When you’ve narrowed your list to 2 or 3 possible apartment rentals, what will sway you toward one over the other (provided, of course, you are the preferred tenant for all of them)? Will it be proximity to transit, permitted pets, or to die for amenities? In order to attract more desirable tenants, landlords and builders are coming up with innovative amenities to appeal to the modern lifestyle.
Here we review some of the amenities that may help you decide whether to sign a lease or not – all of them designed to make your renting days, happy days.
Gym
Think of the time you’ll save taking an elevator to your workout vs. hopping in a car, walking or taking transit to your exercise venue. In addition, a building gym will save you the gym membership fees so you’ll have more money for your post workout gluten-free, organic, naturally sweetened protein shakes.
Pool
If channeling your inner Michael Phelps keeps you fit and happy, a building pool is hugely appealing. Avoiding public pool changing rooms in favour of your own apartment and shower before and after a few laps is the only way to go!
On-site staff
A concierge desk (doorman/woman), the mainstay of NYC apartment living, is becoming more prevalent in Vancouver. Given we live in the halcyon days of Amazon delivery, having someone available to receive packages, has suddenly become very important. If you are someone who receives a lot of deliveries, this is a real bonus. Moreover, a concierge is also a nice security feature. They control the in and out traffic in your building and, let’s face it, it’s always nice to have someone greet you when you roll in at 2am versus finding your way through a deserted lobby!
In addition to this service, having an on-site building manager and repairmen on duty is also handy and helpful. Rather than having to call a number of plumbers or appliance repairman to service an issue in your place, you can simply contact on-site staff to deal with your issues. This type of staff is usually available in large, rent designated buildings.
Storage
Though not really an ‘amenity’, storage is a vital consideration when choosing an apartment to rent. Given the storage available in most rental units is limited, make sure you verify secured and unsecured and bike storage options in your building. The lack thereof could be a deal breaker if you are a cyclist and sports aficionado with lots of gear.
Party & Conference Rooms
If you like to entertain but your studio or one bedroom place prevents you from extending your invite list beyond 2, a building party room is an attractive amenity. Oftentimes, these reservable spaces, also feature a pool table, hot tub or ping pong table as well. And how nice to return to your clean apartment after a night of entertaining in a separate space!
And, if you are self-employed and need to meet with people in a professional setting, a conference room is an appealing amenity. It also allows you to work outside the immediate four walls of your apartment.
Guest Parking
Again, with entertaining on the mind, does the building included ample guest parking, especially of the free variety? This is important if you live in an urban centre where parking costs are steep and you entertain friends with cars.
In addition to the amenities discussed here, there is a growing trend towards consumer tech driving the design decisions of architects and developers. In some condo towers, for example, they’ve cleverly considered the pervasive use of food & grocery delivery services and built-in warm storage cubbies for easy delivery at the lobby level as well as providing easy Uber/taxi pull up spots easily identified by your GPS and convenient for passenger pick up.
It is rare that a rental building will tick off all your desired boxes so it is important to carefully examine your needs vs. wants and move forward that way. Finding a place that meets your identified needs will ensure your rental experience is a happy one!
Check out some of our own listings featuring awesome amenities:
FEATURED LISTING: Views for Days
FEATURED LISTING: Living Large on the 20th Floor
FEATURED LISTING: Canucks, Concerts, City Living
FEATURED LISTING: Shangri-la, la land
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