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 either want to live in the southern part of the U.S. or in somewhere like Indiana, Chicago, or Denver. I want to go
to school in the south, but Id rather live in a colder climate in a city.
2. Will you be living with a roommate, multiple roommates, or alone? Why?
Initially, Ill need to have roommates, when Im in college or just getting a job or something. Depending on the
size of the apartment, I might need to have multiple roommates if the rent it too expensive and thats the real
reason to have a roommate: to help pay for rent.
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.
Heating and Cooling- Having all of the heating and cooling systems work is very important because Id like to
comfortable in my own apartment.
TV/Cable and Internet- Having internet is very important for college, because if Im doing a research paper or
something Ill usually need online sources and itd be easier to have internet in my apartment rather than going to
the library every time I have to do a paper.
Security- I like to feel safe in my own house, so having working locks, windows, gates, etc. are very important to
me.
Living Space- I like to have enough space for me to live comfortably and have a decent amount of privacy.
Plumbing- I like to have clean running water that heats up quickly for showers and dont have any rust in the
pipes.

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!

Qualification Apartment #1 Brook Pines Apartment #2 The Reserve
Location Columbia, South Carolina Bloomington, Indiana
Number of
Bedrooms
2 2
Number of
Bathrooms
1 2
Square Footage 847 852
Rent amount $580 $630
Length of lease
(month/year)
1 Year 1 Year
List apartment
features
Clubhouse, Swimming pool, fitness center,
Laundromat, public transportation, emergency
maintenance, Air Conditioning, Dishwasher
Storage Space(s), Sundeck(s)
Amenities, Air Conditioning, Dishwasher, Pool,
Sundeck(s), Clubhouse, Business Center, Package
Receiving, Wheelchair Access, Playground,
Basketball Court(s), On-Site Maintenance

Security deposit $200 $300
Layout of the
apartment
Living Room at entrance, bedroom in bottom left
and top left corner, kitchen in top right corner,
bathroom in between bedrooms, bathroom past
kitchen, patio past kitchen
Living room at entrance, kitchen to the left,
bedrooms on the straight ahead with bathrooms
before each bedroom
Pictures
Utilities included
(water, garbage,
electric, heat, etc.)
Water and Trash pickup Gas, Water, Trash Pickup

Parking Free parking Free parking
Pet policies Pets accepted Cats allowed, all pets must be spayed and
neutered, 25 lb weight limit on upstairs
apartments, 25-75 lb weight limit on downstairs
apartments
Other costs $50 deposit if you have a pet Electricity, heating, cable/internet
Other interesting
information
Balcony, deck, patio, or porch
Big closets
Outdoor balcony/deck, alarm system, cable
ready
Roommate(s) or
Alone
1 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 The Reserve in Bloomington, Indiana. This apartment seems overall more appealing to
me. Its a little bit bigger, but more expensive. However, the features included outweigh the higher price and the
location also helps.

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 = _$22,46.50______
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 = $1871.88_____
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = _$561.56_______
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? The rent is more than
what I calculated to spend.
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? With a roommate making around the
same money as I do, we could easily afford this apartment.
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? No, the rent is higher
than the calculated number.
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? With a roommate, we might be able to
afford this apartment. We would each need to spend $315 on rent each month, rather than $270,
but if we budgeted each month, we would be able to afford it.
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 $115,750
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = _$86,812.50______
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 = _$7,234.38___
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = _$2,170.31_______
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? The rent for this
apartment is much less than the calculated amount.
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? Renting this apartment would be a good idea. The apartment is
only $630 a month, and I can spend up to $2,170.31; the margin of difference between those two
is very large and would make renting this apartment very easy.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?