Moving and Relocating

Learn to decipher the language when you are searching for an apartment. This is easier for people who have rented many different places than it is for the first-time renter.

"Warm and cozy," might mean a one-room Fargo apartment with a loft, for example. But it’s easier to look beyond the ad descriptions and know what you’re really getting into after you’ve looked at several places or served your time renting an apartment above neighbors who blare their TV or allow their kids and dogs to run up and down the halls.

Newspaper ads are about the worst because they are so brief. Apartment handbooks are a little better because there is more description and some pictures. But this also just leaves more room to be deceptive. The pictures are usually taken to make the complex look more roomy, brighter, cleaner and newer than reality. You won’t see the garbage or the messy neighbors or the busy street or the crabby landlord. Usually these handbooks are produced in high numbers and then placed all across a community. By the time you see one, the information will be outdated.

Online information is often the best because at least it is updated. You also save gas and time if you are able to browse through apartments on a web site rather than taking a day to find and tour every one. You can usually search by address or amenities or any other feature you would like. This is also a great way to search for apartments in another city if you are planning on moving but aren’t able to get to that city first for an apartment search. For example, if you are looking to find apartments in Grand Forks ND, you can search online before you actually drive there.