Apartment Hunting: Use This Checklist on Your Next Visit

By Miranda Darling

After finding a few perfect apartments on uCribs, you are ready to take a tour. What should you look out for? This guide is here to help you!

Before you visit, you’ll want to bring a camera with you, preferably with a time stamp feature, and document any and all damage that exists before you move in. This is essential, or else the landlord may try to blame you for the damage. After the showing, email the pictures to the leasing office to serve as documentation.

1. Point out any damage and ask if it will be repaired. Do not accept a verbal affirmation, make sure it is stated in the lease or the landlord might not actually repair it.
2. Check the cell phone reception.
3. Check the water pressure of the shower and note how long it takes to get warm.
4. Make sure all sinks and showers drain.
5. Make sure the toilet flushes.
6. Check for mouse droppings. Inspect the tops of the cabinets and behind stove and fridge.
7. Check for bed bugs. Reddish brown stains in the corners of the room where the ceiling meets the walls is an indicator of bed bugs.
8. Check for roaches. A line of white powder along the baseboards means a pest treatment was done recently. White powder is usually boric acid or diatomaceous earth, which is used to treat roaches.
9. Ask if there has been any history of pest problems. Check the building on the Bed Bug Registry online.
10. Being a socket tester if you have one. Make sure there are enough three-prong sockets in each room and not only two-prong ones.
11. Check the windows and doors for proper insulation. You want to avoid high heating and cooling bills. The windows should be double-paned/double-glazed. Check for drafts under the door.
12. Make sure the door has a deadbolt or a secondary lock.
13. Musty smells indicate water damage. Be wary of too many air fresheners that may be used to cover it up.
14. Check for water damage in the bathrooms and on the ceiling. Water damage looks like a darker outline of a puddle on the ceiling.
15. Make sure there are adequate smoke detectors. Ask if the batteries have been changed.
16. Makes sure there is a carbon monoxide detector in the building.
17. Be sure to inspect the area around the apartment. Is it in a good neighborhood? You can check by asking the neighbors. You can also call the nearest pizza place and ask if they deliver at night. If they do not, that is a very bad sign.
18. Take note of the bus route and how long it takes to get to class.
19. Find the nearest grocery store, bank, doctor, etc.
20. Research your state’s tenant’s rights laws.

If possible, all requests between your landlord and yourself should be through writing or email. While this list might seem excessive, an apartment lease is a legally binding document so you want to make sure you are covered. You do not want to be trapped in a place you do not want to live in. Happy Hunting!

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