When Should You Start Looking for an Apartment?

Whether it’s your first year in college and thinking about living in an apartment, or you didn’t have luck getting the apartment you wanted last year, it helps to know when you should start looking for one to make sure you get your dream apartment while in college.

First of all, know your campus and the surrounding city in order to get an idea of when leasing season begins.  In many college towns, if you want an apartment in August, then you need to apply for it in September of the previous year.  However, nothing to worry!  Many apartment leasing seasons go on until the apartments have been fully leased out.  So, if you’re a freshman in college or looking for apartments for Fall semester, you should prepare to plan for an apartment search as early as possible or even now it’s not too late!

Once you know when leasing season is, start looking for apartments a month or two in advance to get an idea of where you want to live.  Once you have a clear idea of where you want to live, make a “top three” list of apartments.  Contact those apartments and ask when they start leasing, furnished or unfurnished, leasing process, lease length, roommate matching or individual lease, and other questions that may arise.

If you are unsatisfied with the current apartment and plan to change apartments, then make sure to start looking for your next one in advance depending on whether or not it’s a year-in-advance or move-in ready lease.

**TIP:  For move-in ready leases, you may want to start your search in May or June and not in August.  You want to make sure you get an apartment and have move-in before school starts.

Please keep this in mind.  The apartment hunting process can take time, so it’s always good to start ahead and stay on top of apartment availabilities.  With so many students on the same time schedule as you, you will be competing with others for the same apartments.

Again, it’s not too late right now to search for your next new home.  So, start searching now!