How did you find your apartment/house?

[Lex Shrapnel]

I am currently in a struggle to find an off-campus property to rent. It is my first time doing this and I am not certain about the procedure. Just looking at pics listed in Zillow and that's pretty much it. Did you sign the lease before traveling or after? How can I get a place from day 1 of arrival? Will I have to stay in a hotel for the first couple of days? Please share your experience in this area. I am moving to Ohio, btw, and don't forget to leave your recommendations for websites and listings.

[TakeruK]

For my Masters, I moved from Western Canada to Eastern Canada. My wife (then girlfriend) visited our new town for a few days and stayed at a hotel while we viewed about a dozen apartments and signed a lease on the one we liked. We used airline points for the flight so the total cost of that trip was on the order of 1 months rent at the new city.

 

For my PhD, we moved from Eastern Canada to Southern California. My wife and I visited our new town about 1 month prior to our move date and stayed at our friends' place for a week while we looked for apartments. The cost for the trip would have been on the order of 1 months rent in California too but due to the airline screwing up our flights and delaying us at an airport for 8 hours, they reimbursed 400% of our flight's value so we ended up with an almost free trip. 

 

We did a ton of research prior to the trip so that we basically were booking 3-4 apartment viewings per day. We booked the first few days before we left and continued to search in the evenings while we were there. Honestly, we were really glad we spent the money and time doing so because in both cases, the most promising properties online prior to our trip turned out to be really crappy and we were glad we didn't just sign the lease without seeing it. In fact, I would never recommend signing a lease without seeing a place unless you really have no other options.

 

Also, in both cases, the place we did find was something we didn't even see until we got there and started driving/walking around looking at places (or looking at other places owned by the same company). So the places that we ended up choosing were not something we knew about until we got there. It's really hard to get a feel for what each area is like without actually visiting and seeing it.

 

So, if you are in North America, I would strongly recommend doing a lot of online research (see below) and then visiting in person. It was totally worth budgeting one months rent completely for this purpose because most leases are 1 year to start and you would be wasting a lot more money if you ended up with a terrible place and had to break the lease early. And I think paying 13 months of rent for the first year is totally worth peace of mind and happiness that comes from not living in a crappy place (but I understand others have different opinions!). Some people try to find a place by arriving a little early but most of the good places are leased out a month before they are actually available (most states require tenants to give 30 days notice to vacate, and they put these properties on the market right away). One of our friends tried to find a place the week before classes started and they ended up with a good place but paid about $300/month more in rent. They moved to a cheaper and just as good place a year later, after their lease ended, but this meant they paid $3600 more that year (and it would have cost a lot less to visit beforehand).

 

If you are not in North America, the cost might no longer be worth it. In that case, your best bet might be to stay in a motel for a week prior to school to find a place. Or, find out if your school offers guaranteed graduate student housing. My school has a lot of international students so they promise every new student a place in graduate student housing (generally 4 people in a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom place sharing a kitchen and a living room). You can stay in there for the first year or until you find a better place! If you don't have this option, perhaps you can reach out to some students who are in the program and ask them for a bit of help in looking at places.

 

Finally, we got a lot of good luck using PadMapper, which combs through other rental listings (mostly craigslist) and plots them on a map. Helpful way to see all the listings. A lot of craigslist posts are crappy but there are some good ones. We also made note of big companies that owned many buildings because we prefer to rent from them. We then found the websites for these landlords so we can see all the properties they have available. We also sometimes call them and ask if they know any openings are coming up so that we can get them before they go on craigslist etc. (This was how we found our first apartment). If you start this process months before you move, then you will already know all the contacts and can plan the best days for your apartment hunting trip. Some companies will even email you when an opening is available!

[victorydance]

It's almost always better to go before hand and look at them in person. Craigslist and similar websites are usually the best. Just set up a few viewings before arriving and then a bunch more when you are there. Look at 2-4 places a day and decide then. For one, not seeing an apartment before signing a lease is not the best strategy. Second, it's pretty hard to get a good deal or even get apartments when you are in another city.

[fuzzylogician]

The first time I did this, moving from European country X to European country Y, I got a room in the dorms that I could leave after 3 months, and looked for a new place after I moved. This was never an option I considered in the US, since dorms there were for an entire year. Still, I know plenty of international students who got a dorm room for their first year and then moved off campus. For my move to the US, I made friends with a current first year when I visited as a prospective student and then we decided to get an apartment together. She did the looking, since she was there, and I signed the lease once I moved. We used a realtor to help us find a suitable place. (Of course, this kind of solution would only work if there is someone you really trust to do a good job searching for an apartment and who you'd also want to have as a roommate.) For my most recent move, from PhD city to postdoc city, I was able to drive to my new city a few months before I needed to move, since it was only a 6 hour drive; I stayed at a cheap hotel, spent a few days looking for an apartment, and signed a lease for one that I liked. It was actually an apartment that I saw only after I got there, by driving around. I would seriously hesitate to sign a lease for an apartment I haven't seen myself, or that I had someone who I trust look at. I'd never trust pictures on craigslist or similar websites.

