Looking for a new apartment can be a tad overwhelming when you have an entire city full of options. Is there an easier way to narrow down your options before even looking at all the apartments?

There is! All you need to do is ask yourself the following questions.

#1 What Parts of The City Do You Like?

When looking for an apartment, it’s important to begin looking in the parts of your city that you like spending time in. Do you spend all your time on the South side of town? Then maybe looking at apartments on the North side isn’t ideal and vice versa!

Maybe there is a part of town you always wished you could live in; this is the perfect time to check to see if there are any apartments near that specific area.

#2 Where Do You Work?

While this question may sound silly now that lots of people are working from home, it’s still a good one to ask yourself. Maybe you still have to go into the office occasionally, or your office has talked about coming back in person on a future date. Either way, you wouldn’t want to end up picking an apartment that is 15 or 30 minutes away from your work unless you are ready to calculate it into your morning commute.

#3 What About Location Surroundings?

When thinking about a perfect apartment location, are there things you like to have near by? Do you like to go on runs and want quick access to the park or a running trail? Are you hoping for peace and quiet, as little traffic around as possible? Does it matter to you if there is onsite landscaping or if the complex is easy to find?

All of these are great questions to ask yourself to help narrow down the places you’re willing to spend extra time researching!

#4 What Are Your Must Haves?

This one may take you a little bit of time and thought but will ultimately help you narrow down your search! When thinking about living in an apartment, is it one bedroom or two? Does it need to have more than one bathroom? Do you want to walk across the complex to do your laundry or do want it available in your unit? Do you need a ceiling fan?

Those are just some of the things you need to think about, here are a few more:

• Fitness Center
• Pool
• Allows Pets
• Assigned Parking
• Balcony/Patio
• Cable Access
• Paid Water/Garbage
• Landscape

Make a “must haves” list and a “bonus” list. When you’ve discovered what you’re not willing to live without you’ll be able to look over an apartment listing much faster.

#5 Your Rent Budget

While you might have found the perfect apartment in the perfect location, the last question you have to ask yourself is whether or not it’s within your budget. A general rule of thumb is that you devote no more than a third of your monthly income to rent, but it’s really up to you and your style of living helps to determine that. Having a cap on the amount you are willing to spend will also help you to immediately weed out the apartments that aren’t for you with no more than a glance at the rent price.

With these five questions you'll be able to narrow down your options to just a few instead of the overwhelming amount you started with! 

Still want help searching for an apartment? Make it even easier once you've narrowed it down to your final few by using our FREE downloadable guide on 7 things to look for when you do an in person visit!