3 Signs You Have A Bad Apartment

As the weather warms up and the days get longer, our days are filled with sports, barbeques, patio drinks, and other summery activities. And for some of us, it’s the perfect time to switch apartments. After all, who wants to move in the winter?

But not every apartment is a good one. In fact, if my experience is any indication, most sort of suck. Much like our first-time home buyer’s checklist, here’s how you can avoid getting stuck with a crummy place.

It’s dark

Everybody has fallen for it at some point. They look at the ad for an apartment that seems a little too cheap. Upon looking at it, the place doesn’t look bad, except for one major downfall. It’s a basement unit.

It’ll be okay you think. I’ll just keep the lights on, and it’ll be fine. Oh, you’ll be wrong.

Basement apartments are always cold and dark, no matter how warm it is outside. For the hottest two months of the summer, it’s great. For the rest of the year, it’s more depressing than that feeling right after you eat a whole bag of Doritos. After six months, you’re ready to hack a hole in the wall just to get a little natural light in the place.

Sunlight is important. So is the ability to look out the window without craning your neck upwards. Saving $50 per month on rent is nice, but pay the extra for a little brightness. Use our home insurance tool to save cash instead.

It has a crazy landlord

I realize that avoiding a crazy landlord is easier said than done, but I have a couple of rules I’ve used in the past with a certain amount of success.

Skip the guy who only has one or two units of his own. This type of landlord is usually pretty easy to spot. He’s more likely to:

• Post extra long ads on Craigslist or Kijiji, with plenty of “important” things in ALL CAPS
• Insist on six personal references, three previous landlord references, and a credit report
• Start cleaning the place up while he’s showing it to you
• And most importantly, if he lives upstairs, run away

Instead, you want to deal with a property management company. They care more about keeping things fixed and up to date because it’s not really their money on the line. Plus, they deal with broken stoves daily. They’re more likely to believe you that the burner just stopped working, rather than concocting some huge conspiracy theory that you’re out to ruin “his” stove.

It comes with more than one roommate

I’ll admit, I’m somewhat anti-roommate. I once had a roommate that insisted we have a party, and then invited none of his friends. It was strange.

One roommate is at least tolerable. But when it comes with two or more, suddenly you’re dealing with several sets of quirks. One might be a neat freak but have no problem stealing food. The other might insist on never wearing pants. It can be exhausting trying to keep several different people happy.

Just do what I did, and live alone. I realize that getting your own place isn’t easy in an expensive housing market like Toronto, but at least try. Even if you get the smallest apartment in the history of mankind, it’s still preferable to having to make small talk with your roommate every time you come back from work. Just make sure it has a few decent sized windows.

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