When I quit law school, my high school best friend and I decided to find an apartment in the St. Louis metro area even before I had a job. So we drove through the area we liked and wrote down the addresses and phone numbers of the flats we saw that had signs out front and then we searched Craigslist. And finally, on the coldest day of the winter, we went to look at places.
Somehow we found the sketchiest landlord in the city (probably not a strategy I would recommend), but that worked out because they agreed to rent to us with a double deposit even though I had a college degree but no current job prospects. We looked at several and then selected one that was a 1950’s two-family flat right on a popular street. It was the right place, at the right time, but I learned SO much about what not to do in the year we lived in that flat. Learn from my mistakes! The 7 things you need to do when getting your first place.
Figure out what you think you want - when you move into your first place, you may not have any idea what you want, but it doesn’t hurt to try and think of a few things anyway. When you imagine your weekdays, what do they look like? Do you have a short walk to work? Do you take public transit? When you think about your weekends, what do they look like? Are you going out and want to be able to walk (and save on Ubers)? Are you more of a homebody on the weekends? Is it important for you to have a garden/yard to spend time in? Do you want to live in a complex, a downtown loft, or a quieter flat or standalone house?
All of these things are important and will help you cross places off your list later on.
Figure out what you can afford - What is a realistic budget? One that is going to allow you to save and still have fun? It is important to include utilities in your thinking. Do a little research online and figure out what you can expect. You probably don’t need a landline phone, but you will likely have to get your own internet service, in addition to electric and/or gas. Also find out in your area if it is common for the landlord to pay for water, trash, and sewer. Sometimes you can find a great deal because the rent includes heat and hot water if the building is on a boiler system or the landlord includes Wifi.
Figure out if you need a roommate - Once you have your budget and your “wants” list, go online and start figuring out if you can afford to pay for what you want. If you can, awesome! If you can’t you might need to decide if you want to start thinking about a roommate or if you want to scale back your “wants” list.
Start looking - This is the fun part! I don’t know about you, but I love looking for houses and apartments online. But it’s even more fun when you have a reason to go look in person! When my husband and I were looking for our first place together, we blocked off a day and went and looked at 4 places within a few blocks. We made a day of it. We got coffee at a local shop and then went and had lunch after to discuss the places we had seen.
When you are looking, there are a few important tips:
Take lots of pictures!! The places you see can start to run together. Pictures can help you keep it all straight and give you something to review when you are making decisions that aren’t realtor photos that can sometimes be deceiving.
Only see places that are within your budget. Period. You don’t want to fall in love with something you can’t afford. Just don’t do it.
Make sure you see the unit you will be renting. This isn’t usually a concern if you are looking at a flat, house or loft, but in complexes, sometimes they show you a model unit that can look pretty different than the unit they rent you. If they aren’t willing to show you the actual unit before you sign a lease - RUN away.
If you will be renting alone, take someone else with you to look. They might see things you miss and can help keep your perspective on track. On that note, make sure you bring someone who will do that. The best kind of friend to bring on shopping trips, from apartments to wedding dresses, are the ones who keep your needs front and center and not just their personal preferences. You are the one who will have to live there after all!
Try not to see everything through rose-colored glasses. Getting your first apartment is so exciting! Its the beginning of a new chapter in your life. But overlooking problems can ruin your life later. That cute 1950’s flat we moved into? Right before the lease was up, we had a water leak after a snowstorm that basically deteriorated an entire plaster wall and exposed lead paint…. and the landlord did nothing for weeks. There were warning signs we ignored.
Look for signs of water damage, smells (cats, mold, etc.) because they likely will not go away and indicate a bigger problem, and finally WINDOWS. Windows are such a topic, they get their own bullet point below.
Windows can make or break an apartment. If the apartment does not have new windows, your utility bills can be astronomical trying to heat or cool a drafty apartment. I have had aluminum frame windows and wood frame windows and I will never again have either one. Unless you like $400 surprise utility bills, just stay away. Sometimes landlords (good landlords) will replace them, but make sure you get that included in your lease before you sign.
Take a drive through the area at night - I was ready to sign the lease to a place until I took a drive-by in the evening with my windows down… and heard the house on the opposite side of the street had two big dogs that barked non-stop. You want to make sure that you see the area when people are home, not just when everyone is at work during the day to make sure it is really what you have in mind.
Read through the entire lease - And maybe have someone else read through the lease. I have done this for friends and interns before and some landlords can come up with really creative terms. Make sure you understand what you are getting in to and that you are comfortable with what you are agreeing too. Once you sign a lease, at least in the US, you are pretty stuck. For the 13+ months, you will only be able to break the lease if you pay a lot of money to buy out of the lease (hint: look for this clause when reading through the lease), or if your landlord does something really egregious - like takes a month to fix the heat in the winter.
And finally, make sure it feels like home! Maybe you aren’t a “vibe” person, but I always know when its the right place because it feels right. I can imagine what it will look like with my things moved in, cooking in the kitchen, sitting on the terrace. When you know, you know.
These are definitely my best tips based on my seven apartment shopping experiences. Did I miss anything? Share below! And don’t forget to check out what you need to know once the lease is signed here.