being (mine also showed a tennis court which was a huge selling point for me, only to find my friend never asked about it, and they took it down before i moved up there (in my defense it wasn't a 3 hour drive it was a move from alabama to utah...yeah))

I cannot lime this hard enough. Last summer my fiance and I had to move into an apartment sight-unseen and it was a disaster. Obviously you can have issues that are apartment-specific (dirt, mold, leaks), but you can often get a good feeling for the complex as a whole by looking around.

Another question to piggyback on this thread - I'm going apartment hunting myself this weekend, does anybody have any tips on potential problems to look for? Namely stuff that might not be obvious at first glance.

Obvious stuff: Is the apartment office open when they say it will be? Are the roads in good shape or are they full of potholes? Are the buildings well-maintained? (I once visited a complex where the window glass was held together with tape.) How old are the fixtures/appliances? Is the neighborhood nice? Does the complex have a resident police officer? How is the traffic, particularly getting into/out of the complex? Are there any apartments near the dumpsters and if so, how bad is the smell?

Not as obvious: If you get to visit your actual apartment and not just a model, make sure to try all the outlets (our apartment this summer had no outlets in the bathroom and two cable outlets, both in the living room, only one of which was functional). Open all the drawers - the awful apartment from this summer also featured some strange pink mold in the bathroom drawers. Look for mold, particularly around the shower (if there are patches of color different from the surrounding paint, it probably means there was mold and they painted over it). Do you see any insects/rodents? If the complex is near a wooded area, do they keep the stairs/doors clean? (Nothing like opening your apartment door to a nest of gigantic spiders.) Lastly, don't forget the apartment managers. If the complex is run by a bunch of college kids you probably want to move somewhere else.

Over all, listen to your instincts. If your gut tells you a place is bad you probably don't want to be living there. The people who are trying to sell you that apartment are just doing their jobs. Your stake in this is much bigger than theirs. At the end of the day, they don't live there - you do.

as far as things to look for they give you a piece of paper to list problems with the apartment when you first move in USE IT. I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.

They might not fix the problems that you list, but you really don't want to get stuck with the bill for someone else's fuck up when it comes time to move. (Protip: If you have a problem and are vocal about it, they'll usually fix it for free while you live there. If you leave it until you move you will get charged for it.)

Everything this man said. Also, look under the sinks for discolored spots showing frequent leaks. If you find a place you like, visit it again late in the day (after people get home from work) to see what the neighbors are like. Knock on their door and ask about their experience with the place. Then go back again at night, and see how noise is. The first apartment I moved into was great, the neighbors were awesome, but the first night living there I found out there was a bar down the road behind the apartment. At 2am, fucking kids with their "souped up" cars tearing ass down the road.

what were you living with me without me knowing it?

i used to live next to one of those ultra terrible clubs. not a bar... a club.

luckilly we never slept till about 6-7am so we never caught the worst of it. and we also lived across the street from chrispy creme so doughnuts at 6am just before bed mmmmmm

Raneados

a lot of places won't let you see a real apartment, they always have a show apartment to demonstrate

problem is, this apartment is always kept empty and really good looking for just this purpose

if you agree to an apartment, try to see the ACTUAL apartment where you'll be living before you sign a thing

Jasconius

I actually am going through the same thing right now, except 2 hours away instead of 3 hours... but need it a lot sooner...

based on my experience, I would be surprised if they would have a lot of information on availability for August... typically the buffer is 60 days, and you're at least 90 days and change away from August, so I doubt they will even have any idea what will be open in August.


Apartment prices are based very much on demand and vacancy, and since they don't know what's coming up in August, if they got you to sign a lease in May you might be paying more than you need to. If they end up with 8 vacant spots in August then the price much be less. I would wait another month before signing a lease if you can help it.

If you go now they're going to weasel you into "taking ownership" of the apartment sooner than Aug 1 to lock in their price at the current time.

Try to see an actual apartment, not the model. For two reasons. 1, they paint and decorate models to make them seem bigger/nicer than they really are, and they try to divert your eyes away from the details such as lame/cheap appliances, windows, etc.

The top things you need to look for are

1) Building construction: concrete is nice... drywall aka paper machete? not so nice. concrete = less noise from neighbors

2) Appliance quality... I've seen even so-called "luxury" apartments really skimp out on appliances, and have thermostats that look like they came from the 1970's.


Depends on where you are moving on what kind of deposit/move-in fees they want. I am moving to an area with a shitton of vacancy all around town, my move-in cost is less than one months rent... go to a place where demand is high and you might need a full month's rent + deposit + some other administration nonsense. I've never heard of a straight up apartment complex asking for first/last... that tends to be a private owner thing, but I could be dead wrong.

TL DR

Craigslist is awesome for apartments

Jasconius

Also I guess I should mention.. do not make your decisions on where to visit based on website prices (apartments.com, forrent.com, etc), they are almost always the "market prices".

Right now, because of the economy, housing overall is suffering from demand problems, and apartments are not immune to this. Many places are doing discounts/free rent to contend for tenants.

oldsak

Also, ask your school. They can probably offer you some suggestions.