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 a smaller city on the east coast.
2. Will you be living with a roommate, multiple roommates, or alone? Why?
I would live with roommates because it would be much cheaper.
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.
I would want a balcony or some type of outdoor space, a guest bedroom, a large
kitchen, a garage, and more than one bathroom.
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
Location
Number of
Bedrooms
Number of
Bathrooms
Square
Footage
Rent
amount
Length of
lease
(month/year
)
List
apartment
features
Security
deposit
Layout of
the
apartment

Apartment #1 The Edge at Flagler

Village
475 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL
33301
2

Apartment #2 -Yacht Club at

Brickell
1111 Brickell Bay Dr, Miami, FL 33131

1224 sqft

1238 sqft

$2480/month

$2477/month

Per month

Flexible lease terms

Storage, pool, fitness center, business

center

Storage, fitness center, tennis court,

pool, sauna, spa

Kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining

room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

Kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining

room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

Pictures

Utilities
included
(water,
garbage,
electric,
heat, etc.)
Parking
Pet policies
Other costs
Other
interesting
information

Not listed

Not listed

Parking garage
Certain pets allowed
TV, Internet

Carport parking
Certain pets allowed
TV, Internet
Bay views, city views, appliances
included

Outdoor pool cabana with TV, grills and

kitchen, skyline views, Walkable
location with central plaza for
community events

Roommate(s
Alone
Alone
) or Alone
5. Now compare your two options. Which one would you prefer to live in? Why did you decide on
this apartment?
I would choose the second one because it is a little bit cheaper and it comes with more
features and amenities. Also, I prefer the location of the second one.

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 = $22462.5
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by
12 = $1871.875
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 =
$561.5625
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?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? No, I would
probably have to have multiple roommates which would be impractical.
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 = $10800

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? No
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? I would not be
able to afford it with a roommate.
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
i. First, find your net income by multiplying your salary by 0.75 = $52402.5
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by
12 = $4366.875
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 =
$1310.0625
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?
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate? Yes, probably.