Inside President Barack Obama's Former NYC Apartment (VIDEO)

Long before President Barack Obama lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, he lived in a beat-up two-bedroom apartment on the third floor of an Upper West Side walk-up. Like many struggling, cash-strapped college students (he was a junior at Columbia University in 1981), Obama grappled with scarce heat and hot water in the apartment, causing him and his roommate, Phil Boerner, to frequently seek warmth in diners and libraries.

Naturally, we had to take an "Inside Look" at our current president's former pad ourselves. (We even spoke to his old roomie!) Thankfully, the apartment, which is currently up for rent, has improved plenty since Obama's time -- though it's still a far cry from Obama's current digs! Speaking of, get a tour of the White House below.

%Gallery-162197%
Zak Kneider and Dalila Bella of Citi Habitats have the listing for Obama's old apartment.

Phil Boerner was interviewed at The Artisan at Uptown in Sacramento, Calif.

Got a tip for our Inside Look series? If you know of any exceptional or unusual property currently listed for sale that's video-worthy, please email krisanne.alcantara@huffingtonpost.com with your suggestions. (Due to the volume of response, we unfortunately are unable to reply to each submission.)

More on AOL Real Estate:
Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.
Find homes for sale in your area.
Find foreclosures in your area.
See celebrity real estate.

Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate, or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebookand Pinterest.