Personnally we hate carpet, it is so hard to keep clean. Just finished cleaning ours...eeewww! Carpet was installed two years ago and this is only the second time they have been cleaned, first time was when we moved in.
Up stairs apartment...can be a challenge for some of us over in the over 40 crowd. No yard (BBQ), pets are pretty much a no, noise from apartment down to the office (unless sound barrier between ceiling and floor), lot of down sides. The perfect apartment for us would be ground floor, two bedroom, one and a half bath, small yard, car port/garage, and a workable kitchen. Utilities are standard but cable tv and internet are a nice plus. We haven't had a "land line" phone in quite a while, cell phones only. Unfurnished...we want our own "stuff". However a washer and dryer is a real plus. Oh, a seperate heating/cooling system from the office. In our experience if the apartment is comfy, the office is either freezing or a sauna and vice versa.
Just our 2 cents worth.