10 Things to Look Out for When Apartment Hunting

Moving to a new apartment, especially in an unfamiliar city, can be a daunting process. When prices and competition are high, it’s even more stressful. But while there may be no such thing as perfection, if you take your time with the search and keep your priorities in mind, you can find a place that meets your needs and decorate it so it feels like home.

We asked Molly Costello, an interior designer based in Washington, D.C., and Clarence Nicholas VanderBorgh, president of VanderBorgh Realty in New York, for the do’s and don’ts of apartment hunting. Here are their 10 best tips.

“Always know the outlet situation,” Costello says. “And if you’re moving into a place that doesn’t have a lot of outlets, before you move in, make sure you buy some cool extension cords or adapters.”

If you’re worried about security, particularly package theft, then a video intercom can make a difference. “The future right now is upgrading to video at every building. People never ask that question, ‘Is there a video intercom?’ That should be a huge question.” VanderBorgh says. “I can talk to the person at my door, ask them who the package is for, make sure it’s for the right person, and then I can buzz them in remotely.”

This is a simple way to get a sense of how much storage space you’ll get, according to Costello. “You can go to your own home and say, ‘Okay, I’m able to store X amount of stuff in X amount of cabinets that I currently have,” she says. That will help you consider what an upgrade or downgrade in space would mean.

Costello recommends avoiding carpet if you can, or asking the management company to change it before you move in. You never know what the previous tenants were up to!

“A couch shouldn’t make or break where you live, but it’s really great when you can have your couch fit,” says Molly Costello. She recommends asking for a floor plan and bringing a measuring tape to an apartment tour in case a floor plan isn’t available.

And the layout of the apartment is more meaningful than square footage, according to VanderBorgh. Square footage isn’t measured consistently in every building, and it doesn’t always translate to usable space. “Square footage could be a long hallway,” he points out. A better question to ask is what size bed you can fit in a bedroom.

Costello says it’s ideal if your living space and kitchen are distinct, or at least if you can create a divide between them. She specifically recommends orienting your couch so that it faces away from your sink. “There always are days when when you’re just like, ‘I’ve had enough, and I’m not doing the dishes.’ And the worst thing is when you’re sitting on your couch, being reminded of not doing your dishes,” she says.

“You wanna get the best reviews on an apartment? The best advice is: Talk to the random people living in the building,” VanderBorgh says. “Don’t trust the tenant. Why? That tenant could be breaking their lease, and they’re motivated that if they find a subletter, they’re allowed to go for free. So they might not always be telling you the truth.” This is even more important if the apartment is above a bar or restaurant — ask people if they’ve had problems with pests in the past.

“Landlords aren’t able to be as horrible as they were before,” VanderBorgh says. Now, online reviews hold them accountable. Like speaking with other tenants in the building, reading reviews can give you a pretty good sense of what you’re dealing with, especially negative ones.

If you don’t find too many positive reviews, though, don’t worry. “If there’s no reviews, that’s good news because people pretty much only write when they’re really angry,” VanderBorgh says. “Nobody goes home on a Friday night and out of the blue says, ‘I’m gonna write a nice review about my landlord.’”

The location of your apartment is going to affect your daily life, so make sure it fits your lifestyle. “Maybe it’s a block that you don’t like, or maybe it’s too far from the subway,” VanderBorgh says. “Maybe you’ve got that fire station that’s two doors down that’s really loud.”

And beyond everyday annoyances, it’s important to think about how close you are to things, and people, you want in your life. “I would hate for somebody to move into an apartment that has a really cool fireplace but is far away from their community,” Costello says.