Finding a Needle in the Haystack

By Langston Beamer

Loyola is growing fast and that is great. With the vast amount of incoming freshman, dorms are being filled faster than ever. Even with the new dorms that are being built they are for underclassmen. This leaves upperclassmen like myself scrambling to find affordable off campus housing. And during the times when midterms and class projects are pilling up on your plate you find yourself pushing apartment searching to the back of your schedule.  However, there is no need to stress out about looking finding apartment. Over the past semester I have learned multiple tips to help ease the apartment shopping process and find the apartment that fits your needs and budget.

• Look 50-60 days before you want to move in. Most landlords ask their tenants to give them at least a 60 days notice for when they move out. This gives you the time to find your apartment the second it goes on the market.
• Visit the neighborhood. While most of the time you do an apartment tour during the day, in order to get a full sense of where you might be living visit the neighborhood at night. Safety is very important in terms of where you live.
• Referral fee.  Everyone loves discounted prices. Some landlords give a referral bonus to existing tenants who refer new tenants. So find an existing tenant and get your apartment price knocked down!
• Know what you want.  The best way to find an apartment is to know exactly what you want. If you don’t, you could be searching forever and wasting valuable time.
• Sublease or not ? If you are thinking about subleasing your apartment make sure you ask your future landlord. Sub leasing is up to your landlord and the lease agreement.

While hunting for an apartment can be a stressful time, just remember to have fun and think about all the memories you’ll make in your future apartment!!