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?)
Syracuse NY. It is where SUNY ESF is located and is in the area that I like.
2. Will you be living with a roommate, multiple roommates, or alone? Why?
I would live with roommates to cut down on housing costs.
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.
Furnished- It is important for the apartment to be furnished because buying furniture would be a huge expense on
top of paying rent every month.
Air Conditioning- I would want an apartment with air conditioning because it can get very hot and stuffy in the small
apartment space.
Close to park areas- The location of the apartment is important to me. It is important to me to be close to a
recreational or state park because I enjoy outdoor activities.
Security- Security is important because I want to make sure I would be safe there and my apartment wouldnt be
robbed or broken into.
Onsite Maintenance- Im not very good at fixing things especially household items like appliances. Having
maintenance is important to me so I know something will be fixed if it is broken.


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 Apartment #1 Grant Village 1 bedroom apartment Apartment #2 Wellington Manor
Location Syracuse, New York Liverpool, NY
Number of
Bedrooms
1 2
Number of
Bathrooms
1 2
Square Footage 627 1,106
Rent amount $580 per month $675
Length of lease
(month/year)
Can decide if you want a 6, 7, 9, or 12 month
lease
12 month lease
List apartment
features
Air Conditioning, dish washer, unfurnished or
unfurnished available, on site maintenance
Air conditioning, covered parking, emergency
maintenance, laundry facilities
Security deposit Must call for additional information $675 deposit
Layout of the
apartment


Pictures

Utilities included
(water, garbage,
electric, heat, etc.)
Heat, hot water, sewer, garbage removal,
electric
Water, electric, air conditioning, heat, lawn
care/maintenance
Parking Parking lot, street parking, garages available (for
rent)
Covered parking included
Pet policies Pet friendly (must pay additional fee) Pet friendly (with additional fee and deposit)
Other costs N/A N/A
Other interesting
information
24 hour emergency maintenance service,
entrance intercom system, 10 minute drive from
Syracuse university and shopping
All apartments have patio or balcony
Roommate(s) or
Alone
alone roommate
5. Now compare your two options. Which one would you prefer to live in? Why did you decide on this apartment?
I would prefer to live in the Wellington Manor apartment. It would be less expensive because I would have a
roommate. It is a little bit outside of Syracuse but still near shopping and entertainment. Also I would like having a
balcony.


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 = ___22462.50____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 = ___1871.89__
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = __561.56__
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
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? With a roommate the apartment would
be doable
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 = __47677.50_____
ii. Then, find how much you will take home per month by dividing that number by 12 = _3973.13_
iii. Next, find what you should spend for rent by multiplying that number by 0.30 = __1191.94___
iv. Is the rent for the apartment less than what you calculated in the line above? yes
v. If yes is this a good idea? Why? It is a good idea. It is well below the amount of money I should
be paying for rent with the median salary.
vi. If no could you afford the apartment with a roommate?