Renting your own apartment is the first step toward becoming an independent person, therefore you have to make the right decision in terms of budget, location, and space.
While offers are numerous and varied, you need to know some tricks to find the best apartment for you in terms of comfort and price. Don’t let yourself be impressed by a great presentation! You can outsmart them!
Even if you choose to hire a renting agency or just search through the ads section in your local newspaper or on a specific website, knowing these 5 easy tricks will save you a lot of money and effort:
- First, decide what kind of apartment would you like to rent: a very big one, luxury, average, and so on, also depending on your budget. It’s also important to know from the beginning if you plan to live alone or find a partner. If you have a partner or plan to get one, you should choose the one with more space, considering that you will split the rental expenses
- Never rent the first apartment you see! Being in rush to find your own place, you might be attracted to something not really suitable for your living style. Also, you won’t have any other offers to compare. Try to see at least 3 or 4 properties before making your decision.
It’s also good advice to visit them during daylight, since small details, like walls status or surroundings, are hard to see in the dark. You will be grateful later for this!
3. Try to assess each apartment’s position towards the Sun using a Compass (you can install one on your smartphone for free). Always look for apartments oriented toward the East, South-East, or North-East. While this advice might sound strange to you, I’ll explain to you below why you need to assess this:
- An apartment oriented like this will benefit from more natural light, and therefore the chance for mold developing is reduced
- Your heating bill will be lower since the direct Sunlight will increase your apartment temperature by a few degrees unlike in the apartments oriented in North
- Your electricity bill for lighting will be reduced since your apartment won’t be in the shadow like the ones oriented toward the North
- If you like apartment plants, this choice will bring your apartment plants enough light, therefore they will be healthier and they will look better. Natural plants are known for boosting creativity and improving people’s health
- Your mood will be much better if you benefit from natural light since Vitamin D is stimulated by direct Sunlight. Lack of natural light is also known to cause depression.
- Read very carefully the renting contract and clarify from the beginning the following aspects:
- Who and how is taking care of the accidental repairs? Sometimes these aspects might cost a lot, and it’s better to know from the beginning who’s doing what
- What services are included in the rental contract? In some situations, it might be the case that water or electricity is part of the renting fee
- What is the “Guest Policy” of the owner? Can you invite your friends in, without fearing that your neighbors will complain about it?
- Are pets allowed? If you have a furry friend and you want to stay with you, you might be charged supplementary
- Is there a security system, security cameras, a doorman, or anything else concerning safety?
- Is there any parking allotted to the respective apartment? Is it free or do you have to pay for it?
- Is the renting fee a fixed amount or it can vary from month to month? In order to plan your money well, you should know this from the beginning
- Is the apartment located in a safe area of the city? How far is the nearest subway, bus, or train station? While you don’t want to spend your entire savings by renting a luxurious apartment located downtown, you also don’t want to go very far to the suburbs, if your job is on the other side of the city. A good neighborhood will help you to sleep well at night and worry less about bad things that might happen to you.
While this recommendation didn’t cover everything there is to know on the subject, it’s a good starting point if you have no experience in this subject. Remember, an informed man is an intelligent man! Moving on your own is a big step, and you want to do it in a professional way, without investing extra money in some very expensive consultant services, that will add up to your already limited budget.
Before making a final decision, make a “pros” and “cons” list for each property. This will clarify your thinking process and will make you see things that you didn’t consider before.
If you have any other good advice, feel free to add it in the comments section below. A lot of people will be grateful!