Apartment Essentials: Price

By Lev Novak

Here at uCribs this week, I’ll be updating the blog every day with a special eye to each of five possible priorities: location, price, stuff, people, and balance. Which should you emphasize? Which do you care about?

Today we’ll be talking about price.

What Is It?

Price is occasionally misunderstood- it isn’t just what the apartment costs in reality, but what it costs in practice. A crummy apartment might end up “costing” more if you need to hire an exterminator, or if you have to pay for your own utilities. Overall, though: it’s what it sounds like. Price is what you pay for the apartment, both in terms of money and other costs, like time and stress.

How To Evaluate It

As mentioned before, money isn’t the only currency you can pay for an apartment in: stress and time are other “prices” an apartment might hold. In evaluating the price of the apartment, it’s important to consider every aspect of what it offers- location and size are the big ones to focus on, but you should take note of special (or especially bad) utilities or floors. You should also compare nearby apartments to get a baseline of both price and the real value it offers in comparison.

How To Beat The System

This is the fun part.

First, it’s important to prioritize. What do you care about? And, most importantly, what don’t you care about?

I’m often on my laptop or out of the house, so I don’t care very much about the actual square-footage of an apartment, and that saves me money. In an apartment hunt, I always gravitate to small apartments in good areas. For me, the drawback is very minor and the advantages translate to my wallet. Find what you don’t care about and go where it’s bad. You’ll save money for what you actually care about instead.

There are other ways to beat the system too. For example, finding a unique living situation can be very beneficial. If you’re the daring type, you can fit three people into a two-bedroom apartment. If you’re all good friends, or if two of those three are a couple, you might find yourself hanging out and enjoying a comparatively cheaper apartment with no real drawback. Similarly, you might have the bright idea to use an apartment which charges you for utilities and then be super diligent about not actually use them. It’s a stressful way to save $50, but if you’re an environmentally aware person, that might be a nice synergy- save the world and save your wallet, all in one.

Lastly, you can look for opportunities to save money- in this case, other people’s crises. If you’re very daring, you could search for people who need a last minute roomie at a reduced rate and you could slide right in.

Compromising is probably the best way to save money- but creative options abound for the financially ambitious. If you’re willing to pay with your time or pay by being creative, you can save a few bucks without sacrificing location or even apartment size.

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