Making The Decision to Change Apartments Part II

May 11, 2009 by Chelsea
Filed under Frugality

We recently moved apartments in the beginning of April. Our main reason for moving was to be in an apartment with its own washer and dryer, although we took other factors into consideration. We also wanted to cut down on our rent in order to increase our savings, especially with another child on the way. So around the beginning of February we started looking at apartments. Because we wanted to stay within 15 minutes of Tim’s work and also stay in our church congregation’s boundaries we knew we had to find a place close to our current location. Here are some things we learned in our quest to find a new place.

1. Learn how much notice you need to give your current location of your move
Our lease was technically up March 1st, and so I thought that if I gave them 30 days notice and informed them in February that we would be leaving, we could leave the 1st of March. Well, after talking to the office and re-reading our contract I learned we needed to give them 60 days notice of our leaving. So we ended up extending our contract one month because I never read our contract to see how much notice we needed to give them. Luckily there were no penalties or increases for the extra month of rent.

2. Start looking at your options early
We started browsing at listings online and in the paper in January to get a feel for current prices and options. Since we were familiar with the area we quickly narrowed down our choices. At first we wanted to rent a small house but either the prices were too high or it didn’t fit our criteria. So we then started looking at other large complexes in the area.

3. Ask about current promotions or deals
This strategy mainly works for large apartment complexes, but it never hurts to haggle over price, deposit or other concessions. When we moved into our old apartment they were unable to take any money off of our rent, but they did lower our security deposit to $50. After we had toured our current apartment we asked about any concessions they were offering. At first they offered 1 1/2 months free rent if we were able to apply within a few days of an opening. Later they called with a new promotion and offered us 2 months free rent.

4. Talk to residents
We knew a few friends who lived in the complex that offered us the greatest deal and they were happy to give us their opinions of the complex. They were overall satisfied although with the complex although they had a few minor complaints. Their complaints weren’t major drawbacks for us and since we have lived in many complexes over the years as long as our family is safe and the apartment is sanitary we aren’t too picky.

5. Be willing to be flexible
After we had talked to our friends and applied for the apartment, the complex asked us if we could move in a few days earlier. They offered to let us move in a week earlier rent free, as long as we signed the lease by a certain date. This arrangement worked out well for us because even though we signed the new lease on a Tuesday, we could wait to move in until Saturday when friends and family could help us. In addition, our old apartment’s lease wasn’t up until the next Monday so I was able to go back and clean an empty apartment. The only inconvenience about this arrangement was that we paid utilities for two places for a week.

We were also flexible about the type of apartment we wanted. Even though we would have preferred a bottom floor apartment, when none were available we agreed to take a top floor apartment.

Overall, we were happy with the new apartment we found, even though we had lost storage space. With the two months free rent, our rent was dramatically reduced, opening up more room in the budget for savings. In addition, the apartment came with its own washer and dryer, freeing up time and quarters. We feel like we found the best deal in the area and are glad we took the time to shop around for our housing options.