Apartment hunting.

[snipelfritz]

So, I recently found a full time job in Milwaukee which leads me to my next step in life. Moving out of my parents place and into Milwaukee.

This means I need to begin searching for apartments. Anybody know anything about apartment hunting in milwaukee or in general?

I'd like to be on the lower east side or bay view neighborhoods, and spend less than 700 a month, although if I can get away with 550 or so for a studio, I'd be fine with that. I did happen to find these two places owned by the same company.

http://www.edgewaterre.com/search_resul ... 20Template
http://www.edgewaterre.com/search_resul ... 20Template

They're both practically downtown (where my job and internship both are located) and in between there and where a lot of the cool local bands play and where the "hip" bars are located. So either one would be perfect for me. Basically I'm going to call them both up tomorrow and stop by the open house if I can.

Anybody have any tips on apartment hunting? What questions to ask? How to act? What to look for?

[spacelordmother]

The one I always forgot until I got burned on - ALWAYS check the water pressure!

A shitty, drippy shower will ruin your day. Everyday.

[odontophobia]

The one I always forgot until I got burned on - ALWAYS check the water pressure!

A shitty, drippy shower will ruin your day. Everyday.

I never check the water pressure but I always check the bathroom. I cannot stand gross bathrooms.

Enjoy Milwaukee, Algonquin for the Good Land.

[dubkitty]

do you want to be upstairs or downstairs? i prefer upstairs, because people walking around on the ceiling drive me bonkers.

is it on a large street or a side street? if traffic noise bugs you--and it can be a problem if you're home-recording--you don't want to be on a busy street.

how well does a single room contain sound? you're going to want to be emitting various musics at a decent level, so you may want to go for older buildings with thicker walls. on the other hand, if you're worried about sound leakage outside your building (i.e. you're living in a freestanding, smaller building) look for double-pane windows, which contain sound remarkably well as well as keeping you warm in the sub-Arctic winter.

what kind of heat does it have, and what kind of stove? depending on where you live, you can get killed on your utility bills if you've got the wrong technology. in Milwaukee i'd say stay away from places with an electric stove because electricity is so expensive compared to gas.

is there really enough room? places look way bigger before all your stuff lives there.

do you want to have a pet? better find a landlord who's pet-friendly.

but most important is, do you get along with the landlord/property manager OK? you're going to be dealing with the owners' representative(s) for just about everything related to the space, so you want to get on with them well.

[dubkitty]

and ask people who live there about the neighborhoods' relative merits/detriments. if natives say "stay away from xxx," believe them, at least until you have your own database of observations to draw from.

[sonidero]

Look at the cars in the parking lot to determine what kind of neighbors you have, scout them out before an Apartment Hunter takes you there, let an Apartment Hunter take you around for free, check out the facilities like the gym or pool or rec center or laundry room to really see what you're paying for, check the traffic in the area to see if it's gonna be quite or noisy, try to figure out if it's an old folks community a party community or a mixed family community to determine the fun level of the apartments, don't sign a lease with someone you don't or hardly know or don't trust cause you WILL get fucked, ask about getting the deposit back before you pay it, make sure you know what your duties as a resident are so they don't trick you into stupid fees or fines...

Just some thought from someone who's lived in apartments for the past 20 years...

[psychedelicrelic]

Cheapest is never the way to go. Stay away from complexes near highways. Always go for upstairs. Places with gyms a huge plus IMO. Places with washer/dryer hookup are even better. You can get a cheap set of W/D on craigslist. Being able to do laundry at home is a comfort I don't like to give up. I've found dead cockroaches in public apt washers. Living next to a shopping complex is nice too. It's nice to talk a stroll, pick up a few groceries, and not use any gas. Living next to a bar, not a good idea. Landlords...idunno, I've only had nice ones. I lived right next to my landlord, she was so cool. And so hot. I should have fucked those librarian glasses off her face...*cough* ahem, good luck.

[Shish]

Welcome to Milwaukee. I'm in the apartment hunting myself now, but I'm bound to the Marquette campus area so can't help you.

[hclapp219]

A nice tool for apartment hunting is padmapper.com

In terms of how to act, landlords want to know that you'll be able to pay your rent on time and that you won't fuck up the apartment. If you can show those two things, you should be good. Bring a copy of your offer letter or contract from your new job, and have a reference available, even if it's just a neighbor you've housesat for or something like that.

Some other good links to check out on how to protect yourself from shady landlords:
http://www4.uwm.edu/studentorg/ulc/docu ... h-2010.pdf
http://ww2.wisconsin.gov/san/agency/upl ... rr143b.pdf
http://realestate.msn.com/october-renta ... r-landlord

[IEatCats]

Good luck, man! I keep trying to come up with something useful to say, and I can't really think of much.

[ryan summit]

damn washer/dryer hookups/facilities
i gotta get out of new york
i aint never had that
and a gym?
my advice is:
dont think youll get used to a stair climb
always check underneath the sink
closets are very important
and having one in the bedroom is so nice
especially if your plannin on a girl livin with ya
top floor is always the safest bet
the apartments are sometimes bigger
due to lack of stairs goin up
and you wont hear people walikn up said stairs
also the noise from peeps upstairs sucks
and windows
you need windows
as many as possible
i lived in this 5 room railroad apt for 1 1/2yrs
the three rooms in the middle had no light
it feels real institutional and always stuffy
if the tub looks like it was painted with latex paint
WALK AWAY!
and if you see those 99cent store
self adhesive vinyl tile anywhere
do the same and walk
i could go on and on
i have lived in so many apartments in my life
and now i do the turnovers(clean,paint,de-bug)
for three different landlords
oh my god some of the shit ive seen
if you see one roach
or somethin you think is a bed bug
get out of there
and burn your shoes
good luck and happy hunting!

[snipelfritz]

http://www4.uwm.edu/studentorg/ulc/documents/public_documents/upload/Landlord-Tenant-Book-March-2010.pdf

lol, my ex was on the student housing council or whatever it was called.

Yeah, so the one I was leaning towards: It would be on the top (3rd) floor, not near any highways (although I don't mind sound, love trains!). Lot's of closet space. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of a substantial kitchen counter/cabinet space, but I think I can make my own solutions to those problems.

The neighborhood is SOOOOOPER nice too, like right by all the big business centers an the ritzy condos along the lakefront. I talked to a nice old lady who lived there while I was waiting for the appt manager to get there. Heat(radiator) and electric were covered.

I've got some bills to take care of from school, but if I can manage those, I'd like to move in there May 1st. The location is just way too good. And being able to walk to work/internship/bars/beach would just be so awesome. I'm seriously considering getting rid of my car if this all works out. It would just turn into a big hassle to find parking anyway.

[D.o.S.]

Stash the car instead of selling it if at all possible--you'll never know when you'll need one.

[hclapp219]

Nice, location is sooooo important. I pay out the butt to live in a sweet neighborhood in DC, but I can walk 10 minutes to work and then basically all the other places I enjoy going.