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 Bar Harbor, Maine

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

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.
One important factor is if there are mice in the building because I absolutely hate rodents. I would also like a
fenced in area because I am big when it comes to security. Also if there are enough outlets in rooms my
roommate and I wont have to worry about sharing a limited about of technology. Also making sure the toilets
flush properly is important because my roommate and I shouldnt have to deal with each others waste. Lastly I
want to know if I can hear my neighbors. This is important to me because if they have parties I dont want to hear
them to the point I cant focus.


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 Mansfield Village Apartment #2 - Camelot at Woodfield
Location
7 Mansfield Village Hackettstown, NJ 07840 Brock Lane Hackettstown, NJ 07840
Number of
Bedrooms
2 bedrooms 2
Number of
Bathrooms
1 1
Square Footage
1130 900
Rent amount
990- 1065 dollars 1259- 1578 dollars
Length of lease
(month/year)
12 months 12 months
List apartment
features
Air Conditioning
Dishwasher
Unfurnished Available
Playground
Air Conditioning
Sundeck(s)
High Speed Internet
Security deposit
990-1065 dollars 1000 dollars
Layout of the
apartment


Pictures





Utilities included
(water, garbage,
electric, heat, etc.)
Heat Gas, radiant. Central conditioning,
trash pickup
Heat: Gas
Garbage: dumpster
Parking
Street parking and parking lot Assigned Parking
Parking Lot
Pet policies
No pets Cats are allowed
Other costs
n/a n/a
Other interesting
information
Tennis Courts Wheelchair Access
Roommate(s) or
Alone
Roomate Roomate
5. Now compare your two options. Which one would you prefer to live in? Why did you decide on this apartment?
I would prefer to live in the two person apartment in the Mansfield Village. One reason I prefer this one is because it
cost less than the other. Also I do not have to worry about my allergy of cats because there are no pets aloud. Lastly
the kitchen is a much larger area compared to the other apartment.


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 = ___$22462.50____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 =1871.87
dollars_______
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? no because this means I will have enough money each money
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? Yes if we split it the cost.
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 I will not have enough money to pay lease.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? No b
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 $53,090
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = ___$39817.50____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 =
____$3318.12______
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = _$995.43_______
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? no
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? Yes because I can afford the apartment by myself.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?