Mission Impossible: Finding an Apartment
Well I was putting this entry off for a while as you can tell by its three-day-late release. Partly because I had a very busy weekend, partly because finding an apartment took roughly 4 million years, and partly because despite tracking down a place that I will-- fingers crossed- move into in just six short days, I still fear jinxing it and being left to make do on the streets of Seattle. But regardless of all these reasons, here we are...and I am speaking it into existence with the start of our newest column category: Lost in Seattle? Not sure if I love the ring of that, so maybe it should be See Me in Seattle. Oh well.. I'll ponder that on the flight to my new home.
[Sidebar: I decided that instead of a "Lost in General" category, I am going to have an ask me anything style "Sincerely, Me" category that addresses any topics YOU want. So let me know what you would like me to rant about and I will respond accordingly:)]
But back on the trail of apartment hunting, I used to think finding a place to live would be a piece of cake. I started the process back in April hopeful and confident that I would have a new place way before I even left London. Alas, may the forth came around, and the odds were never in my favor. And by that I do mean that I looked on EVERY apartment hunting site that exists to no avail. Just a few examples that I used (for your own apartment hunting pleasure) were Zillow, apartmentlist.com, apartments.com (watch this one bc it doesn't contact landlords when you book tours or ask questions on the app), craigslist, trulia, and a few others. I also joined like 7 different facebook groups and googled everything from "apartments in Seattle" to "please god help me find an apartment sometime this decade". Neither one helped very much. All of that being said, I am writing this post- signing a lease, so on some level I guess something worked. Maybe it was a combination of these resources, maybe it was unwavering persistence, or maybe it was falling asleep to apartment results and thinking about them in my dreams [I would seriously wake up wondering if I already called certain apartments or if I had just dreamt that I did. And if it was a good outcome, then I usually chalked it up to a dream.] Whatever the reason, I've come out on the other side and hereby present Sharon's top 10 tips for finding your dream - or lets face it a somewhat acceptable- apartment. Hmm... maybe I should start a top 10 column.
Lower your standards....like right now
I hate to have this as a tip, but if there's one thing finding an apartment taught me, it's that I have my standards set way too high. I mean this applies in general too... but with apartment hunting, it is unfortunately very rare that you will find a place that fits ALL of your criteria without breaking the bank. Or hey, maybe that's just a Seattle thing....but if you're looking for your dream apartment in Seattle, consider this your warning. The two bedroom, two bathroom with in-unit laundry, a balcony, a parking garage, nice amenities, and in a good, safe location does not exist. Or if it does, than it costs 3000 a month- so even if you're initially happy, you won't be for long. My advice is to start your apartment search with a list of needs and wants and to cast a wide net, gradually getting more limiting as you find out what kind of real estate market you're looking at. It's good to have wants and preferences, but you have to know what you won't compromise on and be realistic that some things you'll have to sacrifice.
RESEARCH
Echoing off that last point, and especially if you're a newbie to the area like me, research is key. I would start out by looking up neighborhoods, getting that limited and then going from there- otherwise it becomes harder to choose a single apartment from the thousands. For me, I had three million questions playing in my head as soon as every Zillow notification popped up: Is the location safe? Is it quiet? But also close to attractions, grocery stores, restaurant, bars, etc? Is there parking (and subsequently how much of my arm will I have to sell to afford it? How far do I want to live from the hub of the city? (ie there is a HUGE difference between Ballard, Queen Anne, and Capitol Hill even if they are all in the same 15 min radius). I would recommend doing the research on ALL of this stuff to start out. One thing that helped was lining up Seattle neighborhoods with Chicago ones (Capitol Hill= downtown, Queen Anne=Lincoln Park, etc.) so I think research helps to make these faraway, confusing places seem more tangible.
To room or not to room (using the Shakespeare vibe for at least one tip is actually a requirement of Sincerely, Sharon)
I said before that the first question you should ask yourself is WHERE to live, but I take that back. The first question on your mind should be - WHO do I live with? I never did the traditional college apartment thing where everyone types in an apartment facebook group that they're hoping to find someone who enjoys "staying in AND going out" so this was my first ever ~finding a roommate~ experience. As you can maybe tell by the fact that I will be living in a studio very mucho solo, it didn't work out every well. I would make sure you do the following things that I maybe sort of did not do during my apartment hunting experience. Consider the pros (lower rent and utility payments, social factors, easier time furnishing, and more space) and cons (awkwardness, stranger danger, less ~personal~ space, move in date coordination, etc) of rooming with someone you've never met. Consider that in the context of the reasons you are moving (aka a work from home job like mine requires a roommate that would not work from home or make a lot of noise at night). If these two align, then move on to step three- carefully vetting and building a relationship with a roommate. I would say definitely don't force it, get to know each other without pressures at first. If you like each other (at least sort of, you don't have to be best friends) and have similar lifestyle preferences, set up a communication pattern that requires you to stay in contact. Make sure you’re on the same page and your preferences align.
