What are the best apartments for you? While some are lucky enough to be living in their ideal apartment complex, others are still on the lookout for it. The “Best Apartment” means something different to everyone. While some consider an apartment gym, wood floors and a gas stove must-haves, others may just be looking for a place with a quiet balcony and a convenient place to do laundry. No matter what features are at the top of your “best apartments” list, it’s a good idea to keep them in mind as you’re looking for an apartment so you can find a home you’ll love.

Find The Best Apartment For Your Needs

It’s not impossible to find an apartment that offers you most — or, preferably, all — of the things you’re looking for. One mistake among renters, though, is that they aren’t clear on what exactly they’re looking for. Take some time to determine the things you consider essential for apartment complexes to be tagged as your “best apartments.”

Make a “Best Apartments” List

To stay organized and focused on what you want, make a list! An apartment search can be overwhelming — so many choices, so many features, so many things to consider. Take some time to think about and write down your must-haves and nice-to-haves. Here are some examples to help get you going with brainstorming:

Must-Haves

• Two bedrooms and two bathrooms
• Pets allowed
• Second floor or higher (safer apartments are on higher floors)
• Laundry facilities on site
• Air conditioning
• Balcony
• Dishwasher

Nice-to-Haves

• Pool
• Gym
• Laundry facilities in the unit
• Wood floors
• Covered parking
• Renter rewards from an apartment-finder service

Once you’ve made up your list, carry it with you to each apartment you visit and make notes on whether that apartment meets your needs. Another important thing to consider before you sign the lease on your “best apartment” is the cost of rent and how it will fit into your budget.

Need help finding that apartment for rent? Don’t forget about the help you can get at ApartmentSearch.com. We have thousands of listings in your area, and we’re right at your fingertips. Plus we offer up to $200 in renter rewards when you find an apartment with us.

An Apartment Cleaning Resolution

Is it time to clean the apartment? It happens to the best of us: we get busy with work and other commitments and before we know it, our apartment is a mess. Dirty dishes stacked in and around the sink, floors covered in dust and pet hair, piles of laundry — left unattended, these things can go from bad to worse fast. And when an apartment is really messy, it may seem hopeless.

But fear not — there is hope! Though it will take time and effort, you can organize and clean your apartment.

Get Mean About Clean

One of the best things to do when you’re feeling overwhelmed by an apartment mess is to figure out a plan of attack. Decide what to clean first. Most likely, you’ll want to first take care of things that are creating bad smells. Take out the garbage (and clean your trash can, if necessary), clean out any rotten or moldy food from the fridge, make sure kitchen sponges aren’t stinky, and if you have pets, clean their areas. Litter boxes, puppy pads and bird cages, for example, can really become a mess if they aren’t given enough attention.

Once you tackle the biggest messes in your apartment, you may feel like the rest will be a cinch. Move onto your next tasks, but plan them out so you can clean efficiently. For example, because dirt falls as you clean, you may want to dust ceiling fans, artwork and tables before you vacuum, and you might want to clean the kitchen and bathroom counters before you mop the floors.

Enjoy Your Clean Apartment

Once you’ve gotten your apartment clean, you can relax and enjoy your home without having any stress about needing to clean weighing on  your shoulders. Having a clean apartment means you’ll be more comfortable, and you won’t have to scramble if guests come over without much notice. We know life can be hectic, but keep in mind that it’s much easier to keep an apartment tidy if you clean more often. Cleaning more often means you won’t have to spend a large chunk of time every so often getting things organized and neat.

And of course, if you’re trying to find an apartment, we invite you to browse the hundreds of apartments for rent on ApartmentSearch.com. Not only are our apartment listings easy to search, but you can earn up to $200 in renter rewards when you find an apartment with us!

Safe Apartments: How and Where

When you’re going through your checklist while you find an apartment, safety might be at the top of your list. It’s tough to gauge just how safe an apartment is without having lived there. And if you want to find an apartment when you’re moving from a completely different city, it’s even more difficult to know which apartment complexes and neighborhoods are safe. Luckily, we’ve compiled some useful tips that might help you find an apartment that is safe and secure.

