Finding an Apartment Project

For this project, you will need to decide what features are important to you for finding your first apartment. Imagine
yourself ready to move out of your parents house or away at college and needing a place to live. Where would you want
to be? What things do you need and want in an apartment? How much can you afford?

Background Answer these questions in complete sentences. Change your answers to bold or another color
1. Where do you want to live and why? (City/country, what state/area?)
I want to live in Wyoming or Maine because I want to be away from major cities and not be bothered by other
people.
2. Will you be living with a roommate, multiple roommates, or alone? Why?
I would prefer to live alone because I wouldnt want a annoying room mate.
3. What are the 5 most important features or amenities of an apartment for you? Use the PDF Apartment Checklist
for ideas and write 1 sentence for each to explain why it is important.
I would want a stove so then I could cook food.

4. Find TWO apartments that meet many (or all) of your qualifications and fill out the information you can on this
table.
apartments.com, forrent.com
zillow.com or trulia.com just set filters to RENT
NOT rent.com (you need to make an account)
Search your college newspapers classifieds section too!

Qualificatio
n
Apartment #1 NAME Apartment #2 - NAME
Location Presque Isle Maine Jackson hole Wyoming
Number of
Bedrooms
two 2
Number of
Bathrooms
2 1
Square
Footage
850 900
Rent
amount
$1000 $775
Length of
lease
(month/yea
r)
2 years 16 months
List
apartment
features

Two bedrooms , two bath rooms and comes
with kitchen necessities such as a dish washer a
refrigerator and other electronics such as a
microwave and a oven.
Two bedrooms and one bathroom with a marble top
kitchen with hard wood floors made from cherry wood.
Security
deposit
$2500 $1500
Layout of
the
apartment
Bathrooms located near kitchen and the two
bed rooms are located in the rear of the
apartment.
The property is based on 3.5 acres and is surrounded
by the Teton mountains. The apartment has the
bedroom located by the kitchen while the bedroom is
located on the west side of the apartment.
Pictures


Utilities
included
(water,
garbage,
electric,
heat, etc.)
Apartment comes with celling lighting , water is
provided 24/7 also comes with a heating stove
within the apartments for the winter.
Comes with heat , satellite TV and your basic electrical
needs and comes with water when you need it.
Parking Parking costs 450 dollars per year. Parking costs $800
Pet policies No pets allowed Allowed 1 cat or 1 dog of any size
Other costs N/A Snow plowing charge $35
Other
interesting
information
Moose commonly spotted on the property as
well as black bear.
The national park is 10 miles away and has the thermal
geysers that bring in over 10,000 tourists annually.
Roommate(
s) or Alone
Can have one additional roommate 1 roommate
5. Now compare your two options. Which one would you prefer to live in? Why did you decide on this apartment?

I would prefer to live in Jackson hole because its away from people and its located in the north west and its not as
expensive as maine.

6. Will you be able to afford this apartment?
a) Assume you earn the median salary for high school graduates working full time - $29,950 per year.
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = ____33,750___
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 =
_____2812.5_____
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = ___843.75_____
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? yes
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? Yes because its very affordable.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? N/A
b) Assume you have the average income of a full-time college student, which is $14,400 according to the
National Center for Educational Statistics.
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your income by 0.75 = __10,800_____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 = ____900___
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = _____270___
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above?
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?
c) Assume you make the median salary of a person in the career field youre interested in. Look up the salary
on https://www.bls.gov/ooh
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = __37,500_____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 =
3125__________
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = ____937.5____
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? Yes its less.
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? Its a good idea because its more cost effective.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? N/A