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Apartment touring 101: what to look for and which questions to ask.

As you start to plan your apartment search, it’s essential to understand how to schedule a tour and what to look for as you view potential units. To optimize your apartment touring experience, you’ll want to have a comprehensive checklist, as well as a list of questions to ask the leasing agent. Being prepared, and having a guide of things to look for while touring apartments can help you quickly decide if a unit is the right fit. Use this apartment tour 101 guide to help you find your ideal new home.

Your complete guide to touring a new apartment

• Why you should tour a potential unit
• Setting up your apartment tour
• What to where to an apartment tour
• What to bring to an apartment tour
• Questions to ask during the tour
• What to look for during the tour
• Things to avoid during an apartment tour

Why you should tour a potential apartment

It’s an old saying, “see it to believe it”, and this is especially true when selecting an apartment. You can get a lot of information from an online listing, but it’s never quite as thorough as touring the unit in person. In addition to avoiding potential rental scams , touring an apartment in person allows you to inspect the quality of the unit, gauge the noise level of the building, and survey the space you’ll have for your belongings and furnishings. While listing photos can give a general idea of the condition of the apartment, viewing in person can provide more clarity to any underlaying issues such as pests or leaks. In order to have a successful tour, there are the steps to take and tips to keep in mind.

Setting up an apartment tour

After searching apartment rental websites, locate the phone number of the leasing agent to secure a time to see the available unit. You may also have the option to request an apartment tour through the online leasing portal. After your initial contact, you’ll give the leasing agent your name and phone number and identify which apartment you’d like to view.

Next, set up a date and time to meet with the showing agent and confirm the address of where you’ll meet. Plan to spend anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to thoroughly inspect the apartment and ask pertinent questions. Be punctual for your appointment slot, and if you need to cancel or reschedule, do so with advanced notice.

What to wear when touring apartments

You’ll want to look respectable when touring an apartment. The showing agent often has multiple people interested in any unit, so you will want to dress for success and set yourself apart from other potential applicants . Wear comfortable shoes and clothing since you may need to walk up multiple flights of stairs and be on your feet for some time.

What to bring with you to your appointment

Bring all of your necessary paperwork with you, such as your rental application , credit report, and a notebook and writing utensil to mark off your questions on your checklist. You may also want to bring measuring tape so that you can get initial measurements of the space and better identify if your current furnishings and belongings will accommodate the layout.

Essential questions to ask during an apartment tour

Asking these questions early on can help avoid any misunderstandings.

• Can I have a roommate? If you think you’d like to share the apartment with a roommate, be sure to ask about roommate rules and regulations and bring your potential roommate with you to the showing.
• What are your pet policies? Even though you’ve narrowed your search to apartments that allow pets, always cover your bases by asking about specific pet policies and deposits or fees.
• What should I expect to pay for the first and last month’s rent?  Be clear about the first and last month’s rent  policies so that you can budget properly.
• How much is the security deposit? You want to know how much to budget for the security deposit and the cleaning and maintenance requirements to receive your full deposit back at the end of your lease term. 
• Are utilities included? Find out what utilities you will be responsible for paying and setting up, and if there are any building amenity utilities included in the price of rent.
• What are the parking policies? Ask if you’ll have a designated parking spot or if parking is on a first-come, first-served basis. Most buildings will have an additional fee for reserved parking, so be sure to factor that cost into your monthly budget.
• Can I sublet the apartment? Ask this question in case you have any plans to travel for an extended time and would like to have someone sublet the unit while you’re away.
• How do I file a maintenance request? Ask this question so that you know how to go about the process of filling a maintenance request. Is the request submitted through an online form or via email? How long does it take for a maintenance issue to be resolved?

What to look for and tasks to perform during an apartment tour

• Signs of pests or rodent infestations:  Look for droppings, signs of termites, ants, or cockroaches.
• Check all the faucets in the apartment: Turn on the faucets in the kitchen bathroom sink, shower, and tub to ensure they’re functional and not leaking.
• Flush the toilet: Make sure it flushes correctly.
• Turn on all the lights and the ceiling fan: Test that the lights work as well as any fans. If the light doesn’t work, ask whether the bulb needs replacing or whether an electrical problem is the cause.
• Test the thermostat:  You want to make sure that the heater and air conditioner work. Ask who’s responsible for changing the HVAC or ductless filters.
• Test the stove and oven:  If it’s a gas appliance, ensure that it lights correctly and that there is no smell of leaking gas when in use. If electric, make sure the burners are heating properly.
• Open the refrigerator, freezer, and all kitchen cabinets:  Find out whether the refrigerator and freezer are empty, clean, and in good working condition. Open the cabinets to ensure no pests and leftover food are present.
• Test the electrical outlets:  Bring a small charger, such as a cellphone charger, and make sure the outlets work. Look for any burn marks around the outlets, and if you see any, point them out to the person conducting the tour.
• Check the safety and security of the building and unit : While in the unit, confirm that the locks are fully functional and in good working condition. It’s also important to assess the safety of the building by asking about controlled entry and security cameras. Check the main doors to see if other tenants have propped open the doors, as this could be a safety concern down the line if not addressed.

What to avoid during an apartment tour

While you want to ask relevant questions and inspect the unit during your apartment tour, please try and avoid the following:

• Being late for your appointment. Showing agents are generally quite busy, and you don’t want to waste their time by showing up late. In addition, when you show up on time, it shows your dependability.
• Using the apartment bathroom . If you’ve been diligent about hydrating during your apartment tours, be considerate and use a public restroom for your personal needs.
• Eating during the tour. Eat your sandwich or power bar before the tour to avoid spilling food in the apartment or trying to talk with your mouth full.
• Overthink minor issues. Whether you’re looking at the top-floor apartment in the downtown area of your city or a basement apartment  near the university, try to overlook normal wear and tear that the apartment manager will fix before you move in.
• Tour the apartment if it’s out of your price range . While looking at apartments out of your price range can make for a fun and fanciful afternoon, you’re taking time away from the showing agent to tour the apartment to a qualified renter.

FAQ: Touring a new apartment

If you are unable to tour a new apartment in person you have a few other options. One is to request a video tour with the property manager. This way you can still have the property manager show you the details of the unit and ask questions. Another option is to ask a friend or relative in the area to tour the apartment for you and take photos of the unit for you.

Your apartment tour generally shouldn’t take longer than 30 minutes. Leasing agents and property managers often have multiple tours booked in a day, so it’s important to show up on time and be prepared with any questions to utilize your time efficiently.

If you are running late to your appointment be sure to call the leasing office or landlord directly and give them a heads up. If you are going to be more than five minutes late you may want to reschedule. It’s important to make a good impression, so always do your best to be on time.

Absolutely. Once you’ve seen the apartment and have decided that it’s a good fit, you should fill out an application as soon as possible to ensure another renter doesn’t beat you to it. In some cases you’ll have to apply through an online portal, but you may also be able to fill out a paper application on-site. Come prepared with all of your information including recent paystubs, employment verification, check for the security deposit, and your I.D. in case you decide to apply for the unit ASAP.

Asking the right questions and knowing what to look for while touring apartments can successfully help you find the perfect new home. With available resources and diligent research, you can make apartment hunting fun.

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4 Tips for Taking a Virtual Apartment Tour

Even if you plan to visit an apartment in-person before making a decision, preparation for a virtual apartment tour can help you spot deal breakers and selling points that matter most.

Tips for Taking a Virtual Apartment Tour

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Begin any apartment tour outside both the apartment and the building itself.

Even though in-person real estate showings have resumed across the country, the presence and popularity of virtual video tours continue. Often these tours are simply a safe way to preview a property – a way for buyers and renters to see which properties are interesting enough to warrant an in-person visit.

However, leaving aside the wariness of in-person showings resulting from COVID-19 concerns, for those who live far away, virtual tours have become the most effective way to preview a home. While nothing can replace an actual visit to the property, an ever-increasing number of renters and buyers will start looking virtually as they begin their search for a new home.

Beyond the obvious difference between a virtual video tour and an actual visit, there are other factors to consider. With a video tour or FaceTime showing, you can’t wander around freely or inspect the home at your own pace as you would be able to in person. Your eyes are directed by the tour guide and therefore, focused only on what the broker , seller or landlord wants to show you or what they think is important for you to see. This often overlooks what matters to you and may gloss over a home’s possible faults.

Here are 4 tips for making a video tour as educational, informative and illuminating as possible:

• Start the tour outside.
• Get to know the floor plan.
• Spend extra time on views and light.
• Ask for a close-up.

Start the Tour Outside

Try to replicate the experience of an actual showing. So many times, a virtual tour starts from inside the front door of a house or apartment – as if you magically appeared in the foyer. A full tour should start from outside the home, whether that is approaching it from the road as you would arrive in a car or walking up to the building lobby from the street.

