Making The Decision to Change Apartments Part II

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.

All Moved In and Posting Again

Thank you everyone for your patience as I took a longer-than-expected hiatus. We are now all moved into our new apartment and busy preparing for our little girl due in August. I have added a few more piano students and between my pregnancy, teaching piano and chasing my active son I have found less time to blog. But I just can’t keep away because I have made so many positive changes the past few months and learned so much from others that I am anxious to blog once more.

Making the Decision to Change Apartments Part I

Since we’re still renting we have the freedom to move around if we can find a better deal after our lease is up. We are currently in a nice 1100 sq feet apartment nestled in a quiet neighborhood. The complex has been great for us but we think we can find something that will fit our needs for less money. So Tim and I discussed what was important for us in finding a new apartment and here are some criteria we came up with:

1. Has washer/dryer hookups or comes with a washer/dryer
At this moment we don’t have washer/dryer hookups in our apartment so once a week I load up our son and our laundry and drive the short distance to our apartment complex’s laundry building. Besides the hassle of doing laundry outside our apartment (especially when our son was sick), laundry also eats into our budget as we spend $25-$35 on laundry/month, not including detergent. Since we will have another child in August, I just don’t see how I can arrange laundry around two children’s schedules, or justify paying over $40/month in laundry.

2. Is relatively close to Tim’s job
Since we share one car, a short commute to Tim’s job is worth a little more in rent. In addition, gas prices fluctuate so much that we decided living close to work can help our gas budget.

3. Is in our church congregation’s boundaries
We have made very good friends over the past year in our congregation. We belong to an organized, large church which divides congregations similar to school districts, you are asked to go to church at a specific time in a specific building depending on where you live. If we moved too far away from where we currently are, we would most likley be in another congregation’s boundaries and have to make friends all over again.

4. Is affordable
This criteria is key as we are trying to save money to build up an emergency fund and then save money for a down payment on a house. If we were to stay in our current complex and move to a unit with washer/dryer hookups we would have to upgrade to a townhouse and spend an extra $50/month. We would really like to reduce the amount we spend on rent, not increase it.

5. Is safe
Since we live on the outskirts of a large city, we are also looking at complexes that are in safer parts of town.

6. Space
Space is last on our list, because even with adding another child to our household, you can be creative and find ways to use small spaces. We also know that if needed we may be able to store a few boxes at Tim’s parents.

So here are our criteria in looking for an apartment to rent. Everyone’s criteria may be different and you have to make your choices on what is best for your family. Now that you know your criteria, I will later write about tips on finding an apartment that fits within your budget and criteria.