Ever house hunted before? If you have, then you know the woes of finding the perfect place.

Many things go into looking for a new apartment, and if you are thinking of hunting for a bigger apartment or you probably want to downsize, you need to start the search at least 80 days ahead of time in Nigeria. It may sound a bit exaggerated, but if you live on this side of the Atlantic, you’ve probably heard some house hunting tales. Looking for a new apartment can get daunting quickly, especially when you have to work with a budget and a location.

One study has shown that getting an apartment is as stressful as getting a divorce but getting an early headstart can make the experience smoother.

So what does this house hunting manual say? The first thing you want to do is to check your budget. How much do you want to go into your new apartment? Think of it as a whole situation instead of just paying for rent.

Decide on factors like:

• Do you want to go bigger, downsize, or stay the same in the number of rooms?
• Are you staying in the same area or neighborhood? If so, what areas do you want to focus on?
• What are your must-haves? Think of that modern home workspace you said you would like to have. Think of the new air fryer you told yourself you would get for ‘the new place.’ The proximity of your new place to your office, your gym, your church should also be on your list.
• How much do you want to spend monthly in your new apartment? This way, you would know where you stand before you start your search.

After completing your wishlist for your new apartment, you can then begin your proper search. Alert friends and families, use apps, contact agents, find rental communities. Let them know you are in search of a new apartment.

Kwaba has a beautiful community to help connect renters with agents and landlords to reduce house hunting stress. You should join our community

While waiting for your new apartment search to click,

• Start decluttering; There’s no time to start sorting through your things like now. Look through and start planning on stuff you need and ones you don’t.
• Get your boxes and bags ready: Clean up those travel boxes, get new ones. Get bubble wraps for your fragile items like your TV if you don’t intend to get new ones. You don’t want to get to your new apartments and sulk because your TV broke in transit.

By this time in your search, you should be getting a few apartment suggestions from all the people you alerted. When you go out to inspect your prospective apartment, remember these vital things:

• Remember to note the things you don’t like and the things you do like when you walk around the apartment.
• Note damages to the walls, ceilings, and appliances if the house comes with any. Also, ask the agent or landlords about repairs should there be any. Make sure you get a defining answer. You don’t want to be one of the cautionary tales.
• Note if there are amenities available to tenants like bore-hole repairs, light repairs, and so on.
• Review the rent agreement thoroughly before signing.

Once you have done this, go back and weigh the pros and cons of each apartment. Think of the price, location, distance to your place of work. If you want to get a real feel of the area, go back to the neighborhood without your agent and ask individuals to get your report.

Asking other tenants and individuals around your prospective new apartment is almost as crucial as getting the new apartment because they know how it’s going down. Ask about light and water. If the landlord lives in the building, ask if he or she is troublesome (We’ve all heard one story about a crazed landlord/lady). Find out about security (should you be worried when coming home late? Do hoodlums stay around? Do fights just break out? Are there recurring robbery cases in the area). Ask vital questions, then compare and contrast the different apartments you’ve seen to make your decision.

After choosing your apartment, you realize that your budget has gone up a notch, but you still want that apartment? Or you just don’t like the idea of paying your rent annually, Kwaba can help you break down that annual rent into convenient monthly installments, so you don’t have to worry about rent! Want to find out more? Visit www.kwaba.ng to get started.