How to Get the Best Apartment Rental Deals

Let me guess, you stumbled to this post because you’re looking for a place to rent and all you find was astonishing high rental rates, and now you’re looking for cheap rates right? Well, you came to the right place, and if you only reading this article because of gaining knowledge then that’s great too.

I have moved from one apartment to another since my college days and I have seen a pattern with some of these places. I have rented apartments in Georgia, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois in the US and multiple apartments in the Island of Bonaire in the Caribbean over the course of 12 years.

How to Find the Best Apartment Rental Rate:

• Time of the Year: When school is out, that’s the peak season for moving and apartment complexes will raise their rates, basically Summer Time. Prices will drop starting from the second half of October because people don’t tend to move during the middle of the academic year. 
• Hidden Fees: When you see the monthly rate, it’s not always what you’ll pay. There are always extra fees you have to pay on top of the rent such as trash and pest control fees. 
• Water Fee: Look for unlimited water offered by the apartment complex. I shopped around and my choice depended on if I have to pay a submetered water bill or a flat fee every month. During the summertime, I sweat like crazy and so I shower multiple times a day, so it was no brainer to choose the complex that offers a flat fee for unlimited water. 
• Technology Fee: Avoid apartment complexes that have mandatory tech fees. Some apartments have deals with AT&T in which you’re forced to choose one internet service, and you have to pay in addition to the rent. This, unfortunately, takes away your choice of finding better rates. AT&T was offering $40/month for 300 Mbps speed for the first year but the apartment that I was looking at has a mandatory $100/month for 100 Mbps AT&T internet service. 
• Referrals: Look for referral programs when searching because if you have a family of friends who live in apartment complexes that you’re looking at, then you can split the referral cash. I referred my friend when I moved in the same complex as him and he got $300 cash; he split it with me and I got $150 from that. 
• Moving Service: Look for apartment locators, and use them as a referral when you apply because they may offer free movers for the first 2 hours if you put them down as a referral. When my wife moved from Oklahoma to Texas, she put in the name of an apartment locator and they gave her free moving service in Texas. 
• Specials: Ask if the apartment complex would give specials for preferred employees. Usually, they would waive deposits and they would also waive application and administration fees. 

When I moved to Louisiana, my job started on July 1st, but instead of signing a lease I rented a room and bathroom at someone’s house for 5 months for $550/month which includes utilities. I signed a lease in December after much research and I got a 1268 square foot: 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms for $914/month for a 12-month lease. The price of the unit dropped from $1250/month because no one wanted to move in during December. When doing the math, I saved $336/month or $4032/year just because I waited till December to sign a lease.