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I lived in an older complex and there were two major problems. The first one was something I noticed when I inspected the apartment prior to moving in. On a wall in the livingroom next to the front door at the baseboard, looked as if it had had previous water damage. Even though this apartment was freshly painted, I could tell by the look of the sheetrock that it had sustained water damage. To make a long story short, there were severe leaks in the livingroom and when a company was hired to replace the sheetrock, it was discovered that there was mold behind it. For the entire 16 months I lived in that complex, I had sinus infections, one right after the other, never more than 2 weeks between them.

The second problem was, I guess, the walls. The woman with whom my apartment shared a common wall was a chain smoker, and was home all the time since she did not have a job. When people would enter my apartment, the first question was, "who smokes in here?" My clean towels stunk, the clothes in my closet stunk, and the smell was so strong at night that I would wake up coughing. It had to be because the apartment was older, poor insulation, etc.

Anyway, check out your apartment for leaks prior to signing a lease, and check out your neighbors as well. This particular neighbor had moved in after me, so it really didn't make a difference. Just make sure that you check out the apartment you are renting, not one that has the same floor plan.