Pass Up the First Floor

Yep, you’ll definitely be getting your exercise with a second-floor, third-floor or higher-up unit. But keep in mind that thieves have a much easier time breaking into first-floor apartments, meaning those that aren’t on the first floor are typically more secure. If your budget allows for it, consider trying to find an apartment that is a high-rise apartment.

Safe Inside and Out

It’s a common occurrence: You’re out to find an apartment, you drive by an apartment complex that has a big fence with a gate that requires an entry code, and you assume that the place is very safe and secure. Stick around a little longer, though, you might notice that anyone can get in if they just follow behind a car that puts in the entry code.

Another consideration is lighting. When it’s dark outside, how well-lit are the parking lot, mailboxes, laundry room, walk-ups and stairways?

As for the actual apartment, you’ll want to take a look at the front door: Is it thick and sturdy and does it have a peephole? What kind of locks are on it? Is it possible to open the windows from the outside?

Ask Around

One of the best ways to find an apartment that is safe is to talk to people who live there. Current residents usually aren’t shy about telling prospective renters exactly what they think of the place they call home. You can also talk to the management — ask if they’d be willing to check on your apartment or get your mail should you be gone for an extended period of time. You’ll also want to make sure they change the locks when a tenant moves out. Inquire about what the policy is regarding apartment office employees having access to your apartment, too. Last but not least, talk to the local police. They should be happy to talk to you about crime rate statistics for the neighborhood and specific apartment complex you’re looking at.

Even though there’s always a possibility during your apartment renting experience that something could happen regarding your safety, we hope our tips will help you find an apartment that is safe. And if you’d like a hand in your quest for an apartment for rent, try using our easy apartment search! Not only is it free, but you earn up to $200 in renters rewards when you rent using ApartmentSearch.com.

ApartmentSearch by CORT does not guarantee security or safety at any property. For local crime statistics and information, please contact your local law enforcement agency.

Do You Need to Chart Your Chores?

Struggling with roommates? A chore chart might be the key to harmonious apartment living in your new apartment. So you’ve rented an apartment, found a roommate and are all moved in. It feels nice to be settled in at your new home, but there’s still something important to take care of: how will you split up the chores? No doubt, we’d all much rather spend our time doing something fun instead of scrubbing the tub or taking out the trash. But it’s got to get done, or apartment living will quickly turn messy. Failing to organize chores is also a sure way to get into a conflict with your roommate, so make things clear from the beginning. There are a two ways you can do this — just talking to your roommate and deciding what chores will be done by which person and how often, or making a chore chart. A chore chart for day-to-day apartment living may feel a little bit lame at first. Can’t we just do the chores when they need to get done? you might wonder. You can try it that way, but all too often when directions aren’t clear, chores will wind up being forgotten. Dishes can pile up in the sink, dirt can cover the floor and bathrooms can get downright awful. If you and your roommate are clear from the start about which chores you’re supposed to handle, you can avoid all kinds of messes when it comes to apartment living.

Setting Up a Chore Chart

Making a chore chart for clean apartment living is easy. Get together with your roommate and come up with a list of apartment living chores that need to get done. It’s different for everyone, but here’s a list to help you get going:

• Load and run the dishwasher
• Unload the dishwasher
• Wipe down kitchen counters and sink
• Wipe down bathroom counters
• Mop kitchen floor
• Mop bathroom floor
• Clean the toilet, bathtub and sink
• Vacuum
• Dust
• Clean out fridge
• Take out trash and recycling

