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 in Geneva, New York because that is where I want to go to college.
2. Will you be living with a roommate, multiple roommates, or alone? Why?
I would like to live with at least one roommate to help pay the cost of the apartment.
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.
If there is a washer and dryer available. This is important to me because I do not want to have to travel to a laundry
mat to have to wash my clothes. If there is good security around and in the building. This is important because I do
not want my apartment to get broken into and anything to get stolen. If there is central air and heat because in the
winter I want to be able to keep the apartment warm and in the spring and summer to keep it cool. If the plumbing
works. This is important because I do not want to have to deal with any clogged drains or sinks that wont drain. If
the bathroom is clean and the shower is not all rusty and old. This is important because I do not want to have to
take a shower in a old nasty shower.

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 NAME Apartment #2 - NAME
Location Geneva, New York Geneva, New York
Number of
Bedrooms
1 2
Number of
Bathrooms
1 1
Square Footage 662 sqft 850 sqft
Rent amount $700 $720
Length of lease
(month/year)
One Year One Year
List apartment
features
Air and heat, hot and cold water, trash
removal, community room, fitness center,
and summer patio.
AC and Heat, hot and cold water, and cable.
Security deposit $700 $720
Layout of the
apartment
One Bedroom, One bathroom, kitchen, 662
sqft.
Two bedrooms, one bathroom, kitchen, 850sqft.
Pictures




Utilities included
(water, garbage,
electric, heat,
etc.)
Hot and cold water, garbage removal, AC and
heat, stove, refrigerator.
Electric, AC and Heat, hot and cold water.
Parking Not listed Not listed
Pet policies No pets Cats and Dogs
Other costs Cable Garbage Removal
Other interesting
information
Includes summer patio, community room,
and fitness center.
Laundry Room
Roommate(s) or
Alone
Alone One Roommate
5. Now compare your two options. Which one would you prefer to live in? Why did you decide on this apartment?
I would probably decide to live in the first apartment because it has some more accommodations and no pets are
allowed which I prefer because I do not like cats.

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 = 22,426.5
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 = 561.5
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above?
No, the rent for the apartment is more.
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?
Yes, I could afford the apartment with a roommate.
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?
No, the rent for the apartment is more than what is calculated.
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?
I could afford the apartment if I had two roommates.
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
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 =168,000
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 = 14,000
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = 4,200
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above?
Yes, the rent is less than what I calculated.
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
This apartment would be a good idea to live in because it does not use up 30% of my income so I
can save money and still live here.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?