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 a little close to home, but not too far. The ideal location is close to my school. I
do enjoy spending time with my family and plan to do it often even when I move out. I prefer
living in New Jersey since I will most likely be going to College here.
2. Will you be living with a roommate, multiple roommates, or alone? Why?
I would like to be living with a roommate or multiple roommates to split the cost to make it
easier to pay. This is important since we will probably have student loans and such to pay on
top of 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.
One important feature is high-speed internet access availability. Since I will be taking classes
online outside of school for coding, the fast internet access is ideal. Another important
feature for me is efficient plumbing that will work for a long period of time. Also, I would
prefer the apartment to have noise insulation and would not prefer to hear my neighbors or
for them to hear me because I am mostly loud and would not want to get kicked out. I
definitely want a washer/dryer in my apartment In order to not waste time and money to go
to a laundromat. Lastly, having decent security is important since I will have expensive
technology in my apartment that I would rather not have stolen.
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!
http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000067358.php
http://apartments.oodle.com/view/3-beds-avalon-somerset/3901192920-somersetnj/
Qualificatio
n

Apartment #1 Avalon Summerset

Apartment #2
Colonial Heights
Apartments

Location

1350 Easton Avenue, Somerset, NJ

Number of
Bedrooms

300 Parsippany
Rd, Parsippany, NJ 070
54
1

Number of
Bathrooms

Square
Footage
Rent
amount
Length of
lease
(month/year
)
List
apartment
features

Security
deposit
Layout of
the
apartment
[Insert
Picture]

Pictures

1248 square feet

650

$2695

$1,275.00

1 Year

1 Year

Broadband Internet Access, Fireplace, Internet Access

Unknown

Air Conditioner, Cable

Ready, Heating, High
Speed Internet
Access, Tub/Shower

Unknown

Utilities
included
(water,
garbage,
electric,
heat, etc.)
Parking
Cost

Heat, Garbage, Electricity, Water

(Not specified)

Free Gas, Water,

Heat, Trash Removal,
Sewer

None (Garages)

Ample Free Parking

Pet Policies

Maximum of 2 pets per home. Dog and cat PetCare are available.

Some apartments do,

the one I desire does
not allow pets but
that is not
detrimental to me.

Non-Refundable pet fee: $500 per unit. Restricted breeds are:

Rottweiler, Doberman, Pit Bulls, American Bull Dogs, Staffordshire
Terriers, German Shepherds, Tosa Inus, Shar Peis, Wolf Hybrids,
Dalmatians, Boxers, Alaskan Malamutes, Basset Hounds, Blood
Hounds, Bull Mastiffs, Argentine Dogos, Akitas, Bresa Canarios, Fila
Brasileiros, Chow Chows. Following pets are also restricted:
Monkeys,Ferrets, Snakes, Rabbits, Livestock and Reptiles.
Other costs

Other
interesting
information

Roommate(s
) or Alone

None specified

Fitness Center, Landscaped Courtyards, smoke-free

community, gourmet kitchens, maintenance-free
living, children's play area, BBQ & picnic areas,
resident clubhouse w/ sports/game & wifi, sparkling
pool with sundeck, and pet friendly
Roommates (2)

None specified

Basketball Courts,
Playground, Pool,

Alone

5. Now compare your two options. Which one would you prefer to live in? Why did you decide on
this apartment? Depending on if I can find roommates, I would definitely like to share a room
with others. Sharing the troubles of living away from family and splitting the expense is ideal
and more simple than living alone. I decided on this apartment because of the plenty of
things to do in the Avalon Summerset neighborhood. Especially with roommates, life will be
fun.

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.
a.i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = ____22462.5___
a.ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by
12 = _____1871.875_____
a.iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 =
_____561.5625___

a.iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line
above? No
a.v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
a.vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?
No, even with roommates, this salary will be difficult to accommodate
the ideal amount of people in the 3 bedroom apartment. This is only the
case if we all spend what we should for rent.
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.
b.i. First, find your net income by multiplying your income by 0.75 = ____10800___
b.ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by
12 = ____900______
b.iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 =
___270_____
b.iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line
above? No
b.v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
b.vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?
No, even with roommates, I would need outside help or for us to spend
more than we should for rent to accommodate three people in the three
bed room apartment.
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
c.i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 =
____60751.875___
c.ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by
12 = _____5062.65625_____
c.iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 =
____1518.796875____
c.iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line
above? Yes
c.v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? Yes, I will be able to save more

money for student loans and such if I split the rent with others.
c.vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?