Add These to Your Apartment Hunting Check List
We’ve gone over the basic checklist when apartment hunting, but there are a few extra, potential issues that you may want to consider.
1) Neighborhood Noise is New Yuck City. This one is a wee bit tricky in that sense of it’s hard to tell when you’ll end up with an upstairs neighbor who likes to move around his furniture at two o’clock in the morning. Do I sound bitter? Nawww. However, there is a good chance that you’ll find out how loud the building/street is generally if you ask a few potential neighbors as they come in/out of their apts. I.E. Do people host lots of house parties? Do ambulances frequently travel on your street? Is there a local Firehouse nearby with tons of sirens? Think of it like that ol’ Reading Rainbow Thomson. . .The More You Know!
2) Is that Floor Slanted? Or, Have You Had One Too Many Glasses of Bubbly? If you’re renting an older building, there’s a fair chance that it may not be in pristine condition. There’s also a chance that the floors are not even. At. All. It’s one of those pesky bothers that can be a bit dizzying — or not — depending on the person. If you think it may bother you, bring a level. What’s a level, you ask. Here’s a pic.
3) Shared Walls — How Well Do You Want to Know your Roommate? Some habits are better left to the imagination — which will be difficult to do when the only thing between you and your roommate is a fake wall. Be sure to verify whether the apartment is a convertible or genuine 2/3/etc bedroom. Real walls make a difference — perhaps especially this year when who knows how many of us will come down with that whole swine flu biz. Cough, Cough!
