The Big (Apartment) Hunt, Part II

by Samantha James


Yesterday, I shared a little worksheet you and your fellow apartment sharers might want to use before you begin your search process, to help clarify just what the priorities are, and to whom they belong. As promised, I have another little printable today - a booklet to take with you when you do being the hunt.

This little guy is designed to be easy to use - it's small (half the size of a sheet of printer paper) but holds a fair amount of info. Each page is dedicated to each place you view, and it allows you to quickly record:

1. The address of the place and name and contact info for the application process;

2. Rent and broker fees, if any;

3. On a 1-5 scale, the awesomeness of the place and the neighborhood;

4. The particular features of the place, from fireplace to doorman; and

5. A place for notes on things like the application process, ways to jog your memory (it's the one with the killer gas stove) and whatever else is pertinent to you.

The last page has a bunch of questions to think about asking, should they apply to you. Some are more critical at the search stage, and others after you've chosen a place and are preparing to move in, but they all deal with info that could impact your life in your new space.

I think, based on our search so far, that this booklet should be really useful. At the least, it should infinitely out perform my hastily jotted notes on the Notepad app in my phone. I hope it's useful to you to - and please, if you know people searching for a new place, pass it along to them!