The pictures are pretty! The features and amenities are everything that you wished for! Those apartment guide books are so impressive, but what's the catch? If you haven't been asking yourself that, you should! Don't let the pictures fool you!
I have personally come across many properties that looked beautiful, but once I arrived to view them, they were hideous! They forgot to mention the roaches, dead stink bugs, cracked paint, the water damage on the ceilings and walls from a leaky roof, the smelly, worn carpet in the entrance ways, and other things that would make you feel ashamed to bring your relatives over.
The prices aren't that affordable as one would like for you to believe in those rental books either! There are usually a few left at your desired price, but once you arrive, you find out that there are a whole lot more available at a price you don't want to pay.
Be careful of those "too good to be true" deals as well. Why would anyone practically give away an apartment before a resident moves in? "Two months free! No security deposit! Fully furnished with no rent to pay the first month! No security deposit or first months rent!" Huh? You better be asking questions and when you visit, go over that place with a fine tooth comb. Also, check out the neighborhood.
Some alternative places you may consider looking, if you are having zero success with apartment rental books, would be: newspapers--the free ones as well as the paid ones, fliers on college campuses, word of mouth, online social networking, and online classified ads.
Always remember to ask specific questions about the apartment and the community before visiting. Why not also ask people in your social networks as well? Consider using Google maps to check out the neighborhood. Check police blotters (usually printed in newspapers) about the latest activities or conduct online research when checking out the nieighborhoods.
Nicholl McGuire
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