Biggest factor when apt hunting?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m currently looking for an apartment to move into, and for the first time in three years I’m not in a huge rush to do it. Since a few of the places I’ve lived in (such as my current residence) were the product of comprimises for the sake of time, I want to do things ‘right’ this time around and pick a place that I am overall satisfied with.

I’ve had to learn the hard way all sorts of things I didn’t consider BEFORE I moved into places, ie laundry/kitchen access, noise levels, landlord involvement, etc. I was curious about fellow dopers and their sucessful apartment moves, and what worked out well for them to help me get an idea on what to look for and what is worth the cost.

To clarify, I am planning on moving into a studio or 1-bedroom apartment in the next couple of months. I want to move to Milpitas because it is closer to my work but it is so expensive; I may end up looking for a place near a light rail station and make use of that (since its free for me and I know gas is probably going to jump back up this summer).

2

Here are some things to consider…

  1. Location, is it near work?
  2. Who lives in the building? How is the sound proofing between units?
  3. Are pets allowed?
  4. Do you want to live on the third floor? I live on the third floor and moving anything is a bitch…yet at the same time it’s quieter because no one lives above me.
  5. Drafts…how are the windows?
  6. Surrounding noise, is the rail station loud? Will you be able to sleep?
  7. What do your windows face? You’ll see it every day
3

Does the place have noisy, antisocial neighbours?
Is it light enough?
Is it dangerous (faulty electrical wiring, adequate fire escapes)?

4

How long are you thinking you’re going to be living there? If it’s a year or two, you can choose something different than if you’re thinking of something much more long term. Is this a place to stay, or a home? IME, it makes a world of difference.

Personally, I’d always choose a closed off bedroom over a studio, for the privacy if you have guests over and for the more flexible decor options.

How are you about things like doing dishes - for us, a dishwasher was pretty much a must, but that might not be possible where you are.

Laundry in the unit vs in the building vs on the block vs further away. I prefer the first and have never settled for less than in the building. Coin laundry in building, or key access/fee in rent can also come into play.

Water pressure in the shower is something to check; I’ve lived in a place with a nice renovated washroom, but with the merest trickle of water from the shower head. It sucked.

Kitchen counter space: is there enough room to prepare food comfortably, or is there only the tiniest space? Is there room for a microwave/toaster/toaster oven/coffee maker/knife block/spice rack/etc ?

Storage space: Is there room to store your empty moving boxes, your seasonal clothes, sports items, tool box, spare light bulbs, cans of paint, bicycle, etc?

Cleanliness: if the unit is carpeted, are there stains/odours/etc or is the carpet clean? Are the hardwood floors decently smooth, or all splintered? Are tiles in pieces or whole? Things like this can tell you a lot about the landlord and the types of tenants he’s accepted in the past. They aren’t necessarily deal breakers, though, but if the landlord offers to fix something, get it in writing with an agreement that if it isn’t done, you can walk away from the lease if you can!

I don’t recommend taking a unit with a window over the building’s garbage bins. It stinks, and you’ll be woken up by garbage pickup every week!

Good luck! I like apartment hunting when you have time - we were lucky with this place, that we found on our first visit of only one day in the city, but I’ve compromised so much on previous ones!

5

Yeah, all of these. It’s never simple.

A big one for me that I didn’t realize would be such an issue when I moved into my current place is laundry in building; I didn’t think it would be a big deal to go out to do laundry, but…now I just never do laundry.

6

Also, do you face a corner with a stoplight (every time the light turns green, someone will beep their horn). Do you face an area where people congregate and talk?

If you face south you may have a very hot apartment.

On reflection, while these are all mistakes I have made, I was happy in both of these apartments, so keep that in mind. Everything has a trade off. Just remember not to trade off being happy.

7

My first consideration is does it allow cats…if the answer is no, then I move on.

Once I took a place that was right next to a daycare. I was working a night shift and slept during the day. Needless to say it didn’t work out as the kids came out to play 4 times a day, screaming at the top of their lungs, right next to my bedroom window. I couldn’t sleep so I had to move.

Garage space is important if you have a decent car or extra things to store.

8

Is it on a major road or does it connect two major roads? That means lots of traffic going pass your house.

9

Come down to Morgan Hill. I’m under the impression that apartments are a good deal here (although I’m not positive), and you can take Caltrain in to work. Is Caltrain free for you? It’s nice to live where it’s semi-rural.

10

When apartment hunting, take a camera with you, especially if the apartment is part of a complex. It’s easier to hold a potential landlord to their promises if you take pictures.

Once you sign the lease and move-in report, take pictures and document every potential problem that the landlord has promised to fix. It also pays to take overall pictures of the place before you move in just to establish its current conditions. When it comes time to move out, those pictures may come in handy when the landlord claims more than ordinary wear/tear. Make sure you include a copy of the pre-move in pictures with your signed lease and move in report.

