Set aside this afternoon, then go grab a hammer and a bucket of rusty nails and pound them through your hand.
Now you know.
Amen.
The process of securing an apartment doesn't have to be terrible, but frequently it's a PITA. I've done houses and apartments, private landlords and management companies, and I have to say I prefer apartments run by larger companies. Getting maintenance and issues solved is a snap with my current apartment whereas my private landlords usually took considerable time (not always their fault really) coordinating resolutions for issues. Renting a house was lovely but I was always in older homes that were really inefficient for utilities and lawn care issues drove me crazy. Even though I prefer apartments, a few drawbacks:
- 3x is about right for many places but 4x often used by nicer/newer properties; I've never heard of anyone applying for an apartment without employment.. a friend who freelances had to provide bank records to prove her income from projects
- nearly all apartments I've seen in last four years require that you carry renter's insurance (you want to anyway really, but they will insist on seeing paperwork proving you have a policy)
- be aware that fees are often tacked on with apartment complexes that you likely would not see with a house or a private landlord, things like: trash removal - often marketed as "valet" service and can easily go $25-30/month and isn't optional, key fees for miscellaneous amenities, even a fee for billing you each month for your rent/utilities
- many apartments seem to be hooked to only one provider for utilities (particularly internet/cable) which can mean you pay more for lack of other options, in some cases cable TV is "included" in rent and you cannot opt out to avoid paying for it
- pets: seems standard these days is to heavily restrict breed/size, require veterinary paperwork proving vaccination history, charge a monthly fee ("pet rent") or a substantial deposit/fee at lease start
- references: Vee mentioned these and I'll confirm they seem pretty standard around here too, both personal and from previous landlord
So, when crunching numbers and researching, those are a few things I'd ask about so you know real true cost.
>Sarah