Apartment Hunting: What to check for/ ask/etc.?

I'm looking at apartments for myself, so they're cheaper and generally in the lower income areas. What should I ask when I go look at these apartments? What should I check for?Apartment Hunting: What to check for/ ask/etc.?
Best advice I can give is to go knock on some doors and talk to some of the current tenants. Just ask them generally if they like the place and what, if anything, they don't like. They will probably be able to immediately identify the major problems with the place.





Also check the lease carefully for what you are responsible for and compare the overall costs carefully with other places. Finally check the neighborhood and see if it seems pretty safe, but the current tenants will also identify this if its a problem.Apartment Hunting: What to check for/ ask/etc.?
Find out if any utilities are included, call the gas %26amp; electric companies and find out the average bill for that address, if you can have pets (if you want them), how long the lease is, how often the landlord has raised the rent in the past.





It's also a good idea to talk to other people in the apartment complex, or others that rent from that landlord. Make sure that the landlord is a responsible one, that they fix things in a timely manner, and that they don't arbitrarily raise the rent during the course of the lease.
Look at hallways, basement, grounds, parking areas. Are they dirty and littered, or reasonably clean? Look for evidence of leaking, broken windows, screens. Look at walls and floors. ASK about pest control.





Go to neighborhood at all times night and day. Talk to people on street or in parking lot. Find out about area, about safety, about building, about type of tenants. Don't take one person's word for anything!