Curb appeal is important, as is seeing what’s directly next to the property. If you are looking in an apartment , this allows buyers to see where you are in the hallway, if you might be next to the garbage shoot and how many neighbors are on your floor that will be sharing the elevator. Starting outside also puts the property you’re considering into proper context within the neighborhood or building.

Get to Know the Floor Plan

Maximizing a virtual tour’s full potential requires some prep work. You should familiarize yourself with the property’s floor plan and key elements. Having a solid understanding of the home’s layout and what you are going to tour allows you to see the bigger picture more clearly.

If you start a tour without any context, it can be very confusing to figure out where you are or to understand the layout and orientation. You are totally at the whim of the tour guide.

Carefully studying the floor plan allows you to identify questions and concerns you may have in advance that can be answered by the tour. Is that hallway really narrow? How big is the bathroom? Is that bedroom with only one window dark? You can address certain things head-on that would be deal breakers or pain points for you. Otherwise, they might get missed.

Spend Extra Time on Views and Light

There are two major things about a home that can’t be changed: views and natural light. These important and unchangeable factors can be especially tricky to gauge on a virtual tour when your eyes are distracted by decor and furniture. The phone camera often does not clearly focus beyond the window, and whether or not a room is well-lit naturally can be hard to judge on a computer screen or mobile device.

While on FaceTime or Zoom showings, spend extra time in main rooms to try and assess these details – even if it means asking the tour guide to pause and point the camera or phone to the window to look around, not just straight out. Have the tour guide tilt the camera up, down and to the left and right to see everything outside central windows. It is far too easy to tilt a camera or phone ever so slightly to minimize the appearance of a partially blocked view, or to have a clumsy camera operator make a great view look underwhelming by pointing the lens down. Ask the real estate agent giving the tour to shut off lights and let you see a room’s natural brightness, just like in person.

Ask for a Close-Up

One thing that is notoriously hard to judge in videos, as well as photos, is a property’s condition . Yes, if something hasn’t been renovated in 40 years it is clearly evident based on the style of the decor, but a more modern property that still needs a significant renovation can be made to appear in pristine condition. Smaller details that show wear and age are often hard to pick up on, even though they are glaringly obvious in person.

The best way to gauge condition is to ask for slow close-ups and still camera shots of things like the kitchen cabinets , floors in high-traffic areas, the electrical panel and the moldings and baseboards. These are points where an apartment’s true condition can be better evaluated. Ask the agent to open and close kitchen drawers, and slowly pan down on to the wood in the hallway.

Try to avoid touring a property on your mobile phone. To do justice to the property you’re considering, use your computer and adjust the setting to full-screen.

It's hard to replicate the experience of an in-person showing on a screen. However, with the right preparation, smart questions and a little extra attention to detail, virtual tours can be a compelling, informative and safe way to search for your next home.

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Welcome to the New Age of Virtual Apartment Tours

by Jeanette Smith | Aug 1, 2022 | Apartment Locating , Moving Tips & Tricks

Why Are People Finding Apartments with Virtual Apartment Tours?

Advancements in technology over the years have meant advances in human convenience. We carry little computers in our pockets to connect with others at a moment’s notice, or to look up anything we might have a question about. We developed supersonic trains and assistant-driving cars to get us places faster and easier. And now, we’ve entered the age of the virtual apartment tour.

Even before the pandemic shut down in-person touring temporarily, virtual tours were picking up steam. As the market and demand for apartments increased over the past few years, virtual tours provided a way to see the latest listings asap, so people could snag the best deal. Today, virtual tours are a norm.

Looking to book a virtual tour? Let AptAmigo help find your dream apartment today with the convenience of viewing from wherever you are.

What Happens on a Virtual Apartment Tour?

First, it helps to understand what a virtual tour consists of because it can take many shapes and forms. Some apartments will offer digital tours of apartments on their website. These tours could take the form of a series of photos, a video walkthrough, or a 3D rendering. While all of these options count as ways of touring an apartment virtually, it’s ideal to complete a live video walkthrough with the building staff, where you can ask questions and see the place in real time. So, when we say “virtual tour” we mean an actual video call from within the apartment.

Taking a tour like this is easy. Many apartment buildings and complexes will use a well-known video platform, such as FaceTime, Skype, Google Meets, Zoom, or the like. On your end, you’ll want to sit somewhere quiet where you can access the video through a phone, tablet, or computer. Be sure to turn up the screen brightness all the way and use a good microphone or headphones so that you can be heard clearly when asking questions.

The tour itself should not be rushed. Ask the person giving the tour to slow down their room panning or focus back on a spot you didn’t see well. Make sure they take the time to answer all your questions and look at everything you want them to check.

What Are the Advantages of Virtual Apartment Tours?

• Time: If you need to tour quickly to snag the space or can’t get away to tour in person, virtual tours provide a convenient way to overcome those obstacles.
• Health & Safety: Virtual touring eliminates any health and safety concerns that might arise from being in close proximity with others.
• Gas Savings: With prices on the rise, saving on the commute to see an apartment means automatic dollar savings you can put toward moving expenses.
• Long Distance Moves: If you don’t already live in your chosen city, then virtual tours can bridge the gap between traveling there and renting sight-unseen.

What Are the Disadvantages?

• Sizing and Proportions: Without being physically in the space, you may not be able to determine how big the square footage feels, or whether your furniture will fit where you want it to go.
• Complex/Building/Neighborhood: Virtual tours might or might not include common spaces, amenities, parking lots, or the neighborhood to show you more than the space in which you’ll live.
• Noise/Light: Without being in the space, you may not be able to determine how much noise can be heard from neighbors or outside, and the lighting may look brighter or dimmer on video than in person.
• Space Testing: Not every person giving a virtual tour will take, or even have, the time to open cabinets or the oven or closets, little details worth testing and evaluating during a tour.

5 Questions to Always Ask While on a Virtual Apartment Tour

1. is this the apartment i will be renting.

Before anything else, ask if the apartment you are seeing is the one you would actually move into. Sometimes they will use a model unit because your potential unit is still occupied. That isn’t a problem, but it’s good to know that the layout might be flipped, or that you’ll need to retest the appliances and water pressure in your own apartment when you lease it.

2. Can you test X, Y, Z for me?

Have the tour giver turn on the burners, check water pressure, open and close the doors and windows, and test locks. If the unit you end up renting isn’t the unit you toured, inspect these items before or when moving in.

3. How do utilities function?

It’s great to check that the lights go on and the shower works, but you’ll want to know exactly what utilities are included and which you’ll need to set up or pay for on your own. It isn’t always as cut and dry as tenants paying for their own electricity, water, and gas. This is also a great time to inquire about which internet/cable providers service the area and what the cell phone service is like.

4. What amenities are included?

Because a tour likely only includes being inside the apartment itself, it’s best to ask about the other building and complex amenities. This might include how mail is received, whether there is parking or bicycle storage, pool access hours, and when the equipment in the fitness center was last upgraded. 

5. How do maintenance and upgrades work?

Even if everything works on move-in day, things eventually wear down or suddenly break. Ask how easy it will be to deal with any problems. Ditto for upgrades. It’s not a bad idea to ask whether there are plans for apartment or building upgrades so that you know what to expect for the future.

Tips for a Successful Virtual Apartment Tour

• Don’t Rush: When setting up your tour, tell the company that you want to be thorough and expect to stay on with them until your questions are answered, so they don’t try to rush you through an appointment.
• Research: Looking up the building and layout ahead of time can ensure you don’t waste your time touring an apartment you know isn’t right or doesn’t have the features you want.
• Prep Your Questions: Having a list of important questions ahead of time will ensure you ask everything of concern and are shown every part of the apartment you need to see.
• Manage Your Schedule: It helps to book multiple tours on the same day so that they are fresh in your mind for comparison, but don’t space them so close together you don’t have time to be thorough.
• Look Up/Down/Outside: Be sure to have the person giving the tour point the camera up and down and see outside because it can be easy to miss little things, like where the outlets are placed or whether there is a fan in the room.
• Record the Tour: Whether it’s a live recording or screenshots you made during the tour, find a way to record what you see for reference later. Ask the tour giver to send photos afterward of anything you didn’t see or record.
• For general advice, here’s our apartment touring checklist for further tips.

Now you have the tools you need to conquer those virtual tours, but when do you start your search? We know the best time to start looking for an apartment based on our extensive experience.

Interested in design advice? Check out our interview with Lemon Leaf Interiors .

Need to Schedule Some Virtual, Luxury Apartment Tours? AptAmigo Can Do It for You!

We know moving—whether across town or across country—can be stressful. That’s why AptAmigo is dedicated to packing your apartment hunt with convenience. We curate a list of apartments based on your exact preferences. Then, you tell us which you’re interested in, and our dedicated apartment locating team will arrange your virtual tours. You’ll be first in line to snag your dream apartment. Get started with a locating agent today.

