1. The search begins
Initially, you will be enthusiastic about finding the place of your dreams. You and your friends have excitedly talked about how awesome it will be to live off campus for months. You all geek out over the the amazing dinners you are going to make and the insane parties you will throw, but soon you find out that looking for a place is not as glamorous as you thought it was…
2. Appointments.
This is the easiest part. Just kidding, it’s not. It’s actually the most irritating part of trying to rent in RVA. You will have to follow up by phone, email, text message and face-to-face meetings. The renters in this area don’t care about you or your life, so basically you have to be annoyingly persistent to get in any place to see it. Because Richmond is a college town, they know that they will find someone to rent to no matter what. Good luck with that.
3. The search continues.
You will look high and low for a place that fits your specific needs. Likely, you will have to compromise. The reality is, the perfect place does not exist. You may debate living further from campus, maybe 20 minutes. Sure, why not? The rent is hella cheap and you will not be bothered by noisy college kids gallivanting around campus at all hours of the night. The only thing is that you have to leave your house 45 minutes early to be able to get to campus, find a place to park and make it to class on time. HA, no thank you.
4. Utilities.
Some places have them and some don’t. If you are looking for a place that includes them, then you are going to have to pay a much higher rent. If you are willing to live in a place that doesn’t, your rent will probably be cheap, but you will have to figure all the specifics (i.e. water, gas, electric, cable.) Yeah, real life sucks.
5. Picking “the one.”
You have been looking for ages and there are a few options you have become attached to. You have waited before and they got snatched up, so this time you just want to go ahead and say “yes, yes that’s the one,” but you have this nagging voice in the back of your mind telling you that something better is going to come along and you don’t know if you should listen to it or go with your gut. Plus, there’s your roommates who also have their opinions. So. Much. Deliberation.
6. Signing.
Once you have signed your lease, you will probably feel like you sold your soul to the devil. It’s kind of like you have (depending on your land lord). But, seriously it’s a huge commitment and possibly a huge deposit you may not get back if you are not responsible. If you yourself sign the lease agreement, you are solely responsible. If you have a cosigner, then you have some legitimate backup. Either way, make sure you read that stuff.
7. Victory.
You have completed the search, found the one and signed the contract. In other words, the place is yours. Although the experience was stressful, you will probably have a feeling of accomplishment and excitement at this point in time. Sure, you will probably have a ton of problems down the road, but for now you are having a proud, slightly adult moment. Cheers!