How to Check Out a New Apartment Complex Before You Sign a Lease

Are you moving to a new apartment? Finding a good one can be a challenge. Over the years, my wife and I have packed up and moved many times. We've learned a few things about investigating new apartment communities. Here are some tips to help you thoroughly scope out an apartment complex before you sign a lease:

1. Apartment Ratings. The best way to learn about an apartment complex is by talking to tenants. The next best thing is to read reviews posted online by tenants. Apartmentratings.com has lots of anonymous reviews for complexes all over the United States. However, beware of positive reviews that are written by people working in the rental office. Pay attention to well-written negative reviews that mention bugs, plumbing problems or rats.


 
2. Craigslist. The rants and raves section of Craigslist is a place for locals to air their gripes about things in their communities. If you ask about a well-known complex on Craigslist, you might get some very candid answers. While some responses may be completely fictional fabrications by Internet trolls and others may be politically incorrect rants, there may be a kernel of truth in some of the feedback your get about apartment complexes.

3. Online Discussion Forums. You can ask about well known apartment complexes in online discussion forums like CityProfile.com or City-Data.com. A few good questions about crime, safety, fire protection, schools, and neighborhoods can yield a lot of valuable information. You can learn a great deal about neighborhoods and apartment complexes.

4. Personal Tour. If you live near your prospective new complex, take an in personal tour of the apartment complex. You can examine the fixtures and ask questions from the rental office staff. Tour the actual apartment that you'll live in so that you can ensure that it is up to your standards.


5. Spotcrime. Google's maps and "street view" photos make it easy to see what your apartment complex looks like. But, if you really want to know what's going on, search for your area on Spotcrime.com. The Spot Crime website will provide a detailed street-level map with all the crime incidents in a specified area and time frame.
Moving is always a leap of faith. These tips should make moving a little less scary and increase the odds of your moving to a great community.

[By L Spain.  This post was originally published on Yahoo Voices on July 21, 2012.] 

Apartment Landscaping: Cut Those Plants Back

Yesterday my wife saw a woman taking some bulky items to her car.  The lady ran into a sprawling cactus plant that was spilling out into the sidewalk.  She was annoyed.  But, it points out one important thing about landscaping in an apartment complex.  The plants should not be taking over the world.  They should not be spilling out over sidewalks and rendering benches unusable.  

 

Plants and landscaping are a wonderful benefit to living in an apartment.  But, sometimes the gardeners need to cut them back!

Apartment Security: The Gate Must Work

There is a beautiful apartment complex just a little ways down our road.  While the buildings are a little older, it has immaculate landscaping and generous dog walking areas.  The complex even has a lake with turtles, herons, and geese.  The pool even has a waterfall.  There is only one problem: the front gate doesn't work.  It is always open and anyone can drive right on in to the complex.  In a big city, a non-functional gate is a big turn off.

Slow Down When Driving in An Apartment Complex

The demographics of American apartment complexes are changing.  Many complexes host large communities of guest workers from India.  These workers are not familiar with American customs regarding cars and pedestrians.  They also tend to walk around a lot in an apartment complex.

Delhi Traffic By David Bleasdale from England [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Foreign guest workers may not walk against traffic.  They also may not avoid blind corners.  They also tend not to use the available sidewalks.  Since they are often working from home with offshore personnel in India, they may be up and walking about much later than typical Americans.  Since they may not have a car or they may rely on friends for transportation, they tend to walk to work and to stores.

On many occasions, I have rounded a blind corner to find an extended family of immigrants or guest workers complete with grandfather, grandmother, mom, dad, and baby in stroller.  Needless to say, if you are driving in an apartment complex, watch your speed and be prepared for the unexpected.

Advantages of Renting: No Paving Bricks for Me

One of my co-workers is a home owner.  Every weekend, he works on his yard.  A typical weekend consists of moving tons of 30-pound paving stones around for one of his two weekend days.  He takes pride in his yard and gets a lot of enjoyment out of it.  But, secretly, I'm glad I don't have to do any yard work.  There aren't many advantages to living in an apartment, but avoiding yard work has to be one of the greatest.


I also appreciate the fact that I don't have to come up with $3000 at some random time if an air conditioner or furnace breaks.  There that is two advantages for renting!

How to Blow Out the Breezeways

If you live in an apartment the south, odds are pretty good that you live in a garden-style apartment with open air breezeways.  These breezeways let air circulate and don't have to be air conditioned.  However, they do have to be swept out by the maintenance staff on a regular basis.  Most apartment complex groundskeeping crews use leaf blowers for the job.

Unfortunately, some groundskeeping people shirk their responsibilities.  If you are on a Groundskeeping crew, blowing out the hallways is your chance to go to war against bugs, moths, spiders, cobwebs, and leaves.  

Suit up, crank that blower up full blast and go after them.  You've got to get the floor and blow out the dirt and leaves.  Then, you've got to blow out the walls and the ceilings and the stair barristers.  You've got to get all the spiders, all the spider webs, and all the spider eggs.  The whole complex is counting on you!

Tips For Touring an Apartment Complex

If you are selecting a new apartment, an apartment tour is your chance to really inspect a potential new home and make sure that it meets your needs.  It can be tough because apartment complexes always try to put their best foot forward and dazzle you with charismatic leasing consultants and beautiful club houses, great looking pools, and top notch exercise room facilities.  Sales professionals call this "selling the sizzle and not the steak."  When you tour an apartment complex, you have to sniff out the steak.  You need to know what it's really going to be like to live in an apartment complex.
 

High Security Mail Boxes

 If you don't you may find yourself living in a roach motel with unsavory neighbors.  It's only a slight step up from a van down by the river.

Watch Out for Trashy Neighbors

 Here are some things that you should notice whenever you tour an apartment complex:

Ten Things to Notice on an Apartment Tour