i am in college and wanting to move into an apartment for the first time. what should i consider beforehand?

Question

I am a freshman in college, moving away from home for the first time. I want to rent an apartment by myself, but i'm wondering exactly what i need to consider, and what my expenses will be like. How much do utilities generally cost when renting? what other monetary factors should i consider? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

For the most part, moving out on your own is expensive. I would suggest living with roommates before moving into an apartment of your own. Expenses depend on your location and consumption. I live with roommates in Pennsylvania, our utilities average about 300 dollars a month total for electric, gas, cable and internet. But this is for a decent sized house and we keep our thermostat low. Gas bills can range from relatively low to extremely high, same as electric bills. The biggest thing is how much you use. If you keep the heat on high all the time and never turn lights out, your bills will be quite high. As far as choosing an apartment goes, there are alot of factors to consider. First off, I would go for a residential listing as opposed to a student listing as student rental owners try to rip off their students. The best bet is to examine an apartment thoroughly before you decide to take it. Make sure to check on the obvious things like room size and interior construction, make sure everything is clean and in good repair. Little things add up too. Make sure you check on things you might otherwise forget like water pressure, all light switches and outlets working and other things like that. And since you are a student a really big factor should be location. How close is it to campus, far enough to be away from campus police and other restrictions yet close enough to walk to class. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

You might want to remember the location you pick can make a big difference in your transportation costs. Some people do get renters insurance, but most do not.
Don't believe the utility company about average bills (they include a lot of billings that are not whole households); but ask people in the apartment house or ones similar to what you are looking at.
Don't expect to get more than half your deposit back; don't use the deposit as your last month's rent. Don't think that one landlord doesn't hear from another.
Don't enter into a roomate agreement of equal shares; some one must be the primary responsible person.

Answer 3

You need to consider if you can even afford it. Trying to answer your question is like trying to answer, "How high it up?" You have to research that yourself to find out how much it's going to cost you. You haven't even said where you will be living so nobody can even give the wildest guess what you costs might be.

Keep in mind that many colleges and universities don't allow freshmen to live off campus. Check the schools policy on that. If they do allow you to live off campus, they'll have a student housing office who can hook you up with the information that you need.

Answer 4

One thing I hadn't considered when moving into my first apartment was how much it would cost to furnish it. Of course you can look for hand-me-downs or second hand items but it still costs money. Think about kitchen utensils, sitting/dining options, sofa...
Oh and don't forget to ask about guest parking.