Once you’ve got your list — and you’ll probably keep adding to the list as you discover new chores — start working on the actual chart. You can either go big and put it on a poster board, or just put it on a regular piece of paper. Keep in mind that you may want to recreate this chart every couple of weeks. You’ll want to make a few columns at the top: Chore, Who?, Due Date, and Done. List each chore on its own line under Chore, the person responsible for it under Who?, the date you’d like it done under Due Date, and leave the Done column blank. Once the chore is done, just put a check mark by it in that column. Keep your chore chart somewhere visible, like on the fridge. If you or your roommate are unhappy with your assigned chores, just switch off next time to keep it fair. And remember, if you haven’t gotten to the chore chart stage yet, and are just looking for a decent apartment for rent, ApartmentSearch.com is here to help. Our website has tons of resources and fantastic apartment listings for you to browse. Plus if you end up finding an apartment through ApartmentSearch.com, you can collect up to $200 in renter’s rewards! Not a bad way to start out in your new place.

The roommate search, oh my! Trying to find a roommate who does the dishes every night and puts them away, respects your belongings, agrees with you on temperature and pays their share of the bills on time is no easy endeavor. Finding a roommate who vacuums, cleans up without being asked and someone who is just generally pleasant to be around would be ideal.

Is there such thing as The Perfect Roommate? Of course not! We all have roommate search horror stories, whether it involves that guy who hogged the television all day and well into the night and always paid his share of the bills a week late, to the gal whose pet beagle howled any time she was away. The thing with a roommate search is that all too often, you don’t really know what you’re going to get — and realizing that you got a bad roommate is no fun. Maybe you were in a hurry to find a roommate, or maybe you just didn’t know what to look out for. Whatever happened, one thing’s for sure: There are a few things you can do that will help you with your roommate search.

• First, you need to be honest about who you are. Are you a slob? Do you get upset when there is even one dirty dish in the sink? Do you love to have lots of people over all the time? If you don’t like to clean and are always having people over, it’s not very fair to search for a roommate who likes things clean and wants the apartment to be quiet and private.
• Meet up with potential roommates to talk. If you don’t feel safe or comfortable meeting them at your home, meet at a coffee shop or another public place where you can sit down and have a conversation.
• Find out what their schedule is like. If they have a night job and sleep during the day, and you have a 9-to-5, that could potentially cause a conflict.
• What are their hobbies?
• Do you want to include pet owners in your roommate search?
• Do they drink, smoke or do drugs?
• Discuss the things that typically wind up becoming problems when they’re not first addressed: how chores will be handled, how things like kitchen utensils and food will be shared, what’s okay and not okay when it comes to having guests over, thermostat settings, out-of-town guests, when bills need to be paid and so on.

These are just a few ideas to help you get a good roommate search going. If you meet with a potential roommate and you get the feeling the two of you wouldn’t be the best match, don’t be afraid to politely tell them that. It’ll sure save you a lot of roommate frustration in the long run.

An apartment gym can be a seriously sweet amenity. Apartments that include access to a community gym may be at the top of the list for many renters, and for good reason — they’re convenient and they can help you save money on a pricey monthly membership to a regular gym. Though typically small and basic, apartment gym facilities are a big plus for residents who dig pumping iron, riding a stationary bike or jogging on a treadmill.

Apartment Gym Etiquette

There are several unspoken rules you should keep in mind if you use an apartment gym:

• Make sure you clean up after yourself. Bring a towel to wipe up sweat from machines and benches, and if sanitizer and paper towels are provided, clean the gym equipment before and after you use it out of courtesy to the next person who will use it. You might also want to consider bringing a second, smaller towel for wiping sweat off your forehead.
• Don’t talk on your cell phone. Apartment gyms are small, and neighbors working out near you might be annoyed if they have to listen to your conversation. You can always step outside if you absolutely must take a call.
• If there are other people around, be careful that you don’t stay on a gym machine for too long — someone might be waiting for you to finish. Sometimes there will be a sign-up sheet or the management will post notifications regarding gym machine time limits, but if there isn’t anything posted, just use your best judgment.
• If you work out with free weights, put them back when you’re headed to another station or your apartment. Gym weights left on the floor can wind up hurting one of your neighbors.
• On a similar note, if you use a bar with weights on it, be sure and re-rack the weights. The gym patron who uses it after you may not be able to lift the amount you were lifting.

