I live in what some would call a less than ideal situation. It's an apartment building where a good number of college students live right next to a fraternity. The alley right outside my bedroom is a major thoroughfare during the school year for college students to use while going to and from the bars. I have had five bats and seven mice in my apartment in the three years I've lived there and I always get these weird bugs too.
So, I got approval to look somewhere else for housing. After what I believe was a pretty thorough search, I found a nice apartment about two miles from work. The ironic thing is that this is the first time that I've had to do this. I've never before had to search for an apartment. The only time prior to priesthood that I could have had to do this was when I lived in a traditional rectory with three other priests. I feel like I never know what questions to ask. The one that I chose has a lot of nice amenities so I hope the structure is good. Like, I don't want it to have a lot of frills but be basically falling apart. I hope that's not true. In the end, it's far enough away from campus that, in comparison, it's got to be quiet.
2 comments:
Hmm, I've only been apartment shopping once, so I understand not knowing what questions to ask. I would highly recommend talking with the previous or neighbor tenants if available, and if not, others you know who rent from the same landlord/manager.
I asked about the usual things I could think of when touring the apartment and talking with my new roommates (utilities, insulation of apt. and heating/cooling costs, hot water, laundry availability, parking, responsiveness of manager to maintenance, bugs and other critters, noise levels, pets, distance to Cy-Ride, security of building, etc.)
Things I wish I would have done/asked about:
- Flushing the toilets! (Lo-flo's can cause headaches)
- Check on other little things in the apt. that should just work, like operability of ventilation fans in bathrooms/kitchen, window blinds, ceiling fans, garbage disposals, smoke detectors, etc.
- Ask about snow and ice removal
- Ask about emergency procedures (in case of fire or false alarms - sprinkler system activation, notification of fire dept.; shelter for tornados or severe weather; is this a flood plain?)
what fun that you also blog!
I just moved into a new apartment. I had lived in my old one for 2.5 years and my roommate had been the one to ask all of the questions, so I feel your pain. I basically walked around my new place not knowing what to ask except if there was free heat. There was. Now I live there.
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