Help organise my house hunting

October 15, 2012 5:48 AM

I will be viewing several flats in Luxembourg later in the week - I will be there for three days. Looking for strategies for asking questions, taking notes and so on, so I that I can remember what I saw!

We are in the process of relocating to Luxembourg. As part of that move I will be viewing between 5 and 10 flats later this week. I think this will be quite tiring. Has anyone got advice on how to make notes so that I can later on remember what was what and compare likes and dislikes easily with others.

I don't want to come home and notice I've forgotten everything!

Thanks.

posted by contentedweb to home & garden (3 answers total)

- Get the floor layouts, ideally in advance, so you can mark your notes in the rooms as you go round (e.g. noisy, crappy wallpaper, no light etc).
- Create a checklist for things you care about (e.g. room size, noise, decor, amenities)
- Create a gridded scoring system for various aspects (location, size, comfort, aesthetics, parking, could you live there etc) and mark each thing out of 10. Do this in advance so you have a grid with each apartment listed. You don't have to reduce it to a score, but it helps you remember what you really thought when you were there.
- Ask your other half all her questions; get her to ask you yours. Discuss in some depth what kind of apartment you are really looking for. Remember these things.
- Take your own pictures. Take 1/2 per room, but not much more or you'll get overloaded. Start each set with the front door of the apartment so you know where one apartment starts and the one previous ends.
- Write up your notes and feelings each day so they are fresh.
- If you're renting unfurnished, try to imagine the place with your furniture in it - it will shrink a lot of rooms.
posted by MuffinMan at 6:00 AM on October 15, 2012 [2 favorites]

I created a really simple form for my apartment searches: Apartment Checklist. I print out a bunch of these and put them on a clipboard, then fill them out at each apartment (and draw a floorplan sketch on the back). If I were doing this search today, I would also take photos with my phone. Using this form has really helped me, because I don't forget important questions and I'm able to compare all the apartments very easily by flipping through my forms.

This apartment checklist is customized for me; you should go through it and think about what's important to you about an apartment. How many rooms do you need, and what kind? Are there any features that are particularly important to you (ie, parking, wood floors, gas stove, etc)? Any little things that would make living there easier and more pleasant (ie, proximity to a metro stop, no broker fees, space for a litterbox in the bathroom, on-site laundry, etc.)? Do all your thinking about it beforehand and put it in the form, then use the form to check each apartment.
posted by ourobouros at 6:12 AM on October 15, 2012

Thanks MuffinMan and ourobouros for the tips and checklists. They are really helpful.
posted by contentedweb at 7:34 AM on October 15, 2012