Moving into a new apartment can be both exciting and overwhelming.
Finding your dream place can take time, but the process can be streamlined if you’re looking to move ASAP. Regardless of your current situation, knowing how quickly you can move into a new apartment can help you plan ahead and reduce stress.
Finding and moving into an apartment will likely take 2-4 weeks due to factors like availability and paperwork. Although, if you’re lucky, it can take as little as one week.
Here’s a deeper look at what that process will look like and how long you can expect things to take.
Researching and Comparing Your Options
The first step in finding an apartment is researching the area and comparing different properties.
Depending on how much research you need to do before making a decision, this step can take anywhere from one day to multiple weeks.
If you’re in a time crunch, you can just quickly research available units in the area go visit as many of those places as possible one afternoon.
If you already know what neighborhood you want or are familiar with certain areas, then your search may not take as long as someone who needs more time for research and comparison shopping.
Here are some questions to consider:
What part of town do you want to live in? What type of amenities are important to you? How much can you afford to spend on rent each month?
Answering these questions will help narrow down your list of potential apartments and save you time in the long run. If you want to know what some of your options are and what’s best for you, this article is just what you need.
To make sure you don’t miss any details during your search, consider creating a checklist with all of the features that are important to you.
If you’re in a hurry to move, keep in mind that units have move-in dates, so you can narrow down which units you’re actually wanting to move into. Your preferred move-in date will often be one of the first things you see on websites or are asked about when visiting a complex.
Application process – how long does it take?
Once you’ve found an apartment that meets your needs, it’s time to apply, which will come with a fee of around $50, depending on the apartment.
If you want an idea of what documents you might need when applying, here’s a breakdown.
Once you’ve applied, it can take between a few days and three weeks for the application process and background checks to be completed. (You have a lot of control over how long things take in this process, but this is, unfortunately, not one of those times.)
During this phase, landlords will review your credit score, employment history, references, etc., before deciding whether or not they want to rent out the property to you.
While some landlords may only require basic information such as contact information and proof of income, others may require more extensive documentation during this phase of the process.
Signing your New Apartment Lease Signing & Move-In Day
Once all of your documents have been accepted by the landlord or property management company, it’s time for lease signing.
Depending on how soon you need access to your new home, lease signing could happen within days or weeks after applying for an apartment rental.
Before signing the lease agreement, make sure you read through all the terms carefully! This process may not take more than a day if everything goes smoothly but could take longer if there are any delays or complications with getting everything signed and finalized.
After signing the lease agreement and paying any applicable deposits or fees associated with obtaining keys/access codes/etc., move-in day is officially scheduled!
You should have a good idea of when your move-in day will be before this, but now it’s finalized.
Making It Your Home
Once all the paperwork is taken care of, it’s time to move in and make your new apartment feel like home!
If it’s a short move, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get your stuff to your new apartment. If you are looking for some specific things to keep in mind when moving, here’s an article for you.
Don’t be afraid to buy things you want after moving in. It often makes the settling in process easier as you are customizing your space the way you want to that way.
You got this!
All in all, finding a new apartment can be both exciting and overwhelming at times.
From researching potential apartments online to making sure everything is signed properly when securing the lease agreement and finally making it feel like home once everything is finalized—it can take anywhere from a few days up to several weeks (or months, in extreme cases) before you have officially moved into your new place.
With some planning and dedication though, this process doesn’t have to be too stressful!