You can start your apartment search by considering these questions:

Question #1 : What features do you want or need the apartment to have?

This is a broad category and can be broken down into additional questions such as:

• What floor is the apartment on? Is it on the street level, in the basement, or a higher floor? Consider whether stairs are a problem for you. If you rent a 3rd floor apartment you will be carrying or lugging all your bags of groceries and possibly loads of laundry up these three flights of stairs.
• Does the apartment have a private entrance or will you be sharing a front door with several other tenants?
• Does the bathroom have a shower and a bathtub or only a shower?
• What type of heating system does the apartment have? Is it gas or electric heat? Are there baseboard heaters or is it forced air heating?
• Can you control the heat and air conditioning yourself? Can you add your own window air conditioner?
• What appliances are present in the kitchen? Does the apartment come with a refrigerator, stove, and oven provided?
• Is there a washer/dryer hookup available inside the apartment in case you want to install these now or in the future? Is there a coin-operated washer and dryer available in the apartment building for you to use?
• Is there enough storage space in the apartment? Are there enough closets? Are there enough cupboards in the kitchen?
• Does the apartment come with blinds, shades, or curtains on the windows or must you put up your own? This might be an important consideration if the apartment has lots of large windows that you will have to provide curtains for.
• Is it well lit outside the apartment at night?
• Is there a front and back entrance to the apartment? Is there a sliding door leading out to a back patio, for example?