This is part of a sponsored collaboration with Apartamentos.com and DiMe Media. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
It's no secret that Jeff & I have been looking for a new place, and it honestly hasn't been the easiest thing in the world. We searched through so many websites and apps but it was a little overwhelming. We needed something that would make it easy, that gave us information on not only the rental but the neighborhood, and the schools. Luckily we found Apartamentos.com, which put the fun back into us finding the perfect rental for us!
Once we had a list of places we wanted to make the effort to go and see we made a list of 5 critical questions we needed to ask before we made our final decision on where we would live.
1. How long would our commute time be?
Since we don't have normal 9-5 jobs, we still find it annoying to get stuck in traffic while running errands during the day, or when we do have to go into the city for events or meetings. We needed to factor in how close grocery stores, parks, and maybe even public transportation in. When we lived in Pearland there was no public transportation & to get 15 minutes to 288 on Broadway took us 30-45 minutes sometimes because of how congested the traffic was.
2. Are there any hidden fees that come with this rental?
Sometimes we get excited when the rent is in our budget but we forget that we also need to factor in the deposit, utilities & maintenance. If you're rental is more on the townhouse or house side you should also factor in trash & lawn care.
3. Does the neighborhood fit our needs?
When we look through neighborhoods we look for places that have parks nearby, or good walking trails. We also look at how family friendly the neighborhood is, like are there any major roads going by, and are there kids playing outside safely. Apartamentos.com has a cool Polygon tool that lets you draw around the areas that you're interested in living. Another one of my favorite tools they have is the 3D interactive tours, which makes you feel like you're in the apartment or rental without leaving your house!
4. What does parking look like?
Our last apartment gave us an assigned parking space free of charge, but it was a hassle for visitors to find parking, and our friends got their cars towed on one occasion. Sometimes parking is extra, or not guaranteed, and coming home every day from work worrying about parking would ruin my day!
5. What appliances are included in the rental?
Sometimes we find rentals in our price range that we love only to find out that none of the appliances come included in the rental. I love that Apartamentos.com has all of that information included in every listing that way there are no surprises when we check out the rental.
What are some questions you always ask when looking at places?
