Take Amenities into Your Consideration
Out of all the apartments you had short listed for renting, with other things being almost equal with regard to their basics like number of bedrooms with attached baths and toilets, spacious and tastily designed living room and a pantry with cupboards, garage or a car porch, small store room, visitors’ room, etc., the variable that could tilt the scale in favor of one particular apartment would be the varying amenities available at different apartments.
Even if a particular apartment seems highly priced compared to others with similar accommodation; still you may think it worthwhile due to the availability of many amenities; or due to the availability of some particular amenity which you value very much. Provided the final price is within your budgetary constraints, considerable flexibility could exist for you to reschedule your preferences by compromising for example, a basic feature such as a store room or a visitors’ room for an amenity like a free gymnasium.
What are the Amenities You Actually Want?
You should distinguish between the amenities that are considered necessities, optional - but highly desirable; and other amenities that you can do very well, without. It is seen that in the context of the present living styles, a gym or a place where you can do some physical exercises is a high priority necessity.
Many people spend a lot of money on this aspect paying subscriptions and membership fees to many organizations that provide these services. Further, they travel distances to avail of such services incurring further time and expenditure. Therefore to get these facilities at your doorstep free of charge is a very big advantage for which most people would not mind paying by way of an increased apartment rental.
Though many may like very much an apartment for example with “free” swimming pool facilities, a lot of them may not press for it so much when the real cost of this “free” amenity is found reflected in the increased rental payable for the apartment.
But the attitudes of prospective renters towards this amenity in warmer climes may differ, since to be able to end a hard working warm day immersed in a swimming pool at your doorstep may be considered as “heavenly” by a lot of them. However, there is no doubt that a lot of renters would welcome amenities like common parking lots, and leisure parks with 24-hour security services etc, that may not so adversely affect their apartment rentals.
What amenities would you actually need?
Renters may think that a theatre is not a daily need and though desirable is not at all essential. The same view may be held with regard to auditoriums, conference rooms and community halls.
However, a community hall could be a big boon to those who entertain frequently involving many people than they could conveniently accommodate in their apartments. Therefore the latter category of renters may not decline an apartment without the former two facilities, but may certainly feel very much attracted by the prospect of a free community hall for them to entertain lavishly in style.
What Price are you willing to put on Amenities?
For renters who put a fairly high value on some preferential amenities as much as on the basics like floor area and number of halls / rooms etc., their final decision as to what type of apartment they would rent depends on to what extent they would allocate funds for amenities.
It is this cost that is reflected in the difference between the prices being fetched for two different, but otherwise similar apartments with equal accommodation specifications within the same locality. Your final decision therefore would be influenced by your personal system of grading for amenities considered necessities as against to what you are indifferent to, vis-à-vis the prices payable for same, and the amenities you consider as in the “top luxury class” bracket.
When you are shopping around for your dream apartment, remember to keep a comprehensive record of all the details like locality, construction, available accommodation and other facilities and amenities offered so that by going through that list you would be able to determine the real cost of certain amenities so that you could consider at depth whether they are really worth having at their costs compared to the alternative possibilities of renting a far superior apartment in various other respects for the additional cost required to enjoy those amenities.