Today’s lifestyle is best described in one word: busy. People are always in a hurry to go from one place to next while still trying to connect to their friends and loved ones; hence, the popularity of mobile phones. Now, mobile phones acquire a new use: making apartment-hunting way easier.

Jumping from one apartment to another is tiring and confusing, especially if open houses occur at the same time block. In such a scenario, one is required to do lots of running and navigating. Thank heavens, new smart-phones are now equipped with Google Maps.

Using a desktop or a laptop, one can map out an “apartment-hunting route” and incorporate it into a customized ‘My Map’ in Google Maps. Addresses, rent listings, apartment types, link to listings can be added into your route. When you go out and start your search, you can easily access your ‘My Map’ on your phone.

Your ‘My Map’ will show as a separate layer on your Android phone’s Google Maps application. It will dictate which place you need to visit next, how much time is allocated for that place, and how you can get there. If you have difficulties spotting a specific apartment, you can easily switch to street view to have a snapshot of how your destination building will look like.

In case you’re having doubts about a particular place and you need to be refreshed as to why you considered it in the first place, just click on the website containing the listing. Then, you will have a view of what the apartment has in store for you.

Once home, you can edit your customized map and delete markings for the places you don’t want to apply for. You can also color-code your choices, based on priority.

True, everything that was mentioned can also be done via a printed and text-based list. But notes on paper can easily pile up and be lost. A listing on your phone can look so much more organized.

‘My Maps’ is available on newer smart-phones such as Android, Nokia S60 and BlackBerry. The Google Maps application on iPhone does not support customized maps just yet but a third-party tool named at MyMapsMobile.com be downloaded and installed to make a similar application.