Up Next: Weirdest Apartment Pets

Jeanette Smith is a writer, editor, and freelancer based in Dallas, Texas. Find out more at JeanettetheWriter.com .

AptAmigo has a simple goal: to make finding an apartment easy and maybe even a little fun. With concierge-level care and an expert understanding of the local rental market, we’re more than your average apartment website. We’re perfecting done-for-you apartment searching, and we’re doing it all for free. Reach out to us today and start your VIP apartment search.

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7 Tips for a Virtual Apartment Tour & How to Create One

by Johanna Gruber | Real Estate Marketing

In today’s digital age, you can do nearly everything online — including view an apartment. Virtual apartment tours allow prospective residents to view your building and vacant units without ever stepping foot inside.

Because virtual tours offer convenience and accessibility to prospects, it’s in your best interest to offer them as part of your marketing strategy . But what is a virtual apartment tour, and how do you create one? Read on to learn more about how and why you should offer tours online.

This post covers:

What is a virtual apartment tour?

• How to create a virtual tour
• 7 tips for offering virtual apartment tours
• Benefits of virtual tours for apartments

A virtual apartment tour is a convenient, technology -powered touring solution that allows prospective residents to see your apartment building from their smartphone, computer, or tablet. You can provide a virtual tour right on your apartment building’s website.

Virtual tours are more than just photos of your building or unit — they allow a prospect to actually click through a digital rendering of the space. This mimics the experience of actually walking through an apartment, giving prospects a good feel for the building or unit.

Types of virtual apartment tours

There are a few different kinds of virtual tours. Depending on your desired outcome and your budget, one type may be more suitable for your marketing needs.

The three main types of virtual apartment tours are:

• Recorded video walkthrough: One option is to record a video of the apartment unit from a first-person point of view. Prospects can watch the video to get a sense of what it’s like to actually walk through the apartment.
• 3D apartment tour: Using software and a special 360 camera , you can create a 3D rendering of your unit. Prospects can “navigate” through the unit by clicking around the rendering, giving them the feeling of actually being in the unit.
• Live video call tour: Virtual tours don’t have to be pre-recorded. If you prefer a slightly more hands-on approach, you can offer live virtual tours, which are essentially video calls between a prospect and a leasing agent. The agent can walk around the unit, filming as they go.

Watch how ButterflyMX self-guided touring works:

How to create a virtual apartment tour

The process of creating a virtual apartment tour depends on the type of virtual experience you want to offer. But generally speaking, to make a virtual tour, you’ll need a camera and possibly software to edit your footage before publishing it online.

Creating a virtual video tour

To create a virtual video tour, all you’ll need is a camera. However, you may also want to purchase a shoulder mount to stabilize the camera and produce a smoother video.

Start recording while you’re outside the unit. Hit record, then open the front door and walk from room to room. Go slowly, and pan around each corner of every room.

After filming the video, upload it to your website or a video hosting platform like YouTube or Vimeo. You can also share virtual tours (or links to a tour) on social media .

Creating a 3D virtual tour

If you prefer a more enhanced tour experience for your prospects, go the 3D tour route. You’ll need a few pieces of equipment and an app or software to put all the footage together.

Follow these steps to create a 3D virtual apartment tour:

• Gather equipment: For a more polished result, choose a 360-degree camera (HDSLR) to record footage. If you prefer a lower-budget solution, use your smartphone. You’ll also need a tripod with a rotating head.
• Shoot the footage: Record the tour footage on a bright day so there’s plenty of natural light. Be sure to film every part of the apartment, including inside closets and cabinets, and outdoors on patios or balconies.
• Edit footage and create the tour: Once you have your footage, you’ll need to polish it and put it all together with software or a mobile app. Alternatively, you may pay to hire a service provider who can put it all together for you.

Creating virtual tours with a phone

If you want to make a virtual tour with a phone, you’re in luck — you can do so with an iPhone or Android.

There are plenty of mobile apps that offer tools to shoot footage and edit it all together. From your phone, you can follow the steps in the app to build your virtual tour. Some apps are free, but for the best results, you may want to invest in a paid app for a more polished final product.

Pro tip: If you record a video with your smartphone, hold the camera horizontally for a landscape view.

Top 7 tips for offering virtual apartment tours

Offering virtual tours gives prospects a convenient way to view your building and vacancies. But before you shoot any footage, first consider these seven tips.

• Show every part of the unit
• Stage the unit
• Provide a floor plan and unit dimensions
• Ensure ideal lighting
• Aim for a two-minute tour
• Upgrade the unit before filming the tour

1. Show every part of the unit

When touring an apartment in person , prospective residents like to check inside closets, open cabinets, and peer into every nook and cranny of a unit. Likewise, prospects taking a virtual tour want to see every inch of the unit.

So, when filming footage for a virtual apartment tour, be sure to show off every aspect of the unit. Shoot footage from various angles, and record yourself opening cabinets, closets, and other doorways. Prospects will appreciate all those minor details.

2. Stage the unit

Before recording tour footage, be sure to stage the unit effectively. Apartment staging is one of the most effective ways to lease a unit faster. Staging can even increase the price a prospect is willing to pay by 10% to 15%.

Staging your unit before creating a virtual tour will:

• Give prospects a better sense of the unit’s size and dimensions.
• Allow viewers to really picture themselves living there.
• Make the unit more appealing, leading to more conversions.

3. Provide a floor plan and unit dimensions

One of the downsides of a virtual tour compared to an in-person tour is that it can be hard to visualize the actual layout or size of the unit. So, when offering virtual tours, be sure to also include a floor plan of the unit and, if possible, the exact dimensions of each room. That way, prospects can get a better idea of the unit.

4. Ensure ideal lighting

When creating a virtual tour, you want the unit to look as appealing as possible. So, make sure the lighting is bright and inviting.

Be sure to record footage for your virtual tour during the day, not at night. Additionally, record on a bright day with plenty of sunshine, and open the curtains and blinds in the unit. This will ensure that your footage is brightened with lots of natural light, which will make the unit look its best. If you need additional lighting, consider investing in ring lights or softbox lighting.

5. Aim for a 2-minute tour

Not sure how long your virtual apartment tour should last? Aim for about two minutes.

If your tour is too short, you probably haven’t captured everything effectively. This might leave prospects feeling like they didn’t get a full tour. And if the tour is too long, you’ll lose viewers’ attention and miss out on leads and applicants .

6. Add music

A virtual tour with only visuals can be dull. Adding music to your virtual tour makes it feel more engaging and can keep prospects watching longer. Look for light, upbeat music without any lyrics to avoid distracting viewers.

Pro tip: Find copyright-free music or purchase the rights to any music you use. Otherwise, your tour could be flagged or removed for copyright infringement.

7. Upgrade the unit before filming the tour

Before you put the time and effort into recording an entire tour of any unit, make sure it looks its best. That means completing any planned upgrades or renovations and doing a deep clean before filming.

Here’s how to make your apartment unit look move-in ready:

• Upgrade appliances
• Swap out fixtures and cabinet hardware
• Scrub floors and walls

Top 5 benefits of virtual apartment tours

• Better than photos: Real estate photography is important, but photos will rarely do your unit justice. Virtual tours give prospects a much clearer idea of your unit’s layout, size, and features.
• More conversions: Offering virtual tours is a fairly passive way to boost your conversion rate and sign more leases . Virtual apartment tours can help you earn and convert leads from prospects who may not have time to view the building in person or who are moving long distances.
• Increased engagement: Rental listings with virtual tours receive a whopping 87% more views than those without. Virtual tours are particularly user-friendly, and allow prospects to view your unit any time, anywhere.
• Offer more tours than you could in person:  With in-person tours, you have to coordinate schedules and make sure a staff member is available at the time of the tour. As a result, you may only be able to offer a few in-person tours per day. But since virtual tours are viewed online, prospects can see your unit 24/7.
• Appeal to all kinds of renters: Lots of people appreciate the hands-on experience of an in-person tour. But many others prefer to experience a tour on their own terms, from the comfort of their own homes. Offering virtual tours is a way to appeal to prospects who don’t necessarily feel comfortable with a guided tour in person.
• Virtual tours are a user-friendly touring solution that allows prospects to view your building and vacant units without needing a staff member to show them around.
• There are three ways to offer virtual apartment tours: film a pre-recorded video, create a 3D rendering, or offer live video call tours.
• Offering virtual tours can increase leads and boost your prospect-to-resident conversion rate.

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Top Questions to Ask on an Apartment Tour

New to apartment hunting? You're in for a whirlwind of activity and fun! Find out what to expect on your go-around and the apartment tour questions you should ask to help you find the perfect one.

