Close your eyes and imagine your ideal pad: is it in the city, near all the noise and late-night pizza joints? Are there roommates (or a significant other)? Big TV or little TV? Time to have your dreams slam into the reality of a budget.
Rent will eat up the biggest chunk of your budget so be prepared to be thrifty. Extra charges for electricity, gas, hot water, a garbage disposal, an occasional plumber, cable and Internet are just plain necessary. Let me share a few apartment-hunting strategies that I’ve used over and over:
- Know the neighborhood: My favorite site is . This free site lets you filter apartment rentals against a Google maps background for almost any city. You can pull up the crime stats, neighborhood names and other useful info too.
- Rethink distance: You can save a lot if you live farther away from work or the city center. Offset that longer commute by living very close to the subway, train or bus. Even for apartments owned by the same management company, I noticed a $1,000 savings with this strategy.
- Go around the realtor: My friends in real estate (who shall remain nameless) suggest going straight to an apartment building. If you meet with a leasing agent specific to that building, you’re more likely to get perks like one month of free rent, or eliminate the agent’s fee altogether. This strategy is most useful for buildings with lots of units.
I wish you all successful Discount Dominations in your housing search. If you’d like to brush up on the technical stuff, check out the Renting an Apartment page.
Similar Posts:
- What to Pack on the Apartment Hunt
- What is a Single Asset Real Estate Case? (First in a Series of Three)
- Claiming Your Moving Expenses on Your Tax Return
- Can I rent after bankruptcy?
- Rethink Your Commute