Fly there in advance to tour
I really cannot emphasize this enough, as someone who will be seeing Seattle for the first time when I move there this Sunday. Try to get out there for at least a few days. Not only will this give you a better idea of what the neighborhoods are really like and let you get a feel for the city culture, but it will make the apartment hunting experience 10000x easier. SOOOO many apartments first question to me was "when can you fly out?", to which my response of "do you do virtual tours" would receive in the best case a shitty video tour and in the worst, someone hanging up the phone. It goes a long way to landlords to see their clients in person, and I've learned it's apparently the only way to efficiently pick a place that will make you happy in the long run.
Make a spreadsheet to keep track
Oh great- Sharon's turning everything into a corporate project now, you're probably thinking. I do walk the walk on this one I promise, as my first matter of business was to create a spreadsheet that listed down each apartment I found, along with its address, neighborhood, rent, utility cost, parking availability, features, contact info, and status. If you do this, (and bonus points if you color code based on different responses you get) you will hopefully not run into the problem that I ran into several times, where you start to get deja vu about which apartments you have and haven't contacted, and whether you actually liked them or not. I swear, I would get calls at 10 pm from an apartment returning my calls and spend half the time on the phone with them trying to remember which of the 500 it was.
Subscribe to EVERYTHING
One of the most frustrating things that awaits every victim of apartment hunting is that moment you realize that much like the 60 calls that have gone to voicemail previously, this one has rung one time too many for anyone to be on the other end. It's even better when you then get ready to leave a message, only for the annoying automated voice to reveal that the mailbox is full. To offset this frustration, and to make yourself a more efficient searcher, don't put yourself through hours of endless scrolling and calling every random spot. Services like Zillow all do a subscription service, where I saved a specific search of my preferences. This helped me waste a little less time and helped so much with #8.
But also, only what you need
Don't go too crazy though....there were just a few spam facebook groups that I could have gone without joining and a few sites that were also pretty useless and that ended up being a burden instead of a help. The number one lesson I learned is that the best bet to reaching a good apartment is to NEVER depend on email. Talk on the phone, drive up in-person, or even scroll through the website (this tool seems simple but has the most relevant, trustworthy, and updated information). Trust me when I say that this will save you disappointment and help not drain your entire livelihood also.
Quick is Key
Seems obvious again, but if you take anything away from this entry, let it be this. I had at least four sad false hopes dashed because I thought I found "the one", went to go ask my parents what they thought/waited to do a virtual tour, and three minutes later, it was off the market. I realize Seattle is a truly unique situation and never be impulsive with renting an apartment, but also don't second guess every decision you make or thought you have. Say yes to the mess and apply - or you will miss your chance.
Lean on your connections
If you're new to an area, you may be wondering "what connections?" and funny you should ask because this has been a similar challenge for me. However, I cannot recommend enough the value of finding at least one connection (an old sorority member, friend of a friend, relative...the list goes on and on) to help you in your search. Such connections can help you do "in-person" proxy tours when landlords are being assholes, they can give cafe advice, and they can tell you point blank if reviews you read are accurate or if one Karen was just post unhappy divorce.
Trust the Process?
Ew that this is always in my blogs but it should go without me saying (again) that apartment hunting is one of the most stressful, out-of-your-control experiences that a person (particularly a 20 year old recent college graduate) embarks on at the start of their professional career. There's nothing like coming back from an 8 hour workday to spend the next three hours scrolling through the same "no matches" results on apartmentslist.com. You know its really getting bad when your parents are in the same room searching silently for apartments at the same time, when your little who is a real estate agent can't find anything, and when you spend every waking hour that you aren't looking for apartments alone doing the same thing as a "tinder" style slideshow. Who needs to be sent birthday presents when you can just spend links to available apartments, after all? Anyways, the point is to try not to stress when the chaos inevitably happens, whether what you think is your dream apartment goes off the market or you have potential roommate drama. Trust that you will find a perfect apartment for YOU, which means that it may not be perfect but that it's perfect for your preferences and what you need. I mean even after all of the bitching in this entry, I still found an apartment...so do with that what you will.
Hopefully that helps you, if any of you are thinking about leasing an apartment anytime soon (or I guess if not, you will eventually). I think #10 is most important. Be quick but never be impulsive, because if there's anything that would suck to regret later on, its a 2500 dollar/month apartment that you hate and can't get out of. Let's speak into existence that I like my new home for the next year, and I hope we can all find our homes away from home someday.
On a note that has little to do with this blog, I just wanted to offer some love and support to any friends of mine or other readers who were affected by the shooting in Highland Park last Monday. Hearing stories of people who were at the 4th of July parade breaks my heart and I can only hope that we can make lasting change in memory of the people who died and were scarred - physically and emotionally- that day. You can always reach out to me as well.
I think it's as good a time as any to peace out of Illinois, so this is my last entry before I MOVE TO SEATTLE this weekend!! This is not a drill, I am in fact moving and this new journey is just days from beginning. Time to head out and do some more packing... & See YOU in Seattle.