Find an Apartment with a Gym

Is all this talk about apartment gyms making you want to live somewhere that has one? We can’t blame you. Find an apartment that offers an apartment gym at ApartmentSearch.com, or search for an apartment for rent by state or city.

Apartment Warming: Warm Up Your New Apartment with a Party

Are you looking to throw an apartment warming party? Moving into a new apartment calls for a celebration! With the stress of packing up all of your stuff, hauling it to the new apartment and then having to unpack it all, you deserve some time to kick back and have a little fun. Throwing an apartment warming party is a great way to do this — plus, it’s the perfect opportunity to give your friends the grand tour and show off your fantastic new home.

Keep The Party Casual

One thing that’s pretty cool about throwing an apartment warming party is that it can be very casual. Your apartment doesn’t have to be perfectly tidy, and things don’t even have to be put away. Since you just moved in, you’ll probably still have boxes around and furniture in odd places. And that’s totally expected — you just moved in. Plus, it can be interesting for your friends to see your new apartment right when you move in and watch how it all comes together as you eventually get more settled. You could even ask them for advice on how to best decorate and arrange furniture in the space.

If you’ve been in your new apartment a few days and already have everything in its place, kudos to you. Your party guests will be in awe of your moving skills, and maybe you can dish out some tips they can use next time they rent an apartment.

Planning an Apartment Warming Party

You have several choices for your apartment warming party. Do you want it to be friends-only, new neighbors only or a mix of friends and neighbors? It can certainly be a nice opportunity to meet your neighbors. Once you have an idea of who’s coming over, you’ll want to think about food and refreshments. Chips and salsa, fresh fruit and veggies with dip, cheese and crackers, cookies and tiny sandwiches can all make great apartment warming party snacks. Don’t forget plates, cups, napkins and silverware.

When you invite over your guests, be sure you give them all of the info they need in order to find your apartment. If there’s a gate code, potentially confusing directions or they need to buzz in, be sure to provide your guests with that information as well as a phone number where you can be reached.

A Warming Welcome

Okay, so you may be really, really excited about your new apartment and want to channel all that excitement into the Party of the Century, but keep in mind that you don’t want to give the impression that you’re an inconsiderate and noisy apartment neighbor. You don’t want to start off by violating apartment etiquette, so keep your party contained to a level that’s enjoyable but not out of control and disturbing people around you.

An apartment warming party can be lots of fun, and it’s a nice feeling to be proud of the new apartment you’re living in and have your friends over to celebrate with you.

Save with Rental Furniture

There’s a lot to think about and square away when you rent an apartment: setting up utilities, changing your address and deciding just how you’re going to furnish the place. That last part can either be really fun or really stressful — if you already have furniture and decor, you’re set, but what if you don’t? Consider getting rental furniture.

You might be wondering, why wouldn’t I just buy furniture for my new place? Well, depending on your situation, getting rental furniture might just be the easiest, most convenient and  most cost-effective decision.

The cost of furnishing an entire home can add up quickly. Buying a new bed,  a couch and couple of chairs could set you back more than $1,000. With having to pay a deposit and first month’s rent — and possibly last month’s rent as well — up front, you may be strapped for cash once you get to the point of furnishing your home.

If You’re Temporary, Consider Renting

Another reason to consider rental furniture is if you’re not going to be staying in the apartment for very long. Whether you’re working in another country, just in town for a corporate relocation assignment or you are living somewhere temporarily for some other reason, it might not be ideal to purchase furniture to use only for a short amount of time.

Rental furniture is all about convenience. Typically, the rental furniture company will deliver your stuff, taking the hassle out of you having to rent a truck and do it yourself. This is especially convenient when you’re busy with getting your new apartment set up. Plus, it could help you save on moving expenses.

The bottom line is that rental furniture is worth checking out. Convenient, flexible and easy, it might just be the perfect way to furnish your home.

Apartment Noise: What a Racket!