What’s the Big Deal, Anyway?

Business icon Robert Half once said that asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers. Our mission is to help you know the right questions to ask when touring an apartment, so you can find the best apartment in no time.

After all, an apartment tour isn’t just a five-minute ordeal. An apartment tour gives you the chance to find out if the place is right for you and helps you avoid any unpleasant surprises. It’s the closest thing you’ll have to a test drive before move-in.

Don’t leave anything to chance! Find out if that apartment should be your next move by asking apartment managers these questions:

Questions About the Apartment

Money matters.

• Is there an application fee?
• What is the deposit amount? Is it refundable?
• Does the apartment require renters insurance ?
• When is the rent due?
• What forms of rent payment are acceptable? (cash, check, charge/debit)
• Can I pay rent online or through EFT?
• Is there a grace period for late payments?
• Which, if any, utilities are included in my rent? (water, gas, cable, trash, etc.)
• How are utility costs calculated for each tenant?
• Which, if any, additional deposits, fees, or charges should I be aware of?
• Are there currently any offers or discounts available on the apartment?
• For how long is the lease? Can I renew?
• What happens if I have to break the lease?
• What recourse do I have if I decide to leave for a reason related to poor conditions, lease violations, delayed maintenance, etc.?
• Do I incur an expense if anything in the apartment needs to be repaired?

If you have any questions about the types of leases you may encounter, we have answers for you.

Making It Home

• What is the apartment guest policy?
• Can I have pets in the apartment?
• What, if any, changes can I make to the inside of the apartment? (painting walls, hanging photos, replacing light fixtures, etc.)
• Are window treatments included?
• Am I allowed to add a roommate?
• Under what conditions can the property manager enter my apartment?

Questions About the Apartment Complex

Hours and access.

• What are the leasing office hours?
• What are the hours of the facilities (pool, fitness center, laundry facility, etc.)?
• Do any of the facilities require an extra fee to access?
• Are washers and dryers available? During what hours?
• How are maintenance requests made?
• Is 24-hour emergency maintenance available?
• Is a parking fee or permit required?
• How many spaces are available for each tenant and guests?

Health and Safety

• Are individual apartment locks changed between occupants?
• How is access to the apartment building handled?
• What is the crime rate for the area?
• Do residents consider the complex safe at night?
• How many times have police been dispatched to the building/complex/area in the last three years?
• Where are the fire extinguishers located?
• What security measures — including fire and carbon monoxide detectors — are deployed throughout the building/complex?
• How often is each building checked for mold?
• Is smoking allowed in the building or on the premises?
• How should I deal with noisy neighbors?

Questions About the Area

• Are there plans to make upgrades to the complex or nearby area?
• What’s the neighborhood like?
• How long have you managed this apartment location?
• Where is the nearest public transit? (subway, bus, etc.)
• For how many years do tenants typically stay in the complex?
• Is subletting, or using a service like Airbnb, allowed?
• How many apartment/parking garage/storage unit break-ins or attempted break-ins have occurred within the complex in the last three years?
• Would you characterize the area as having a pest problem?

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Three decades after the Soviet era, this Moscow street echoes what was.

And hints where russia is heading., welcome to tverskaya street.

MOSCOW — Thirty years ago, the Soviet Union ceased to be. The flag was lowered for the last time on Dec. 25, 1991. That moment still raises deep questions for the U.S.S.R.’s heirs: “Who were we as Soviets, and where are we going as Russians?”

Many of the answers can be found on Moscow’s main thoroughfare — named Gorky Street, after writer Maxim Gorky, from 1932 to 1990, and renamed Tverskaya Street, a nod to the ancient city of Tver, as the Soviet Union was awash in last-gasp reforms.

It was the Soviet Union’s display window on the bright future that Kremlin-run communism was supposed to bring. It was where the KGB dined, the rich spent their rubles, Vladimir Lenin gave speeches from a balcony, and authorities wielded their power against one of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

In the 1990s, Tverskaya embodied the fast-money excesses of the post-Soviet free-for-all. In later years, it was packed with hopeful pro-democracy marchers. And now , under President Vladimir Putin, it is a symbol of his dreams of reviving Russia as a great power, reliving past glories and crushing any opposition to his rule.

Join a tour of Moscow’s famed Tverskaya Street.

Hotel National: Where the Soviet government began

The window in Room 107 at the Hotel National faces Red Square and the Kremlin. It offers a perfect view of Lenin’s tomb — fitting, since he was Room 107’s most famous guest.

The Kremlin was damaged during the Russian Revolution in 1917. So Lenin and his wife moved into Room 107 for seven days in March 1918, making the hotel the first home of the Soviet government.

The Hotel National in Moscow, from top: Artwork in the Socialist Realist style — which artists were ordered to adopt in the 1930s — still adorns the hotel; Elena Pozolotina has worked at the hotel since 1995; the hotel, which contains a restaurant, was built in 1902; the National has hosted notable guests, including Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and actor Jack Nicholson. (Photos by Arthur Bondar for The Washington Post)

The National, built in 1902 during the era of Imperial Russia, also accommodated other Soviet leaders, including Leon Trotsky and Felix Dzerzhinsky, chief of the secret police. The building continued to be used by the Soviet government as a hostel for official party delegates and was renamed First House of Soviets in 1919.

Guests can now stay in the same room Lenin did for about $1,300 a night. In more recent years, the hotel has hosted notable guests including Barack Obama (when he was a senator) and actor Jack Nicholson.

“This hotel feels a little like a museum,” said Elena Pozolotina, who has worked at the National since 1995.

“We have rooms that look onto Tverskaya Street, and we always explain to guests that this is the main street of our city,” Pozolotina said. “This corner of Tverskaya that we occupy, it’s priceless.”

Stalin’s plan: ‘The building is moving’

When Soviet leader Joseph Stalin demanded a massive redevelopment of Moscow in 1935, an order came to transform modest Gorky Street into a wide, awe-inspiring boulevard.

Engineer Emmanuel Gendel had the job of moving massive buildings to make way for others. Churches and monasteries were blown up, replaced by newspaper offices and a huge cinema.

The Moscow Central Eye Hospital was sheared from its foundation, rotated 97 degrees, jacked up, hitched on rails and pushed back 20 yards — with surgeons operating all the while, or so official media reported at the time.

Gendel’s daughter, then about 8, proudly stood at a microphone, announcing: “Attention, attention, the building is moving.” Tatiana Yastrzhembskaya, Gendel’s granddaughter and president of the Winter Ball charity foundation in Moscow, recalls that Gendel extolled communism but also enjoyed the rewards of the elite. He drove a fine car and always brought the family the best cakes and candies, she said.

The largest Gorky Street building Gendel moved was the Savvinskoye Courtyard. The most difficult was the Mossoviet, or Moscow city hall, with a balcony where Lenin had given speeches. The building, the former residence of the Moscow governor general, had to be moved with its basement. The ground floor had been a ballroom without central structural supports.

Moving buildings on Gorky Street in 1940, from left: A mechanic at a control panel regulates the supply of electricity while a house is being moved; a postal worker passes a moving house; a specialist unwinds a telephone cable during a building move to maintain uninterrupted communication; 13 rail tracks were placed under a house, on which 1,200 metal rollers were laid. (Photos by RGAKFD)

Gendel’s skills were used all over the U.S.S.R. — straightening towers on ancient mosques in Uzbekistan, inventing a means to drag tanks from rivers during World War II and consulting on the Moscow Metro.

Like many of the Soviet Union’s brightest talents, Gendel found that his freedom was tenuous. His ex-wife was called by the KGB internal spy agency in 1937 and asked to denounce him. She refused, and he avoided arrest.

“I believe he was not arrested and sent to the camps because he was a unique expert,” said Yastrzhembskaya. World War II, known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War, interrupted the Master Plan for Gorky Street.

Aragvi restaurant: A haunt of the KGB

In the 1930s, the head of the elite NKVD secret police, Lavrenty Beria, one of the architects of the Stalin-era purges, ordered the construction of a state-owned restaurant, Aragvi, to showcase food from his home republic of Georgia.

One night, NKVD agents descended in several black cars on a humble Georgian canteen in Moscow that Beria had once visited. The agents ordered the chef, Longinoz Stazhadze, to come with them. The feared NKVD was a precursor to the KGB.

Stazhadze thought he was being arrested, his son Levan told Russian media. He was taken to Beria, who said that he had agreed with “the Boss” (Stalin) that Stazhadze would run Aragvi. Stazhadze had grown up a peasant, sent to work in a prince’s kitchens as a boy.

Aragvi opened in 1938. It was only for the gilded set, a reminder that the “Soviet paradise” was anything but equitable. The prices were astronomical. It was impossible to get a table unless the doorman knew you or you could pay a hefty bribe.

