Finding and Renting an Apartment: How does it work?!

<p>So with fall quarter over, freshmen like myself have started the search for apartments and the like. Leasing season has started, there are some people in my dorm who already have leases but I have no clue what to do. I have quite possibly a billion questions!</p>

<p>I know who I want to room with and I got this housing catalogue (student at UC Davis) and I've been circling interesting places and looking them up online and the like. My plan is this weekend is to go around town with my roommate (and his dad lol) and check out apartments. However I have no idea what to do beyond "looking" at them.</p>

<p>-Many of the websites show availability for only options for leasing currently (i.e. not for the next academic year). How do I go about, assuming we find a suitable apartment, setting up a lease for next year?</p>

<p>-What really should we be looking for? I figured general cleanliness, making sure the place isn't a dump and the people are nice, but beyond that what are some major pointers?</p>

<p>Those are all I can think of for now but I'm sure I have more questions. Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>Well every apartment building will have some sort of leasing office. Usually the front desk will have info on that, or there will at least be a number you can call. Many student apartments usually have all their leases start on the same month, usually June or August. So what you can do is reserve an apartment that’s currently taken and lease it at the start of the leasing period.</p>

<p>As for what to look for, I guess you’ll want to consider proximity to campus, ease of access to campus, parking (if you own a car), proximity to things like the grocery store, etc.</p>

<p>Keep an eye on the condition of floors, walls, ceilings, fixtures… I lived in a place my second year that had a grotty bathroom, we hadn’t looked too closely at it. (There was a corner next to the bath where there was… soil, I guess, and small slugs came through it)</p>

<p>Make sure there are no suspicious stains or things like that.</p>

<p>The above person suggested proximity to campus, and I would just add that for me and my roommates, we liked being closer to the main part of the city than the campus. It depends on your lifestyle.</p>

<p>That’s a good point Sunsloth. They say the big word in the real estate biz is location, location, location. So definitely consider that. You might say “oh it’s not THAT far from campus/the city center” but when you have to actually deal with it day in and day out you might regret those words ;)</p>

<p>There are a lot of websites out there that are great guides for students who are looking for their first place.</p>

<p>If the place comes with appliances, make sure they work property. You may even want to run water in the sinks, showers, inspect the bathroom- make sure everything works right and that there’s no mold or something else disgusting that you might miss otherwise. Check out the traffic in the area and know what you can about that part of town. Sometimes really cheap apartments might look pretty nice, but the price could be low because they’re in a bad part of town.</p>

<p>Your dad will probably be able to help you a lot. I assume he’s probably rented places before and knows what to look for. Don’t get embarrassed if he wants to spend more time asking the landlord about every detail of the apartment when you and your roommate may be more interested in decorating, who would get which room, etc. It’s exciting when you see a place for the first time, but you have to be careful because even nice places could have their own fair share of flaws.</p>

<p>Finally, read your lease, don’t just sign it! Make sure you know every single detail of the lease, from parking rules, to repairs, to rules about moving out. Everything.</p>