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 would like to live in a suburban environment in Massachusetts because if I were to live in a rural


2. Will you be living with a roommate, multiple roommates, or alone? Why?

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.


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!

Qualification Apartment #1 Rolling Green Apartment #2 - SouthPoint
Location
1 A Rolling Green Dr. Amherst, MA 01002 42 A South Point Dr. Amherst, MA 01002
Number of
Bedrooms
2 2
Number of
Bathrooms
1.5 1
Square Footage
1158 Square ft 900 Square ft
Rent amount
$1,620- $1,735 $1,135
Length of lease
(month/year)
$1,620(15months)
List apartment
features
Pool
Dishwasher
Unfurnished
Package Receiving
Playground
Basketball Court
Dishwasher
Unfurnished
On-sight Management
On-sight Maintenance

Security deposit
$1,100 $200
Layout of the
apartment


Pictures


Utilities included
(water, garbage,
electric, heat, etc.)
Water
Garbage
Electric
Heat
Water
Garbage
Electric
Heat
Parking
Complex Parking Lots Complex Parking Lot
Pet policies
Dogs and Cats Allowed Dogs and Cats Allowed
Other costs
none none
Other interesting
information
No smoking No smoking
Roommate(s) or
Alone
Multiple Roommates Multiple Roommates
5. Now compare your two options. Which one would you prefer to live in? Why did you decide on this apartment?
I would rather live in South Point because it is cheaper and has just the same as Rolling Green. The Amenities and
features are almost the same and there are some amenities that Rolling Green has that I dont need.


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.
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = __$22,462.5_____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 =
__$1871.87________
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = _$561.56_______
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? Yes
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? Well considering that it I will be rooming with multiple people I
see that it is a good thing because if I were to pay the rent with 2 or 3 other people they would be
making almost the same amount as me and be willing to pay their part.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? Yes as I explained above.
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.
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your income by 0.75 = ___$10,800____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 =
___$900_______
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = ____$270____
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? Yes
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? No because it is way lower than the apartment rent. This would
not be a good idea if I was alone
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? It would defiantly be a struggle to make
money for the rent! I would have to room with 4 or 5 other people.
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 $73,090
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = _$54,817.50______
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 =
__$4568.12________
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = _$1,370.43_______
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? yes, barely for one
bedroom
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? Could be a bad thing if I were to use my money unwisely.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?