I’ve been living in a small apartment with my boyfriend and our dog for a while now (you can follow my whole story by looking here) and we have been considering upsizing for about 10 months. In the last 6 months, we started seriously thinking about it, researching online, and making a list of things we wanted and needed in a new place. Since our lease is up in October, there wasn’t much of a rush…until now.
A few weeks ago, we signed a lease to rent a beautiful townhouse. It has everything we were looking for and more. Extra space, a small yard (fenced!) for the dog, and (the best part): they’re currently in the process of completely gutting it and renovating it. So, it’ll basically be a brand-new interior by the time it’s complete in the next few weeks.
How did this come about? The townhouse decision happened in the span of 2 hours. We were apartment hunting on a Sunday, saw the townhouse at around 3:00 PM (and fell in LOVE…I legitimately had tears in my eyes walking through it) and by 5:00 PM our application was turned in and we were crossing our fingers that we would be approved. We knew we were approved Monday afternoon.
Like I said, the decision was really quick. Really, really quick.
So how did we know we were ready? And that this place was the perfect one for us? Those 10 months of considering moving came into play. If you’re considering upsizing or moving in the next few months, decide your criteria for the following items & write them down. Have an idea of exactly what you want, so when you see it, you’ll know. You can get ideas from browsing through rental properties online & take note of the things that bother you about your current living space.
- Overall costs
- Price of rent
- Type of space (apartment, townhouse, etc.)
- Square footage
- Price of utilities (increases with a larger space)
- Homeowner Association (HOA) fees
- Trash fees
- Space
- Floorplan: Open or separate? 2 stories or 1?
- # of bedrooms
- # of bathrooms
- Extra rooms (office, study)
- Renovation status
- Brand new? Used?
- Trendy or classic floors & paint colors?
- Washer & dryer? (Included or not?)
- Kitchen
- Upgrades (Granite? New appliances? Tons of counter space? A pantry?)
- Size
- Appliances included?
- Wants
- Garage?
- Yard?
- Storage space?
- Build-in cabinetry?
- Location
- Close to work
- Close to activities
- Close to a highway/subway system
The whole message here is take time to figure out what exactly you want. It’s best to figure this out while you have time to browse and plenty of time to apartment-hunt and find the one that’s perfect for you. If you plan out exactly what you want, you’ll be able to say YES and sign the lease with no hesitation.
And, start saving. When moving, lots of costs come into play so if you have a savings account to lean on, it won’t come as such a shock to your bank account. Good luck with the hunt & with the move!
