It’s been almost 25 years since I graduated from high school. One of the first things I wanted to do was get my own place. We are all in a hurry to become adults until we get responsibilities, and that changes drastically. You go from living at home with no bills to having to pay everything on your own. After consulting with some friends, we decided on finding a nice-sized house and rent. Some of my friends didn’t like to keep a job, so that idea went out of the window.
My plans went out the window, and I ended up staying home for 3 more years after high school. My future wife and I eventually moved into an apartment together after our son was born. My son just turned 22, and now he’s thinking about moving out with his girlfriend. Here are some things we found while looking for a place.
Cost/Budget
Over the years, the price to rent an apartment has gone up a lot. We had to do a lot of research in the Atlanta area to see what kind of apartment they wanted. According to Zumper, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Atlanta is currently $1,499. This is a 6% increase compared to the previous year. I’ll be honest, things were not as expensive back in 1999 when he was born. Over the past month, the average rent for a studio apartment in Atlanta increased by 3% to $1,396. The average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment increased by 3% to $1,882. Come up with a budget before looking for an apartment. With this budget, make sure you include everything from utilities to any extra bills.
Location
One thing about the city of Atlanta, you can find some great apartments anywhere you’re looking. Zumper offers information on anywhere, like Midtown, Buckhead, The West End, or anywhere you like. They haven’t locked down a location, but they have plenty of places to choose from. One of the best perks of using a site like Zumper is that you know how much you’re spending already.
When you narrow down to the locations you’re interested go talk to some of the neighbors. As a parent, you can never be too careful when your child is moving out. Not only will you get the idea of what kind of people are going to live next door, but you will also get a chance to learn some unobvious problems. They may want to venture off to another city for a fresh start, like Detroit or Chicago. To learn more about the area, you may look for rent trends in Detroit, Michigan, or Chicago, Illinois.
Check the Actual Apartment
What looks good doesn’t always work well. If you don’t want to end up realizing that your locks are broken or there’s no way to open a window in your bedroom, check every single thing in your prospective home. It might take some time, but it is absolutely worth it. Check to see how the parking situation will be before you sign the lease. Even if you noticed a parking lot while attending an open house, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have access to it as a renter.
In nearly all cases, parking spaces near apartment buildings are limited. So if you’re a car owner, you’d better ask your prospective landlord about the parking policy right away. Do as much research as possible so you don’t have to deal with an unreasonable landlord.
See How Safe the Area Is
We all know that safety is vital when it comes to our kids. No matter how old they get, you view them as your babies. We all know there are crimes everywhere, but search around to see what kinds are taking. You would also like to know how often they occur in that area. You could do a Google search or download an app like Nextdoor. Social media is the place to find out everything nowadays. Nextdoor is really an up-to-date app that talks about the dealings of that particular area.
