A friend of mine, who is excited about her big move to Manhattan, asked me for some expert advice when it came to apartment hunting. Since many people jump straight from their dorm room to a new pad in the big city, there’s always an influx of New Yorkers searching for a new place to call home in the spring and summer months.

From my own personal experience, finding an apartment isn’t as challenging as you may think. Between Craigslist, realtors, social networking sites and print ads, you can easily line up a few appointments. The tricky part is what to do when you get there.

Afraid that I would be taken advantage of when I first moved to the city, I did a quick Google search of questions to ask any potential landlords when I went apartment hunting. Most of the inquiries seemed pretty common sense, but after living on my own here for a year now, there are definitely questions I would have stressed more.

Take for instance, basic apartment conditions.  You always want to make sure the apartment is in good shape in regards to working appliances, leaks, broken windows, etc.  If someone is currently living there, check to make sure they’ve kept the place up.  Another notable tip:  make sure that the apartment you’re looking at is the actual unit for rent. My landlord showed us a newer, and therefore cleaner, unit instead of the place we would actually be living in.  A lot can change one floor down — make sure what you’re seeing is what you’re getting.

Get a feel for your landlord and how the relationship would be if you decided to rent with them. Would they stick to the contract, remain professional, and stay out of your hair? Or will it be impossible to reach them and get things repaired quickly and easily? Then, of course, there’s the landlord that just might never leave you alone. You may not get a feel for them at first, but if you have any doubts during the signing process, don’t be afraid to back out of the contract.

Be sure to ask about maintenance and ask if there are any exceptions to the rules. The ideal situation is to have all maintenance may be paid for with no questions asked. Give hypotheticals to your landlord to get a better idea of where they stand. If a toilet breaks, do you have their permission to hire the first handyman you get in touch with and then be reimbursed later? If you notice the apartment isn’t in very good shape (uncovered outlets, missing light bulbs, no smoke detectors, etc), don’t feel like you’re being rude by using speculative circumstances to get a better feel for the situation.

You can ask the landlord about the surrounding neighborhood and then walk around the area yourself to see if everything you need is in close proximity to where you’ll be living. Be sure that there’s a laundromat, grocery store and public transportation nearby. Be aware of your neighbors to get a better feel of the area whether they’re mostly families or hipsters.

When it comes to the money situation, always ask for a rough estimate of how much utilities would cost in your unit. Factor that amount into the rest to gain a more comprehensive idea of what you’ll be paying. A rent of $1200 doesn’t sound too overwhelming, but if you’re living alone it could easily require dishing out up to $1600 a month when including utilities.

The security deposit is for the landlord to use at the end of your lease to fix anything that has been damaged during your stay. If you keep the unit in good shape, your landlord will give you back your security deposit in full. Keep in mind that it is completely up to the landlord whether or not you’ll receive this security deposit back. Before their final inspection, make sure you’ve covered all your bases.  Change out all the light bulbs, clean the floors and windows, and grab an Arm & Hammer Magic Eraser to get rid of any marks on the walls. Make the apartment look even better than it did on move-in day, and you’ll be fine when it comes to negotiating back your security deposit.

A final tip would be to ask as many questions as you want, and don’t feel intimated or give in to eager landlords or realtors. Bringing along a family member or just another set of eyes will help ease fears and doubts as you search for the perfect place.  Once you sign the contract and put down your savings to snag your ideal city pad, you’ll be thankful for asking all the right questions.

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