Ive never had to, but i guess i would look around the neighborhood to get a general feel of the place. Are there groups of teens hanging around? Is there graffiti? Are any windows boarded up? Are the streets litter free and looked after? Is it well lit at night? Dogs barking? (barking dogs at night really annoying!)
I'd view it at day and at night.
Is it local to any shops for convenience?
Are there good links to travel by train or bus?
If i had young children, schools?
Can i afford it!? that should have gone first!

I live in my own house, and there is no one to tell me my dog/cat annoys them...It would be much easier to live in an apartment...wouldn't have to worry about fixing roof, free heat, maybe free gas, a superintendent to do things in apartment that I wouldn't have to pay for, I have to pay for everything in my house, the trees pruned, opening pool, husb hates to do it, and if he leaves, I may have to pay for someone to do it. But, this house, is my treasure, I worked hard for it. And I have 3 pets who I care for greatly....It is in a good neighborhood, never worrying about being mugged., I drive but I am walking distance from transportation. If I was ok (back/hip prob), I could walk to the mall. But I own my car outright, and have a small mortgage.

But If I were to have to look for an apartment, I would have to hire a trainer so my dog doesn't bark, I mean, she drives me nuts when she barks....a little barking is ok, but not the way she goes...I don't need a miserable person next door who hates animals...Here no one bothers me.

If I had to look for an apartment, I would want to be near shopping, and a bank. I wouldn't want to have to drive 10 miles to a grocery store. You get the picture...I looked at an apartment, and the people were very nice, this was a few months ago. I was thinking about moving there. It is near everything.

well, nobody wants to hear a dog barking all hours of the night and the owners won't do anything about it. i have these idiot neighbors who dont know how to raise a dog the dog would bark terribly and growl if you were outside just doing normal things. the stupid wife wouldnt do anything her dog was so cute but very annoying and she had zero training i could tell.

her owners were always, i mean always yelling at her and they mistreated her. they left her outside during winter time we had a freeze warning she was begging to come in and they wouldnt open the door. i emailed the humane society to come do something and they did. the owners wont home so the emat caught the dog and another dog who kept her company. they don't need a dog at all if all they are gonna do is scream and mistreat her.

i love animals, but cant stand it if you cant control your own pets! i did apt hunting with my bf and his mom got a good education out of it because they are gonna be moving soon. ask the managers does the unit your looking at had a bug problem? who wants to live in a unit with bugs? i grew up in a home with bugs because my parents are nasty and wont clean.

look for apts that will suit you and what you are seeking for.

bugs, yuk!!!! , I had water bugs at one place, disguesting looking things, had to get exterminator.

You are right about those miserable owners of the dog not letting her in on cold days, my dog is an indoor dog, only goes out once a day due to health conditions, is a lovable lovable dog, but have to do something about her barking.

these jerk neighbors i dont think they ever took their dog to the vet! they are illegal, both spouses are not working, the wife had a 3rd child and i guess her hubby is probably looking for work and was late on their rent! how could you possibly bring in an animal? they never bought dog food she just ate scraps (i didnt see that outside but wouldnt doubt it) but at least she had water. she would just go out and bark like she lost her mind and you could be sitting outside eating.

if u were on the phone, forget it, she is still barking and the owners yelling and u cant hear your phone call! their kids didnt pay their own dog much attention a lot of times the dog would walk next neighbor they couldnt find her and they found her yelled at her at the top of their lungs! so yea, she had no proper dog training!

One of the things I will be doing the next time I look for an apartment is to google the address to find out if there are any sex offenders living in the building. Where I live presently, there are eight sex offenders (most of them child molestors) in a building of about 200 people. I want to live in an apartment building where there are zero sex offenders. I don't like criminals, particularly sex criminals.

I also want to be sure in the future that none of my neighbors are college students (in the U.S. that means drunk drug-using irresponsible young adults). I want neighbors who are employed or retirement age or who stay home because they are caring for children. I like responsible adults.

ask the police station to give you info on criminals in that neighborhood/community they will have the info of course i would go in person. u could ask the apt manager what the community is like the kinds of people they have or come in to rent. its interesting learning about this how my parents NEVER asked these questions when looking for a place as long as it is dirt cheap (dad can afford to pay for an extensive apt if he wanted too) like it was in the 60s they would go for it as long as it is the projects with gangs etc but the price is right for them!

we live in a neighborhood that still has issues we got a strip club cant seem to get any parking when i come home. i always park in the front used to in the back but the tenants wouldnt move their cars for me when i was leaving i almost hit one of their cars.

this woman, I know, didn't take her dog to the vet, the dog prob died a horrible death. so what does she do after the dog died? She got a puppy. What a nut....

general rule for finding an apt is always do your research and ask questions

Yes, researching and interviewing is important. Location- what area do you want to live in, does the neighborhood look decent? Are there grocery stores/ restaurants/ coffee shops/ post office in walking distance so you don't have to drive if you don't want to? Is the apartment , small house or condo in good working order, Does the private owner, management office or management company live on the premises or off. Is the rent month to month or can you have a lease? Is there rules like "quiet times" available-home owners association fees? These are some of the things I look for.

also, what i found out from my bf's mom if the place has no management office dont bother with those kinds of apartments they always mean trouble. the shitty apts i live in with my parents has no management office on the property like the other apt complexes do. if you cant get ahold of the office in case if a problem, then it will be even longer for them to get back to you.