[1Q84]

Try getting in contact with some graduate students in your department.

 

I know someone who moved from across country and ended up really gelling with one of the girls (who lives by herself) in the department. They're inseparable now and it saved the East coaster a hell of a lot of stress!

[Lex Shrapnel]

Oh boy! Looks like I am in a lot of trouble. For one, I am still in my home country, and I only have less than 3 weeks left to travel. I must be looking for hotels rather than rentals right now, ha?

[Lex Shrapnel]

How could I go and see these places, if I don't have a car!? The place is a suburb, with no public transportation or cabs. Looking at 4-5 places a day would mean me walking left and right all day long. I'm honestly scared ... and hotel bills, well that's going to be another problem if I overstay. I must do this within a week or so.

[fuzzylogician]

How could I go and see these places, if I don't have a car!? The place is a suburb, with no public transportation or cabs.

 

But if that's the case, how would you travel to and from there on a regular basis, if you sign the lease? I'm not sure it makes sense to even see an apartment in a place that won't be at all accessible to you.

[Lex Shrapnel]

But if that's the case, how would you travel to and from there on a regular basis, if you sign the lease? I'm not sure it makes sense to even see an apartment in a place that won't be at all accessible to you.

The university is within walking distance from this locality, and necessary facilities are available near by.

[TakeruK]

Can you rent a car? See if the state will recognize your driver license from another country (usually yes for a very short time for tourist reasons). If you don't have a driver's license at all, can you get a cab to the local area that you are going to be looking at (i.e. near the school) and then walk around a lot? 

[Lex Shrapnel]

Can you rent a car?

OK... so this is embarrassing, when I said "I don't have a car", what I actually meant was - you know - hypothetically, intuitively, enigmatically...umm... I don't know how to drive.... Yeaaaahp.

[rising_star]

OK... so this is embarrassing, when I said "I don't have a car", what I actually meant was - you know - hypothetically, intuitively, enigmatically...umm... I don't know how to drive.... Yeaaaahp.

Well, in that case, exploring the local public transit options while also exploring your housing options is probably a good idea.

[Lex Shrapnel]

Well, in that case, exploring the local public transit options while also exploring your housing options is probably a good idea.

Brilliant suggestion. Thank you. Will the real-estate agents charge me a huge sum?

[spunky]

I don't know how to drive.

 

oh, don't feel bad about it. when i was living in my home country i didn't know how to drive either. i did had to learn how to drive when i moved though

[rising_star]

Brilliant suggestion. Thank you. Will the real-estate agents charge me a huge sum?

No, they shouldn't charge you anything at all. 

[TakeruK]

I think the real estate agent question will have a lot of different answers depending on where you are living. I am not familiar with Ohio at all. I do know that in New York City, it is fairly common and the fees for a broker is very high (~15% which is about 1.8 months rent!).

 

But, I think in general, I am not sure that using a real estate agent to find an apartment to rent is standard practice. To clarify, I mean hiring a real estate agent, telling them what you are looking for, and then having the agent find the listings that match your needs, call you up when they do, and show you the apartment and help you with the paperwork. Obviously this use of their time will cost money. In some instances, you will have to pay a fee (like the NYC example above) but in others, this fee may be paid by the landlord (like rising_star's example). In California, I don't think real estate agents spend a lot of time helping people find rental places because they won't really collect a lot of money in fees -- the real estate agencies here tend to do sales only. You might be able to convince a realtor to search through their listings for you, but most of their listings may be sales only.

 

Overall, since I don't think most grad students are looking for fancy high end rentals, I think grad students are better off searching for rental properties on their own than to hire a real estate agent to assist you.

 

However, if you mean "real estate agent" in the sense that you work with a company that manages buildings on the behalf of landlords, then yes, this is standard practice and a good idea. This method also does not result in any fees for their services (the landlords are paying the management company to do this work!). Depending on where you live, you may have to pay a fee to process the application and/or a credit check. Working with such a management company might also help you find more properties since these companies will be managing a ton of different buildings for a ton of different landlords. And you usually are able to search for everything they manage through their site. However, since these companies are only acting on behalf of the landlord (they don't own the buildings themselves), you will find that the properties will vary a lot in price and quality!

