By Anshita Daniel
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November 15, 2018
Luxury Apartment is one of that often wild, over-the-top, exaggerations. The definition of luxury is “the state of great comfort and extravagant living.” Most apartments do not meet the standard of “ extravagant living”. Your first clue should be if there is a 24/7 doorman on the front door, entry door pulls that are oversized well-polished brass, inlaid marble in the floor of the entry foyer and a fresh bouquet of cut flowers in the front entry – If these are not there, living will not get more ‘ extravagant ’ when you get to the apartment. There are NO LUXURY apartments in Champaign-Urbana. There are some good ones, some well-designed ones and even some very nice ones but there are no truly luxury apartments. Be wary of landlords with exaggerated claims such as “luxury apartment”. You need to get beyond the hype to be happy over the long term. Using such terms as Luxury is another way of saying expect to pay TOP OF THE MARKET rents. A few suggestions: Is there a location you want to be close to: work, amenities, shopping – how close? Walking or biking distance? Once it is driving distance location is less important. Is being near bus routes important? What is and what is not included in the rent? Utilities, high speed internet, gym, parking etc.? What does it all add up to? When totaled can you afford it. Do the entry and common hallways look clean and well kept? Are there any reviews – Goggle etc. on the building and/or landlord that will tell you something about maintenance, landlord relations, and noise? Generally does it appear well cared for? As in do they care about the property or just getting the rents?