Aragvi, at No. 6 Tverskaya, was a favorite of the secret police; government officials; cosmonauts and pilots; stars of theater, movies and ballet; directors; poets; chess masters. Beria reputedly dined in a private room. Poet Sergei Mikhalkov said he composed the lyrics of the Soviet national anthem while sitting in the restaurant in 1943.

It was privatized in the 1990s and struggled, before closing in 2002. It reopened in 2016 after a $20 million renovation. But the new Aragvi closed abruptly in 2019 amid reports of a conflict between its owner and the building managers.

“You put your entire soul into cooking,” said the former head chef, Nugzar Nebieridze, 59, celebrated for his khinkali, a meaty dumpling almost the size of a tennis ball. He was devastated to find himself unemployed. But other doors opened. He now prefers to travel, giving master classes around Russia.

Stalin’s funeral: A deadly street crush that never officially happened

On March 6, 1953, the day after Stalin died of a stroke, an estimated 2 million Muscovites poured onto the streets. They hoped to catch a glimpse of his body, covered with flowers and laid out in the marbled Hall of Columns near Red Square.

Yulia Revazova, then 13, sneaked from her house with her cousin Valery without telling their parents. As they walked toward Pushkin Square, at one end of Gorky Street, the procession turned into a scene of horror. They saw people falling and being trampled. Some were crushed against metal fences. Valery, who was a few years older, grabbed Yulia by the hand and dragged her out of the crowd.

“He held my hand really tight and never let it go, because it was pure madness,” she recalled recently. “It took us four or five hours to get out of there. People kept coming and coming. I couldn’t even call it a column; it was just an uncontrollable mass of people.”

“I still have this feeling, the fear of massive crowds,” added Revazova, 82. “To this day, if I see a huge group of people or a really long line, I just cross the street.”

Neither Revazova nor her cousin knew about Stalin’s repressions.

“People were crying. I saw many women holding little handkerchiefs, wiping away tears and wailing,” she recalled. “That’s the psychology of a Soviet person. If there is no overarching figure above, be it God or Lenin, life will come crashing down. The era was over, and there was fear. What will we do without Stalin?”

Officials never revealed how many people died that day. The Soviet-approved archival footage of the four days of national mourning showed only orderly marches and memorials.

No. 9: The ruthless culture minister

The Soviet culture minister, the steely Yekaterina Furtseva, was nicknamed Catherine the Third, after the forceful Russian Empress Catherine the Great. Furtseva destroyed writers, artists or anyone else who challenged Soviet ideas. She lived at an elite 1949 apartment building for government officials at No. 9 — an ultra-prestigious address with a view of the Kremlin.

Furtseva, a former small-town weaver, made sure that No. 9 was only for the cream of party officials and other notables, such as famous Soviet actress Natalia Seleznyova, scientists, conductors and architects.

Riding the coattails of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, Furtseva was the only woman in the Politburo and later became the Soviet Union’s cultural gatekeeper despite her provincial sensibilities. She once infamously mixed up a symphony with an opera, and critics were quick to notice.

“She had little in common with the artistic leaders of her country except a liking for vodka,” Norwegian painter Victor Sparre wrote in his 1979 book on the repression of dissident Soviet writers, “The Flame in the Darkness.”

Furtseva was famous for previewing performances and declaring anyone even subtly critical of Soviet policies as being anti-state. Director Yuri Lyubimov described one such visit to Moscow’s Taganka Theater in 1969, when she turned up wearing diamond rings and an astrakhan coat. She banned the play “Alive,” depicting a cunning peasant’s struggle against the collective farm system. She “was livid, she kept shouting,” he told L’Alternative magazine in 1984. She stormed out, warning him she would use her influence, “up to the highest levels,” against him.

He was expelled from the party and in 1984 was stripped of his citizenship. She vehemently denounced Solzhenitsyn, and banned the Bolshoi Ballet’s version of “Carmen” in 1967 over prima ballerina Maya Plisetskaya’s sensual performance and “un-Soviet” costumes that did not cover enough leg.

“The ballet is all erotica,” she told the dancer. “It’s alien to us.” But Plisetskaya, whom Khrushchev once called the world’s best dancer, fought back. The ballet went on with some excisions (the costumes stayed) and became a legend in the theater’s repertoire.

Furtseva was nearly felled by scandal in 1974, ordered to repay $80,000 spent building a luxurious dacha, or country home, using state labor. She died months later.

Where Solzhenitsyn was arrested

The Nobel Prize-winning Solzhenitsyn exposed the Soviet system’s cruelty against some of its brightest minds, trapped in the gulag, or prison camps.

Solzhenitsyn was given eight years of hard labor in 1945 for privately criticizing Stalin, then three years of exile in Kazakhstan, a Soviet republic at the time. His books were banned. After release from exile in 1956, he was allowed to make only 72-hour visits to the home of his second wife, Natalia, at 12 Gorky St., Apt. 169. Solzhenitsyn had to live outside the city.

“People knew that there were camps, but not many people, if any, knew what life was like in those camps. And he described it from the inside. He had been there himself, and that was shocking to a lot of people,” said Natalia Solzhenitsyna during a recent interview at the apartment, which became a museum in 2018.

“Many people say that he did make a contribution to the final fall of the Soviet Union.”

Solzhenitsyn, who died in 2008, called Russia “the land of smothered opportunities.” He wrote that it is always possible to live with integrity. Lies and evil might flourish — “but not through me.”

The museum displays tiny handwritten copies of Solzhenitsyn’s books, circulated secretly; film negatives of letters smuggled to the West; and beads made of compacted bread that he used to memorize poems in prison.

“He spent a lot of time here with his children. We were always very busy. And we just enjoyed ourselves — being together,” Solzhenitsyna said. They had three sons.

No. 12 Gorky St., from top: Natalia Solzhenitsyna lived in the apartment for years, and her husband, Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn, was allowed only short visits; the site now houses a museum displaying items connected to him, such as negatives containing a copy of a novel he wrote; another exhibit includes Solzhenitsyn’s clothes from when he was sent to the gulag and beads made of compacted bread that he used to memorize poems; the Nobel Prize-winning writer’s desk is featured at the museum. (Photos by Arthur Bondar for The Washington Post)

Because of KGB bugs, if the couple were discussing something sensitive, they wrote notes to each other, and then destroyed them. Two KGB agents usually roosted in the stairwell on the floor above, with two more on the floor below.

“The Soviet authorities were afraid of him because of his popularity among intellectuals, writers, people of culture and the intelligentsia.”

Her favorite room is decked with black-and-white photos of dissidents sent to the gulag, the Soviet Union’s sprawling system of forced labor camps. “It’s dedicated to the invisibles,” she said, pointing out friends.

Sweden planned to award Solzhenitsyn’s 1970 literature prize in the Gorky Street apartment, but the writer rejected a secret ceremony. A Swedish journalist in Moscow, Stig Fredrikson, was Solzhenitsyn’s smuggler. He carried Solzhenitsyn’s Nobel lecture on tightly rolled film disguised as a battery in a transistor radio, and he took other letters to the West and transported photos taped to his back.

“I felt that there was a sense of unfairness that he was so isolated and so persecuted,” Fredrikson said in a recent interview. “I got more and more scared and more and more afraid every time I met him.”

In 1971, the Soviet Union allegedly tried to poison Solzhenitsyn using a secret nerve agent, leaving him seriously ill. Early 1974 was tense. The prosecutor subpoenaed him. State newspapers railed against him.

The morning of Feb. 12, 1974, the couple worked in their study. In the afternoon, he walked his 5-month-old son, Stepan, in the yard below.

“He came back here, and literally a minute later, there was a ring at the door. There were eight men. They immediately broke the chain and got in,” his widow said. “There was a prosecutor in his prosecutor’s uniform, two men in plainclothes, and the rest were in military uniform. They told him to get dressed.”

“We hugged and we kept hugging for quite a while,” she recalled. “The last thing he told me was to take care of the children.”

He was deported to West Germany. The couple later settled in Vermont and set up a fund to help dissident writers, using royalties from his book “The Gulag Archipelago.” About 1,000 people still receive money from the fund, according to Solzhenitsyna.

When the writer and his wife returned to Russia in 1994, they traveled across the country by train. Thousands of people crushed into halls to hear him speak.

Solzhenitsyn abhorred the shock therapy and unchecked capitalism of the 1990s and preferred Putin’s tough nationalism. He died of heart failure at 89 in August 2008, five months after a presidential election in which Putin switched places with the prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, in a move that critics saw as a ploy to get around constitutional term limits.

No. 6: ‘Feasts of thought’

Behind a grand Stalin-era apartment block at 6 Gorky St. sits an ornate 1907 building famous for its facade, art nouveau glazed blue tiles, elegant arches and baroque spires. Once a monastery dormitory, it was a staple of pre-Soviet postcards from Moscow. But in November 1939, the 26,000-ton building was put on rails and pushed back to widen the street.