 

Finally, another option is to find a company that directly owns and operates a number of apartment buildings in your new city. They work the same way as management companies above, except they are larger landlords that actually own all the buildings they manage. This will usually result in more consistency in the quality of properties (but not always). I personally prefer this option because you interact directly with the landlord. I also prefer renting from a company that owns hundreds of units in the city and has a strong reputation from people that live there. I think renting from a corporation that owns 100s of units is better than renting from an individual that might only own 4-10 units is better because my unit represents only a small fraction of their income. That is, if they need to fix something expensive, spending my rent money that month on the fix is only a small percentage of their income that month, instead of like 10% or 25%. I also find that big corporations like this have streamlined protocols for the various issues that will arise, so that I don't have to argue with or convince the landlord/building manager whenever I need something done. I just fill out the form, follow the protocol of the lease, and it gets done as part of routine business. 

[rising_star]

TakeruK, brokers in the NYC example you gave are not the same as real estate agents in most places. Brokers' fees are payed by renters. There aren't a lot of brokers (if any) in Ohio. If you (the OP) contacts a real estate agent who handles rentals, you may be able to not only see multiple listings more easily (the agent typically drives you around), you may be able to see units they rent as well as others they know about. The landlord in those cases would be the one who pays the agent, not you. So I wouldn't worry about the broker fee because, at least in Ohio, it's not something you'll encounter (but be on the lookout if you see the word "broker" and ask questions). 

 

In my experience renting in smaller areas or college areas outside expensive states like CA, you can and do find real estate agents that work specifically with rentals. Often they have numerous ones listed in the MLS or on Zillow. You can then contact them to arrange a showing and also get information on the other units they have available. A lot of these are real estate agents that actually work for management companies (you often have to be licensed as a real estate agent to do this). Management companies have their pros and cons (some are better than others and you can often find reviews online). 

 

Unlike TakeruK, I don't know that renting from a corporation with 100s of units is better than renting from an individual with just a few. I've done both and gotten better maintenance and service out of the individuals than I did out of the corporations. With one corporation, we're talking about a serious mold issue caused by duct work in my ceiling that they refused to resolve for the entire time I lived there (one year lease). It was disgusting and ruined a bunch of my stuff. I spent months and months arguing with them, having them send out people to spray bleach but not address the issue, and more. Finally, a maintenance guy told me they'd never resolve it because it was an expensive fix (replacing the duct work for the upstairs units entirely) and so I should move to another unit if I renewed my lease. I never had anything like that when renting from individuals and I rented from individuals for years before this. Now I rent from a woman that owns a total of 15 units and she's phenomenal about sending out someone for repairs if I need it (we're talking same day or next day depending on my schedule). She also was kind enough to be flexible about the move-in date and receipt of security and first month's rent since she knew I was moving to start a new job and was temporarily cash poor. There's no way a big corporation would've been flexible in that situation.

[TakeruK]

Agree with you rising_star! Especially the last part about the pros of individuals / cons of corporations. I think a lot depends on individual experiences and I've had only good experiences with corporations (for apartment rentals anyways). And probably a lot on personal preference too. For instance, I prefer corporations with up front policies on repair timelines and reporting protocols and with lots of info I can read online from their 100s of residents, instead of depending on a landlord that will be considerate and/or a landlord that will be sympathetic to my needs. That is, I just like having a ton of protocols so that if I make a request for anything (repairs/rent extension etc), I already know their answer based on the lease and corporation policies, instead of having to deal with unpredictable human behaviour. I realise that sounds incredibly anti-social, but unpredictability stresses me out! Again, this is just my personal preference though!

 

But my renting experience in the US has been very limited--in Canada, there are a ton more regulations on what landlords can and cannot do, so there really is no room for individual choices on the part of the landlord. For example, in Ontario, the landlord cannot specify "no pets", the tenant is the only one that can end a lease (unless they break the terms of the lease), there is no security deposit allowed (you just pay last month's rent upfront and they charge for damages after the fact if there are any), and there are strict rules on how much rent can be increased per year. It is far more likely for a corporation to follow these rules (with that many units, they are going to be audited far more often) and far more likely for an individual landlord to try to circumvent provincial law (or they might even be ignorant of the laws). So I guess I should say that my opinion has been strongly shaped by this kind of rental market!

[music]

I opted for grad housing for my first year. If I wasn't going home for 4 months over the summer, I'd have considered moving out after the first term and found somewhere. As it is my grad housing situation is pretty good value and all-around ok, but I gather I hit the jackpot compared to some schools with that.