Looking for an apartment was kind of scary. I suppose it wasn't super hard, but I just didn't know where to look or how to start or what to look for or consider. I had never done it before and I didn't know how. That was the scary part. I certainly wanted to live off campus, but it was hard to take the first step.
Drake has some off-campus housing available through Drake Realty. They have apartments and even some houses here and there for students to lease. I didn't go that route because I wanted something available May 1st (so I could work on moving during the last couple weeks of school). Drake Realty's prices also seemed a bit high compared to similar units owned by other companies.
After I decided to not go the Drake Realty direction, I started looking at those apartment finder magazines that they have in grocery stores. Just looking through them gave me a general idea of price range and standard amenities. I was looking for a 2 bedroom and those seem to run $575-650 in this area. So at least I had learned that much.
I bookmarked some promising ones and then asked a friend of mine if those parts of town were safe and decent to live in. He knows the area much better than I do and I'm glad I asked him. He vetoed the apartments in the questionable parts of town which was nice. At least I didn't have to worry about being in a shady neighborhood.
After spring break, my roommate and I started looking at apartments. I was kind of put off by the first one we saw. They showed us a model which kind of made me feel weird. I don't want to see a model that you fixed up really well and decorated nicely - I want to see the apartment I'd actually be living in. The building smelled like cigarette smoke and must and the management staff was kind of abrasive. The apartment itself was ok, but the bedrooms were tiny. I was disappointed because I wasn't excited. I was also by myself for this particular showing and that didn't help. I didn't know what to think about or look at or ask.
My roommate came along to see the next two apartments which were both much more exciting. They had all-new flooring and big bedrooms and lots of natural light. THAT'S what I was expecting the first time around. I wanted somewhere I could be excited about and see myself living - and these places had that.
After seeing those two, we decided on a place. We filled out the application and all that good stuff. Here's a tip - get a credit card. When you try to rent an apartment, it's helpful to have credit. Preferably good credit, at that. Just get a credit card and charge something small every month - a tank of gas, a refill of your prescription, anything along those lines. That will help get you used to using it and start building credit. Because my roommate doesn't have credit and neither of us have a rental history to speak of, my dad had to cosign our lease. It's not the end of the world, but hopefully after this apartment we'll be able to sign our own leases. I'm sure Dad will like that, too.
So we're both SUPER excited for our new place. We get to move in NEXT WEEK already. I'll still be living on campus officially, but it'll be nice to be able to move slowly over a few weeks than to do it all in a weekend.
Check out pics!
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