Linguists Lev and Raisa Kopelev lived in Apt. 201 on the top floor. Their spacious dining room became a favored haven for Moscow’s intelligentsia from the 1950s to the 1980s.

“People gathered all the time — to talk. In this apartment, like many other kitchens and dining rooms, at tables filled more often than not with vodka, herring and vinaigrette salad, feasts of thought took place,” said Svetlana Ivanova, Raisa’s daughter from another marriage, who lived in the apartment for nearly four decades.

Solzhenitsyn and fellow dissident Joseph Brodsky were Kopelev family friends, as were many other artists, poets, writers and scientists who formed the backbone of the Soviet human rights movement of the 1960s.

As a writer and dissident, Kopelev had turned his back on the Communist Party and a prestigious university position. The onetime gulag prisoner inspired the character Lev Rubin in Solzhenitsyn’s novel “In the First Circle,” depicting the fate of arrested scientists.

“The apartment was a special place for everyone. People there were not afraid to speak their mind on topics that would be considered otherwise risky,” Ivanova said. “A new, different spirit ruled in its walls.”

Eliseevsky: Pineapples during a famine

The Eliseevsky store at No. 16 was a landmark for 120 years — born in czarist Russia, a witness to the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, a survivor of wars, and a bastion during eras of shortages and plenty. It closed its doors in April.

Eliseevsky fell on hard times during the coronavirus pandemic, as international tourists dwindled and Russians sought cheaper grocery-shopping alternatives.

In the palace-like interior, two chandeliers hang from an ornate ceiling. Gilt columns line the walls. The front of the store, looking out at Tverskaya Street, has a row of stained glass.

The Eliseevsky store, which opened in 1901, is seen in April, with a few customers and some archival photos, as it prepared to close as an economic victim of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photos by Arthur Bondar for The Washington Post)

Denis Romodin, a historian at the Museum of Moscow, said Eliseevsky is one of only two retail spaces in Moscow with such pre-revolutionary interiors. But Eliseevsky’s level of preservation made it “one of a kind,” he said.

The building was once owned by Zinaida Volkonskaya, a princess and Russian cultural figure in the 19th century. She remodeled the house into a literary salon whose luminaries included Russia’s greatest poet, Alexander Pushkin.

St. Petersburg merchant Grigory Eliseev opened the market in 1901. It quickly became a hit among Russian nobility for its selection of European wines and cheeses.

Romodin said it was Russia’s first store with price tags. Before Eliseevsky, haggling was the norm. And it was also unique in having innovative technology for the time: electric-powered refrigerators and display cases that allowed goods to be stored longer.

Even in the Soviet Union’s hungriest years, the 1930s famine, Eliseevsky stocked pineapples.

“One could find outlandish delicacies here, which at that time seemed very exotic,” Romodin said. “It was already impossible to surprise Muscovites with wine shops. But a grocery store with luxurious interiors, and large for that time, amazed and delighted Muscovites.”

The First Gallery: A glimpse of openness

In 1989, in a dusty government office by a corner of Pushkin Square, three young artists threw off decades of suffocating state control and opened the Soviet Union’s first independent art gallery.

That April, Yevgeny Mitta and two fellow students, Aidan Salakhova and Alexander Yakut, opened First Gallery. At the time, the Soviet Union was opening up under policies including glasnost, which gave more room for public debate and criticism.

Artists were ordered to adopt the Socialist Realist style in 1934, depicting scenes such as happy collective farmworkers. Expressionist, abstract and avant-garde art was banned. From the 1970s, underground art exhibitions were the only outlets to break the Soviet-imposed rules.

The First Gallery, from top: Yevgeny Mitta, Aidan Salakhova and Alexander Yakut opened the Soviet Union’s first independent art gallery in 1989 and received media attention; Mitta works on a painting that he displayed at his gallery; Mitta recalled recently that he “felt we had to make something new”; an undated photo of Mitta at his gallery in Soviet times. (Photos by Arthur Bondar for The Washington Post and courtesy of Yevgeny Mitta)

“I just felt we had to make something new,” recalled Mitta, 58, who kept his interest in contemporary expressionism a secret at a top Moscow art school in the 1980s.

“It was like nothing really happened in art history in the 20th century, like it stopped,” he said. “The Socialist Realism doctrine was invented and spread to the artists as the only one, possible way of developing paintings, films and literature.”

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, artists had to “learn how to survive, what to do, how to work and make a living,” he said.

McDonald’s: ‘We were not used to smiling’

In the Soviet Union’s final years, a mania raged for all things Western. Estée Lauder opened the first Western-brand shop on Gorky Street in 1989, after meeting Raisa Gorbachev, the wife of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, in December 1988.

The Soviet Union’s first McDonald’s, located across Pushkin Square on Gorky Street, opened on Jan. 31, 1990 — a yellow-arched symbol of Gorbachev’s perestroika economic reforms. Pizza Hut opened later that year. (In 1998, Gorbachev starred in a commercial for the pizza chain.)

Karina Pogosova and Anna Patrunina were cashiers at the McDonald’s on opening day. The line stretched several blocks. Police officers stood watch to keep it organized.

The Soviet Union’s first McDonald’s opened in 1990 and eager customers lined up to enter; Karina Pogosova, left, and Anna Patrunina were cashiers at the fast-food restaurant on Gorky Street then, and they are senior executives with the company today. (Photos by Peter Turnley/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images and Arthur Bondar for The Washington Post)

“The atmosphere was wonderful. The first day I had to smile the entire day and my face muscles hurt,” Patrunina said. “This is not a joke. Russians do not smile in general, so we were not used to smiling at all, not to mention for more than eight hours straight.”

Pogosova and Patrunina were students at the Moscow Aviation Institute when they learned McDonald’s was hiring through an ad in a Moscow newspaper. Interview questions included: “How fast can you run 100 meters?” It was to gauge if someone was energetic enough for the job.

Pogosova and Patrunina are still with the company today, as senior vice president of development and franchising and vice president of operations, respectively.

“I thought that this is the world of opportunities and this new world is coming to our country, so I must be in this new world,” Patrunina said.

The smiling staff wasn’t the only culture shock for customers. Some had never tried the fountain sodas that were available. They were unaccustomed to food that wasn’t eaten with utensils. The colorful paper boxes that Big Macs came in were occasionally saved as souvenirs.

McDonald’s quickly became a landmark on the street.

“I remember very well that the street and the entire city was very dark and McDonald’s was like an island of light with bright signage,” Pogosova said. “The street started to change after McDonald’s opened its first restaurant there.”

Wild ’90s and a missing ballerina

The end of the Soviet Union uncorked Moscow’s wild 1990s. Some people made instant fortunes by acquiring state-owned enterprises at throwaway prices. Rules were being written on the fly. The city was pulsing with possibilities for those with money or those desperate to get some.

“It was easy to get drunk on this,” said Alex Shifrin, a former Saatchi & Saatchi advertising executive from Canada who lived in Moscow from the mid-1990s until the late 2000s.

It all was on full display at Night Flight, Moscow’s first nightclub, opened by Swedish managers in 1991, in the final months of the Soviet Union, at Tverskaya 17. The club introduced Moscow’s nouveau elite to “face control” — who merits getting past the rope line — and music-throbbing decadence.

The phrase “standing on Tverskaya” made its way into Russian vernacular as the street became a hot spot for prostitutes. Toward the end of the 2000s, Night Flight had lost its luster. The club scene in Moscow had moved on to bigger and bolder venues.

Decades before, No. 17 had been famous as the building with the dancer: a statue of a ballerina, holding a hammer and sickle, placed atop the cupola during Stalin’s building blitz.

Muscovites nicknamed the building the House Under the Skirt.

“The idea was to have Gorky Street as a museum of Soviet art. The statues represented a dance of socialism,” art historian Pavel Gnilorybov said. “The ballerina was a symbol of the freedom of women and the idea that, before the revolution, women were slaves. It is as if she is singing an ode to the regime.”

The crumbling statues were removed by 1958. People forgot them. Now a group of Muscovites, including Gnilorybov, are campaigning for the return of the ballerina.

“It’s an idea that we want to give the city as a gift. It’s not political,” he said. “It’s beautiful.”

Pushkin Square: For lovers and protesters

Pushkin Square has been Moscow’s favorite meeting place for friends, lovers and political demonstrations.

In November 1927, Trotskyist opponents of Stalin marched to the 27th House of Soviets at one end of Tverskaya Street, opposite the Hotel National, in one of the last public protests against the Soviet ruler.

In December 1965, several dozen dissidents gathered in Pushkin Square to protest the trials of two writers. It became an annual event. People would gather just before 6 p.m. and, on the hour, remove their hats for a minute.

