5 No-Nonsense Apartment Hunting Tips for Parents

Apartment hunting as a parent is not that easy. With all the things that you have to consider, you might find it quite stressful and irritating. For your kids, you must consider the school location, the overall safety of the neighborhood and more.  And to help you out with your apartment hunting journey (as a parent), here are some straight-forward tips.

Investigate the neighborhood

Safety and security must be your top concern when apartment hunting. Your leasing agent might not give you the whole picture of the neighborhood but you can investigate yourself. Start with online reviews, look for social media posts that talks about the location. If you can’t find any, you can always visit the local police and ask them about the crime rate around the area.

Check the apartment building

Check the overall safety and security of the apartment building. Make sure that it has key access making sure that only the legal residents can get inside the premises. The doors and windows must be secure enough (locks and such) to keep away possible intruders. Hallways and entry ways must be well-lit and emergency exits are easy to access. It’s also great if the building has security cameras in place around it.

Know the school district

Check the nearest schools near the apartment building that you chose. Investigate on it further by knowing the teacher to kid ratio, average test scores and so on. Ask if the school have a school bus system that can pick your kids at home and drop them off after school. You can also personally visit the school to get a feel of the overall atmosphere of the area where your kids will frequent on once you moved.

Know the kid-friendly amenities

Check the apartment community and neighborhood if it has a good library, park districts, group activities and playgrounds that you kids could enjoy their free time with. Take a good long walk with your kids around the community and let them have a feel of these amenities. Also, make sure that these amenities are child friendly.

Know and befriend the neighbors

After doing the building, community and neighborhood checks and you are convinced that this is the place where you and your kids will stay; take some time now to know your neighbors well. Introduce yourself and your kids nicely. Ask about the common things that happen in the building like parties, events, festivities etc. This is also the time that you can ask about how the management is and the maintenance of the whole area.

For more tips and advice, you can visit Apartments for Rent in Michigan or the Michigan Houses Online blog.