The Owner Is Selling Our Apartment! How to Handle an Unexpected Move Like a Pro

October 14, 2015 | By Anna R. AuthorMy First Apartment

It’s official!!! You signed the lease, moved in with all your belongings, and began the process of “Pinteresting” your sweet new abode. Months later, your stomach drops when you receive notice that the owner will be putting your home on the market, giving you 30 days to vacate. Yikes! Before you panic about apartment hunting on…

How To Avoid Rental Scams

June 15, 2015 | By J Simpson AuthorMy First Apartment

Apartment hunting is daunting and stressful enough, in the best possible circumstances, without having to worry if the room is real, or the landlord exists. Unfortunately, in today’s digitally-dependent landscape, rental scams are a sad fact of life. Rental scams are hard to keep track of and difficult to police, as mentioned in an article…

Competing for Housing with $$$Techies When You Make $

January 4, 2015 | By Naomi AuthorMy First Apartment

When I moved across the country, jobless, just to shake things up, I hadn’t been reading up on just how expensive and competitive it is to find housing in the Bay Area; the area in the US that is most notorious for its tech startups. I knew San Francisco’s claim to fame as the most expensive city…

How to Tell If Your Apartment Has a Criminal Past

October 15, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

It’s the spooky time of the year again, so let’s take a look at another one of apartment hunter’s nightmares – unknowingly renting a place with a criminal past. Yes, it can and does happen. It even happened to one of my fellow My First Apartment bloggers a few years ago. In that case the…

Tips for College Grads on Renting in a New City

June 16, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

It is both a blessing and a curse that today’s job market means that many new graduates find themselves travelling across the country to find work. While the hunt for a job can be stressful, it’s important to approach it with an open mind and see it as a chance for adventure – who knows…

5 Ways to Figure Out Your First Apartment Must-Haves

March 18, 2014 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

When you’re in the market for an apartment, it’s easy to dream. Perhaps a bit too easy. You want lots of space, cheap rent, a balcony, a doorman, maybe even a swimming pool and a gym. Laundry in-unit, of course, a nice flower box with ever-blooming roses … and then you pinch yourself and return…

8 Ways to Find an Apartment Without Using the Internet

October 10, 2012 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Today’s guest blogger, Doug, reminds us that there are more ways to find an apartment than clicking on Craigslist. FINDING AN APARTMENT WITHOUT USING THE INTERNET by Doug The internet is the world’s greatest research tool. In case you haven’t heard, man, there’s a lot of information over there. And, clearly, we love the internet as much…

6 Tips for First-Time Renters on How to Sound Like You Know What You’re Doing

July 21, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

The first few times you deal with leasing agents, landlords, and rental offices, it’s easy to be intimidated. It’s also easy to get pushed around, particularly if you are young and appear even younger, or sound inexperienced or nervous over the phone. A reader recently emailed us to say that she and her fiancé (who…

5 How-To’s Every First Time Apartment Hunter Should Know

June 7, 2012 | By Alex AuthorMy First Apartment

1. How to Research a Neighborhood Neighborhoods are important, but choosing the best one has a lot to do with your personality and finances, and it’s hard to truly know until you move whether you’ve made the right choice. Growing to love a city takes nine months to a year, so as long as you…

Found Your Dream Apartment? Make Sure You Get It!

January 31, 2012 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Last we heard from Katherine, she had just lost out on her dream apartment. Luckily, she’s found another one and shares with us the process of making sure that she got the lease. FOUND YOUR DREAM APARTMENT? NOW MAKE SURE YOU GET IT! by Katherine So, finally after logging a lot of man-hours, I’ve finally found an…