Do you need to learn how to find an apartment? Today, it seems like everything has gone digital. We stay in touch with our friends and families via the Internet. Restaurant reservations are no longer made with a phone call, and students can now pick their classes online. With this in mind, it makes sense that learning how to find an apartment should start with a basic Student Living 101: How to Find An Apartment Guide.
Top Online Tools to Help You Find an Apartment
Not all online apartment search tools are created equally. With this in mind, if you want to know how to find an apartment, then start by educating yourself on following apartment search tools.
- HotPads — HotPads allows college students and parents to easily conduct basic city / price searches to find the ideal apartment. The site works like a giant apartment search engine, in that it lists results that you can click on to learn more. In addition, the site will give you a glimpse into your neighborhood that many simple apartment listings can’t provide. Through visual heat maps, HotPads helps you to see the following types of information: population density, household income, median age, median rent, and foreclosure data. Make sure that you verify all details listed on a HotPads listing with the actual apartment complex before you consider signing a lease.
2. PadMapper / Craigslist — PadMapper and Craigslist are popular ways for college students to search apartments. However, if you don’t know a few crucial tips, these sites can easily make you feel like you are searching for a needle in the hay stack.
- Only search for apartments with listed photographs and contact information.
- Set price parameters.
- Set location parameters.
- Know your apartment likes and dislikes, before you begin to search the ad listings.
3. Apartments.com — Apartments.com is a veteran in the online guide to finding an apartment. A large pool of listings, photo tours, including 360° virtual tours, and interactive maps will help you to narrow down your list of possible new apartments. Apartments.com also offers a certain level of credibility and verified authenticity to the large majority of its listings. Save your searches for easy access and review at a later date.
How to Find an Apartment — The Final Step: In-Person Visits
Once your Internet research is complete, it is time for you to visit your top choices in-person. This final step in our Student Living 101: How to Find an Apartment Guide is incredibly important. Photographs, virtual tours, and online reviews will only get you so far in your search for the perfect apartment. Visiting the apartment in person (or sending a parent or trusted friend) will help you to best determine if the apartment is “a good fit.”
By using the aforementioned online tools to narrow down your list of possible apartments into a few top candidates, you can save both time and energy on your in-person visits. Only visit the apartments that meet your highest standards, such as The Standard at Knoxville. The Standard at Knoxville is a recently constructed luxury student housing apartment complex for University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students. Browse open floor plans, view the list of amenities, and gather apartment intel as you prepare to be amazed during your in-person visit. Remember, finding the ideal apartment starts with an online search, and finishes when your in-person visit confirms that you have found a new place to call home.v