In 1987, dissidents collected signatures at Pushkin Square and other locations calling for a memorial to those imprisoned or killed by the Soviet state. The movement evolved into Memorial, a leading human rights group. Memorial was declared a “foreign agent” in 2016 under Putin’s sweeping political crackdowns.

In January 2018, left, and January 2021, right, protesters gathered at Pushkin Square. (Photos by Arthur Bondar for The Washington Post)

Protests in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny were held at Pushkin Square earlier this year. And it is where communists and liberals rallied on a rainy September night to protest 2021 parliamentary election results that gave a landslide win to Putin’s United Russia party despite widespread claims of fraud.

Nearly 30 years after the fall of the U.S.S.R., Putin’s Russia carries some echoes of the stories lived out in Soviet times — censorship and repressions are returning. Navalny was poisoned by a nerve agent in 2020 and later jailed. Many opposition figures and independent journalists have fled the country. The hope, sleaze and exhilaration of the 1990s have faded. Tverskaya Street has settled into calm stagnation, waiting for the next chapter.

Arthur Bondar contributed to this report.

Correction: A map accompanying this article incorrectly spelled the first name of a former Soviet leader. He is Vladimir Lenin, not Vladmir Lenin. The map has been corrected.

About this story

Story editing by Robyn Dixon and Brian Murphy. Photos and videos by Arthur Bondar. Archival footage from the Russian State Documentary Film and Photo Archive at Krasnogorsk; footage of Joseph Stalin’s funeral from the Martin Manhoff Archive, courtesy of Douglas Smith. Photo editing by Chloe Coleman. Video editing by Jason Aldag. Design and development by Yutao Chen. Design editing by Suzette Moyer. Maps by Dylan Moriarty. Graphics editing by Lauren Tierney. Copy editing by Melissa Ngo.

10 Best Moscow Apartments: Luxury and Cheap Places to Stay in Moscow

You know Moscow for iconic landmarks, rich history, delicious Russian cuisine and mysterious Russian soul. But when it comes to Moscow accommodation the choice is hard because Moscow is huge and you obviously want to stay somewhere in city center. And Moscow hotels may not be a good solution sometimes for various reasons. And hostels in Moscow can’t provide the privacy you’d prefer to have. And you probably want to the most beautiful places to stay in Moscow and the cheapest ones? We selected 18 Moscow apartments listed on Airbnb that capture exciting vibrancy and unique spirit of capital of Russia.

What makes a Moscow apartment the best place to stay in Moscow? Imagine luxury Moscow hotels but with authentic touch, local flavors, huge space and superb views. And yes, with a lot of history. All in one. Some of these spots offer wonderful views; others can boast designs you’ve probably never seen before. The second half of the list is not the luxury you may expect but you could hardly find such prices for Moscow accommodation anywhere else. Pick your own apartment and enjoy Moscow in style!

*And don’t forget to book your Moscow tour , guides get booked out months in advance too!

Luxury Moscow Apartment with Amazing Views

With plenty of space (160 sq.m.) and modern design this lavish 2-bedroom apartment in Moscow offers a large living area and breathtaking views of Moscow. Its great location in the heart of Moscow International Business Center better known as “Moscow-city” allows for easy access to all top tourist destinations of the Russian capital in about 15 minutes ride. This apartment is housed on 50th floor of Tower West, one of two skyscrapers of the prominent Federation Towers complex. Your Moscow holidays could never be more Instagram-perfect than here.

For $833 a night you can also relish the best fitness facilities, spa and swimming pool in the “NEBO” fitness center covering about 3000 sq.m. Yes, it’s probably the most expensive of Moscow apartments to rent but… think of the elegant interiors and exquisite cuisine in renowned Sixty restaurant, the highest-located restaurant in Europe, which is you’re your neighbor.

Sky Polonsky Moscow Apartment. Photo by Airbnb

Space Moscow Apartment

Tired of too contemporary interiors of Moscow flats? Find yourself on the board of modern Space Shuttle apartment in Moscow and be prepared for “unforgettable intergalactic journey”. During this “unusual trip” you can gaze at the sunrises and sunsets, watch the clouds beneath your feet and enjoy the city’s stunning views.

This extraordinary 1-bedroom Moscow apartment is housed on 57th floor of Moscow City’s Imperia Tower building which invites you to unveil a city within a city with superb meeting, leisure and dining facilities.

Rates start from $392 a night, a good price for luxury accommodation in Moscow.

Space Apartment Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

Central Deluxe Moscow Apartment

This eclectic 2-bedroom Deluxe Moscow apartment is located on 21th floor of Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building, one of the 7 prominent Stalin’s skyscrapers . Construction of this timeless edifice was supervised personally by the Russian revolutionary Lavrenty Beria. Many notable Soviet people like political elite, scientists, athletes and actors used to live here. Do not miss the Museum of famous Russian ballet dancer Galina Ulanova housed in apartment # 185.

Immerse yourself in luxury atmosphere of Russian mansions of early 20th century with its noble interiors, designed in Art Deco style. This elegant and cozy property which at the same time is equipped with Jacuzzi and plenty of other modern amenities can also boast stunning views on Moskva-river and convenient location – it only takes a 15-minute ride to get to major city sites like The Kremlin and Red Square.

Rates start from $103 a night . What are you waiting for?  Go grab your chance and rent apartment, Moscow is too hot a destination now , you won’t find a better deal!

Central Moscow Deluze Apartment. Photo by Airbnb

Tower Apartment in Moscow

Another world known Stalin’s Sister Kudrinskaya Building needs no introduction and welcomes you to experience the unforgettable stay in the capital of Russia in this 2-bedroom spacious apartment. Enjoy an outstanding marriage of history and contemporary transformation, the austere white and dark wood, the rustic coziness and modern comfort.

And of course, get incredible breathtaking panoramic views of Moscow skylines from the large sunny balcony. Set off just meters away from 2 metro stations, this Moscow apartment is within easy and quick reach from anywhere in the city. Perfect place to start your Moscow Metro tour from.

Rates start from $293 a night, which is a good price for luxury Moscow rentals.

Tower Apartment in Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

Old Arbat Magic House

This Parisian style Moscow apartment offers a top-notch location in the historic Old Arbat area, within a walking distance from Red Square , Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory and other top attractions. Uncover the little-known treasures of this vibrant neighborhood strolling past its bustling streets and visiting numerous museums, theaters, souvenir shops and cafes to satisfy all tastes. And, of course, do not miss the adjacent Red October Art District with famous bars, nightclubs and art galleries.

Beautiful and spacious, this apartment covering 100 sq m can sleep up to 5 guests and includes everything you might need for comfortable stay in Moscow. With king-sized bed and elegant interiors with lots of windows and bay windows, this lovely accommodation is also great for a romantic getaway.

Rates start from $167 a night. This is one of the best apartments in Moscow for its niche and high level.

Old Arbat Magic House Apartment in Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

A Magic Apartment in Moscow

If you’re searching for a Moscow accommodation with homey atmosphere and extraordinary interior solutions all in one, look no further than this spacious stylish Moscow apartment. Unique and artistic, it is dotted with antiques and fine art elements and has two small beautiful balconies overlooking the Christ the Savior Cathedral, Moscow Conservatory and the Kremlin.

It is located two blocks from Red Square on historic Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street where almost every house can boast its rich history. In addition to a great variety of restaurants and cafes there is also a great grocery store on the corner where you can sample a variety of Russian dishes made fresh daily.

Rates start from $126 a night, cheaper than luxury hotels in Moscow.

Magic Place in Central Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

Cozy Spacious Moscow Apartment for a Big Family

This spacious apartment located in 5-minute walk from the Kremlin invites you to flash back in time and go through the several pages of rich Russian history . Dip into the atmosphere of pre-revolutionary Russia in Noble Room with its high oak entrance doors, three large windows, ceiling moldings, bronze chandelier, and a 100-year old antique buffet. Mayakovskaya Room features a black wrought iron bed, brick wall, gramophone which dates back to 1930s, a small table with two Vienna chairs, propaganda posters and porcelain, will be perfect place for Russian Silver Age poets admirers.

Enjoy reading the authentic “Izvestia” newspaper dated 1 May 1942 and sipping tea from the faceted thick-wall glass in the cozy “Stalinist” room. Gagarin’s room named after the first man in Space Yuri Gagarin will bring you back in the 1960s. Of all apartments in Moscow this one is the #1 for history buffs.

Rates start from $267 a night .

Amazing 4 room apartment 5 min walking to Kremlin. Photo by Airbnb

Architectural Masterpiece in the Center of Moscow

How about a spacious sunlit apartment… tucked into the attic floor of a historic 19th-century mansion? It certainly is the best choice for most discerning aesthetes. Stylish and tastefully decorated, this Moscow apartment has an unusual geometry and roof windows, where you can feast your eyes to sunset, starry and sun-drenched Moscow sky.