11

And it should be fairly obvious, though so many people don’t bother, that it’s a really good idea to be familiar with renter’s rights in your state and to know how to go about filing a grievance or what you can and cannot be evicted for, etc. Department of Housing or whatever would be a good website to have bookmarked.

Also, get renter’s insurance (I have a depressing amount of friends who don’t feel it’s necessary… about 6 blocks away from here, 17 families lost their homes on Christmas Eve eve to fire. Sucks).

12

My first query is how far away the train station is. About a block and an half’s ideal. More than ten minutes’ walk and I couldn’t live with it.

But there are certain things that you may not automatically look for. I’ve rented a place that I didn’t realise was under the flightpath - but only when the wind was coming from the South, which it wasn’t on the day I did the inspection. I have a friend who took a one-bedroom place after a brief scout, but didn’t realise until after he’d moved in that there was a streetlight less than a metre away from the bedroom window and who didn’t notice during the inspection that the flat didn’t have its own bathroom.

If the place is still occupied while you’re doing an inspection, for the love of all that’s holy speak to the tenants. Ask about the flat (what they like, what they hate) and the landlord.

13

You know what I always do is pay attention to how clean they keep the common spaces in the building – stairwell, laundry room (if applicable), trash room, etc. If nobody is keeping the nooks and crannies clean then don’t be surprised if that same nobody shows up when you have a problem inside your apartment. Whoever is doing the showing may not think to show you the trash cans and back stairwell, but if you ask it’s shouldn’t be a problem to take a look-see.

14

The one thing I don’t like about my current apartment is the parking gate. It is opened only with a key card. So, I have to roll down the window, stick the key card in, and then wait for the gate to open. Of course, that doesn’t include the time looking for the key card, or how much fun it is streching my arm if I didn’t pull up close enough to the card reader…or dropping the card and looking for it in the dark.

Also, there is no guest code to give to guests. They have to dial your number from the gate and then get buzzed in.

Minor annoyances, but might be something to think about. I don’t think the gate does a damn bit of good and I’d be happy if it was open 24/7

15

In order for me?

Take Dogs
Safe Building (structurally/system-wise)
In-Unit Laundry
Balcony (if more than 3 floors)
Good location (not next to trains, planes or loud automobiles)
Parking, either reserved lot/garage or ample street.

That’s it. I don’t require much more than that, though in the world of apartments,
what I DO require is a lot.

16

Water pressure and temperature. Never take an apartment until you’ve turned on the shower and seen how the pressure is, how long it takes to get hot, and how hot it gets. Also, if there’s window in the shower, stand next to it to see if it’s drafty.

Hard experience of a year’s worth of miserable showers talking, here.

17
  1. Location/commute time - five minutes each way, once a day, 200+ work days a year, adds up.
  2. Shower Quality - others have mentioned it but water pressure and temperature cannot be said enough.
  3. Laundry convenience - in building or at worst under a block away is the most I’d settle for.
  4. Are pets allowed? (although “no” is the answer I’m looking for, as a pet-free building simplifies my allergy situation)
  5. Does the landlord seem reasonable? I love my current landlord, and she’s well worth the slight markup I was paying on rent. She likes me as a renter, and so my rent didn’t go up this year when pretty much everywhere else in my building (and neighborhood) did. We have a good relationship.
18

One I haven’t seen mentioned, weekend night noise levels. I suggest this to everyone I know that is moving, rent or buy.

Stop by a couple of times, including at least 1 weekend evening. Does that nice quiet courtyard become a party venue every Friday? Does the street in front turn into the high school looping route, with a steady stream of cars going buy?

19

  1. Is there a history of any kind of pest or insect problem? (Rickjay, Mrs. Rickjay and I were sorely burned by this one 6 years ago. I’ve always made a point of asking/checking since.)

  2. Is transit easily accessible? Or, when I had a car, is there ample parking?

  3. Is there laundry in the building?

  4. How are the amenities?

  5. Is the area safe?

  6. Does it seem like a hectic/loud building?

  7. Does the landlord seem reasonable?

  8. How’s the storage space?

  9. Do they allow pets?

  10. Would it be reasonably easy for visitors to find/access?

  11. Do they have good security?

20

Location is by far the most important. I have about 30 sq feet of floor space in my room around a twin bed and I love it. Something like 22 Muni lines run near my house, 15 min walk from BART, bars (including Toronado), restaurants, parks. No dogs allowed in my building but there’s a dog park line-of-sight from my front door. I think the only thing missing is a mainstream movie theater, though the amazing beautiful Castro Theater is 10 minutes away.

All in all, aside from work, we could live the rest of our lives within a mile’s radius and still have something new to do.

Add on that we’re luckily on the first floor, and we like our neighbors.

Location, location, location.