Remember earlier this year when I moved to Southington and then very quickly moved again? It’s because I didn’t do enough research on that apartment, nor did I pay attention to some pretty clear warning signs {if the shower curtain rod needs to be replaced because it was stolen by previous tenants, that is probably not a place you want to live}. But you know, you live and you learn and I learned quite a lot from that experience, so Stan and I thought we would share a few apartment hunting tips with you. I’m dividing them up into two posts so as not to bombard you! Also, please note: Southington is not a bad town at all. In fact, I was really sad to move away from Southington. They have a vibrant and active downtown community, some really cool little shops and restaurants, and is overall a great place to just walk around in. It’s our apartment complex that was the problem.
Drive around the area. What’s nearby? How far are you from gas stations, grocery stores? Are there any parks? {Typically a good sign.} What about shady-looking places? {Typically a bad sign.} Near my apartment in Southington, there was an abandoned building that had recently been burned down by some teens. I seriously don’t know how I tricked my brain into overlooking that one. Take a drive around the apartment’s neighborhood. If it’s a place you wouldn’t feel safe walking around, I’d keep hunting.
Ask about the water. Unless you’ve lived in a hard water area, you may not think to ask about the water, but you should. I grew up in New Britain and we have some delicious tap water. {Yeah, I never thought I’d describe water as “delicious” either}. I don’t know if our apartment in Southington was well water or what, but it was awful. I refused to drink it unless it was filtered, it made my hair and skin feel filmy after taking a shower, and this is my colander after coming out of the dishwasher:
Check for missing, broken, or cheap furnishings. Again, a red flag should have gone off when the landlady told Stan and I that she was buying a new shower curtain rod because the previous one had been stolen. {Stan will tell you that he protested the apartment a few times. Okay, Stan, you’re right. I should have listened!} Plus, our refrigerator was way too small, even for just two people. And while it gave myself and my friends a good laugh when the clothing rack broke in my bedroom closet, it was yet another indication of a bad investment.
Make note of damage to fixtures, appliances, and walls. You know what your security deposit is for? It’s to cover any damage caused to the apartment while you were living in it. For your sake, it’s a good idea to well-document any scratches, bangs, burns, dents, scuffs, marks, and so on in the apartment’s fixtures, appliances, flooring, walls, etc. Plus, if you notice a lot of damage, that could be indicative of both the tenants of that area in general and your landlady. The Southington apartment had lots of dings, scratches, scrapes, crayon marks, and even a bedroom door that was slightly bashed in at the handle {as if someone broke through the door}. I am continuously shaking my head.
Meet your would-be neighbors. I know some of you might think this is super awkward, and it totally is, but I can tell you: Stan and I would never have moved into that last apartment if we had met our downstairs neighbors. They’re the reason we moved out. They were loud, obnoxious, always had either the TV or radio on, smoked indoors, and somehow crammed 6 people into a 2-bedroom apartment. The mother was always screaming and cussing, and I swear the kids would literally bounce off of the walls. There was never a moment of silence. We would go to sleep with their TV playing and wake up with their TV playing. It was horrendous. Meet. Your. Neighbors. Yeah, it’s awkward, but you don’t want to wind up like we did. Knock on their door. Make polite chit-chat. Ask if they like living there. Even if we didn’t meet our downstairs neighbors, there were 4 other apartments in the building. I’m sure one of the residents would have mentioned how awful these people were.
Find out what the pet policy is. You probably won’t have to ask about this unless you have a pet, but your landlord will tell you the pet policy anyway. Now, don’t get me wrong, Stan and I are both love dogs and want one {or two} someday, but we don’t have one now because we live in small spaces and we can’t devote the time or love to a dog just yet. Whether or not you have pets, you should find out if dogs are allowed and if your neighbors have dogs. Add “constantly barking dog” to the list of reasons why our downstairs neighbors were the worst tenants ever. I’m sure there are plenty of apartment residents who own dogs that are happy and keep the barking to the minimum, but I for one, wouldn’t take the chance.
Drive to the apartment at night. This might also seem creepy and awkward, but it’s yet another thing Stan and I didn’t do that we should have. Not only would we have realized that our neighbors played loud music at night, but we probably would have also met the crazy drunk guy that hung around the parking lot, babbling about how there was water leaking into his roof. I honestly don’t even think he lived there. He looked like he emerged from the bushes the few times I encountered him. You can’t make this stuff up!
I know. You’re wondering how I could have ever moved into that apartment. The truth is, I was desperate and rushed into it. I had a month to finish out my job at the communications firm, find an apartment, move, get settled, and start my job at Timex {which would have been about an hour and a half drive from where I was living before}. Stan and I had to move closer, but we also had to be budget-conscious and make sure we both had a fairly even drive to work. I was under serious time constraints and nervous about starting my first corporate job. This lead me to go against my better judgement big-time, but it ended up not being worth it in the slightest. So, please learn from my mistakes! Be very careful and evaluative when looking for a new place to live. Even if you can’t afford much, you should at least be able to relax and enjoy the place where you spend a good chunk of your day.
Check back next Monday for Part 2!
This is seriously some good advice. Don’t forget those across the hall neighbors who had a room freshener outside their door and a towel underneath it…probably smoking weed. Anyway I hope I can use this advice soon!
I feel ya on the water. My bf and I dogsit for a place in Falls Village, CT, where they have hard, SULFUROUS water. Everything you clean, drink, or rinse smells like rotten eggs. The sulfurous well makes the land worthless, and I can’t imagine living with rotten-egg water my whole life.
These are great tips! And wow, your website’s layout has amazing pop with those bright colors!