Old piano in the living room, an interesting book and photo collection, exclusive kitchen utensils and church bells in the mornings will leave unforgettable impression. In addition, it is a few steps away from the famous Pokrovka Street with its historic buildings dating back to 19th-early 20th century and 3 km away the very city center with its top touristic sites.

Rates start from $133 a night.

Unexpected Miracle in Center Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

FineArtApart in Moscow – Gusyatnikov

Get a feel for both old and contemporary in this renovated loft style designed two-bedroom apartment located in the center of Moscow in Clear Pond neighborhood. In its immediate surroundings you can find plenty of restaurants, bars and coffee shops .

Located in a historic building of 19th century, this Moscow apartment will make you feel right at home with its quirky but fully-equipped kitchen, vintage library, antique furnishings and well-chosen accessories. Little guests will appreciate the children’s playground with numerous activities.

Rates start from $128 a night .

FineArtapart – Gusyatnikov. Photo by Airbnb

Moscow Apartment with Kremlin Views

Location is everything in a bustling city like Moscow, and this recently renovated one-bedroom apartment is proud of its unbeatable placement next to the Red Square and its astonishing views of the Kremlin and Tverskaya Street.

For just $74 a night (!), you will be within walking distance to some of the city’s top attractions like St. Basil’s Cathedral, the Bolshoi Theater, high-end GUM and TSUM shopping malls, Arbat and Zaryadye Park. Needless to say, the area provides activities for all tastes and budgets and is dotted with restaurants and cafes, fashionable boutiques and shops, museums, theaters and art galleries.

Moscow apartment with Kremlin view

Old Arbat – Loft Studio Apartment

This small charming Moscow apartment with perfect mix of rustic and contemporary elements takes is located in famous pedestrian Arbat Street, the favorite street of all of our Moscow guides . There is a small kitchen area with all cooking utensils, washing machine, modern furnishings and cable TV. Little balcony above the vibrant street is ideal place for coffee sipping, making sketches of the magnificent 19-20th century architecture around or just people watching. The Christ the Savior Cathedral, Red Square and the luxurious GUM department store are close by along with all of the necessities for every day life in Moscow: shops, cozy cafes, trendy bars and gourmet restaurants.

Rates start from $67 a night. A typical price for cheap hotels in Moscow , but so much better than that!

Old Arbat Loft in Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

Arbat Apartment with Kremlin View

This one bedroom elegant apartment on Arbat Street won’t let you forget that: it comes with small balcony overlooking the main square of Russia. Italian furniture and chimney of 18th century, tapestry  on the walls, paintings on the ceiling, faucets in the bathroom create an unrivalled atmosphere of ancient Russian manor houses.

Rates start from $83 a night, steal of a deal for a place with a Kremlin view .

Arbat Apartment wth Kremlin view. Photo by Airbnb

One-bedroom Moscow Apartment on Chisty Prudy

The Clear Ponds neighborhood is home to the Moscow Sovremennik Theater, numerous bars and restaurants, bakeries, shops, art galleries, contemporary photographic exhibitions and this nice apartment. Moscow accommodation for up up to 4 people offers 2 large beds, cozy kitchen with coffee machine and a pretty, sunlit balcony as well.

Host Maria has won her past guests over by giving careful thought even to the small details for a pleasant stay like complimentary coffee, tea, snacks and candies. Apartment also boasts its enviable location within walking distance of the Kremlin , Lenin’s Mausoleum, Alexander Garden and more.

Rates start from $98 a night, a good price for a good central accommodation in Moscow.

Moscow apartment in historical center. Photo by Airbnb

Duplex Apartment in Moscow Center

Feel like royalty in the Palace of the early 19th century in this two-level one-bedroom apartment in Moscow featuring high ceilings, original moldings in the Empire style and classic parquet. The apartment covering 60 sq m comprises a spacious living room with kitchenette and a bedroom area. Located next to bustling Tverskaya Street , unarguably the main street in Moscow and historic landmark by itself, it’s set off in a building with over 1 meter-thick walls to ensure you get a good sleep.

Top city attractions like Red Square, the Bolshoi Theater and prominent GUM and TSUM shopping malls are just in 15 minutes walk away.

Rates start from $81 a night .

Moscow Apartment with historic vibes. Photo by Airbnb

A Fantastic Apartment in the Center of Moscow

A true artist’s haunt, this is the perfect Moscow accommodation for the cultural explorers . This small stylish apartment will definitely surprise you with its huge collection of books as well as incredible amount of quirky elements of decor. Mosaic floor in the bathroom, red bass in the living room and abstract paintings of Arush Wotsmush on the walls are just few to mention.

This charming apartment is located in the heart of Kitay-gorod area, historic and cultural core of the city which will probably remind you the Europe with its old buildings, narrow streets and countless cafes and coffee shops. Moscow never sleeps and the best bars, pubs and entertainment venues nearby are the best illustration of this statement.

Rates start from $68 a night, which makes it a perfect place to stay in Moscow.

Fantastic Flat in Central Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

Solyanka Loft Studio Apartment in Downtown Moscow

This modern Moscow studio loft in Kitay-gorod neighborhood won’t be soon forgotten. Housed in pre-revolutionary building of 1914, this apartment has beautifully preserved the historical interior elements, including old bricks and pieces of pretty stucco work on the ceiling. It’s the ideal spot for visitors who want to feel home away from home while enjoying everything that Moscow has to offer. You definitely won’t regret booking this stylish apartment conveniently set just 10-15 minutes walk from the major sites of Russian capital like Red Square, the Kremlin and the Bolshoi Theater.

Rates start from $67 a nigh t, which is cheaper than any cheap hotel . And the location is super convenient, a dream of any Muscovite .

Solyanka Loft Studio Apartment in Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

Central Retro Styled Apartment

This one bedroom Moscow apartment exudes the unique charms of Soviet-Era -Intelligentsia style apartments, with its hardwood floors and numerous vintage accessories like old books collection, phonograph, authentic furniture, grand mirror and even Soviet epoch perfumes. Located on busy Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street, this cozy apartment on the 5th floor takes you away from the chaos of the city. Enjoy sipping the glass of wine or a cup of tea sitting in a small balcony observing Moscow vibrant life.

Apartment also boasts its convenient location next to Belorusskaya metro station, which is 5 minutes away from city center by metro and 40 minutes away from Sheremetyevo Airport via the Aeroexpress train. The Moscow Zoo and Moscow Planetarium are a 20-minute stroll away.

Rates start from $51 a night , which is the cheapest Moscow accommodation you could ever find

Retro Style Apartment in Moscow. Photo by Airbnb

Deluxe Room in Moscow City

For $97 a night , you’ll have a spacious and lavish room on the 41th floor of one of the “ Moscow-city” skyscrapers with a unique panoramic view of Moscow . Stylish and elegant, this room is decorated in noble grey and white tones and has all the amenities you may need for your comfortable staying. There are Afimall shopping mall, numerous restaurants and cafes, beauty parlors and World Class fitness center downstairs.

The city’s top attractions including the Arbat Street, Red Square and the Bolshoi Theater can be reached by metro in 15-20 minutes, as well as Park Pobedy (Victory Park), one of the largest memorial complexes in Russia and in the world, dedicated to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. By the way, Park Pobedy metro station is the deepest one in Moscow and one of the deepest metro stations in the world.

Moscow Deluxe Apartment. Photo by Airbnb

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Apartment 76 sqm on the 34th floor in NEVA TOWER

Apartment 193 sqm on the 52nd floor in Moscow City

• 3 Bathrooms
• $15,000/one square meter

New residential skyscraper Capital Tower in Moscow City for investors

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Apartment 193 sqm on the 52nd floor of Moscow City

• $22,500/Monthly

Office 248 sqm for rent in a skyscraper on the 38th floor

• $5,800/Monthly

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• $5,100/Monthly

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• $8,400/Monthly

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If apartments in Moscow skyscrapers are too expensive for you, then look at the cheaper apartments in this catalog .

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Tower life building tours offered through mid-may before renovations begin, tours cost $40 and funds benefit centro san antonio.

Steve Spriester , Anchor

The Tower Life Building, an iconic building among San Antonio’s skyline, is offering a glimpse inside for a limited time.

The tour lets people look in, around and even below the building, which has an underground tunnel.

The Tower Life Building opened in 1929 and has 30 floors. It is about to be renovated, so the tours are only going on through the middle of May.

The tour costs $40, and the funds will benefit Centro San Antonio. Anyone interested can visit amigosa.com for more information.

KSAT had more coverage on the Tower Life Building in the video below from Tuesday’s Nightbeat.

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