Windows facing a busy street, a close proximity to a bus or train stop, loud air conditioners and heaters, noisy neighbors who love to party — any of these things can make for a serious apartment noise. While apartment noise issues are certainly something you want to watch out for when you’re looking to rent an apartment, sometimes it’s worth dealing with apartment noise when the place is just plain awesome and you don’t want to pass it up. Other times, in cases of noisy air conditioners, appliances and rowdy neighbors, it’s a not-so-pleasant surprise when you move in.

Apartment Noise Abatement

So how do you go about reducing apartment noise? Wearing earplugs is one idea, though not everyone is a fan of wearing them when they go to bed or are at home. But there are some things you can do to reduce annoying apartment noise.

• If you’re not keen on hearing cars and buses drive by your apartment at all hours of the day and night, or if there’s a bar or restaurant close by that stays open late, consider putting up heavy drapes to help absorb the noise. Window treatments to reduce apartment noise – like heavy drapes, which can be paired with noise reduction shades for an even more effective result – can be a big help.
• Rugs are another idea, and like drapes, perform double-duty as decor and a way to reduce apartment noise.
• Line the walls with sound-absorbing material like eggcrate-shaped Styrofoam. With the right decor, this can actually look stylishly modern and minimalist.
• Is your air conditioner, heater or another appliance the source of the apartment noise? Call up your landlord or apartment management office and let them know that there’s an issue. In some cases, they may be willing to move you into a different, less-noisy unit, or they might just send a repairman out to take care of the problem.
• Get an air filter. For $75-$150, these machines not only clean and filter the air in a room, but they produce white noise that might help you sleep better.
• If the problem is noisy neighbors, try politely asking them to keep it down. If they don’t respond, speak with your apartment manager about it. They’ll likely be able to improve the situation.

If That Fails…

If you’ve tried everything to reduce apartment noise and you’re still not happy, just remember that you don’t have to stay there forever. Take a look at your lease, find out when you’re able to move out, and find an apartment for rent that’s as quiet as possible. Remember, it’s always easier to ask tenants about problems at a new apartment before moving in rather than finding out about apartment noise problems afterwards.

Houseplants Can Make Your Apartment Feel Like Home

You’ve heard of going green, but what about including a little green in your apartment? Houseplants can up the comfort factor in your apartment while also complementing your decor with some extra color and texture.

Perhaps you’ve had some bad experiences with plants in the past. Wilted flowers, brown leaves, a gnat infestation — any of that bring back bad memories? Or maybe the whole taking-care-of-houseplants thing just sounds like a pain and you’ve never tried it. That’s understandable, since there are countless types of plants that each require different levels of sunlight and water. One dead plant can be pretty disappointing; several can lead you to think you’re cursed with the dreaded houseplant “black thumb.”

But we’ve come up with some suggestions for houseplants that you’ll find easy to take care of and that require minimal maintenance. Hard to kill and easy to enjoy, these houseplants are perfect for apartment living.

Our Houseplant Suggestions

Snake plant. No, this plant won’t attract a bunch of snakes into your apartment. We’re guessing it gets its name from its appearance — large, long, skinny green and yellowish leaves. Incredibly easy to take care of, the snake plant requires very little light and is resistant to insects. The only thing you have to be careful of is that you don’t water it too much, as it can result in root rot.

Succulents and cacti. You’ll want to make sure you keep your succulents and cacti in a place where they’ll get plenty of sun. They don’t require a lot of water, and there are a ton of varieties to choose from.

Ficus. Requiring semi-shade, a ficus is another easy-to-take-care-of houseplant.

Spathiphylium. Also known as “peace lily,” the spathiphylium features dark green glossy leaves and white waxy blooms. A great indoor houseplant, the spathiphylium does well as long as its soil isn’t allowed to dry out.

Try one of these houseplants in your apartment – houseplants are inexpensive ways of brightening your apartment space and freshening the air you breathe. And if you’re trying to find apartment renovation pointers, try our guide to decorating your apartment!