How do you usually look for a new apartment?

[Snaploud]

I just got hired for a new job in Quincy, MA. However, the commute is a bit far, so I'm thinking about making a move to a new apartment somewhere closer.

I've tried looking at apartment complex online ratings all over the boston area (as far as a few towns east or south of Quincy), but it's a bit frustrating seeing all the negative reviews for even the most expensive of places.

What do you generally use for an apartment search? Do you tend to use online ratings for apartment complexes or do you find an agent to help you look for an apartment outside of a complex?

 

[Starbreaker]

I found my apartment on Craiglist. The price was great and I went and checked it out and fell in love with it.

 

[auntiehill]

I've never used an agent. I often just found an area I liked and then drove around and looked at different apartment complexes. Most cities also have an "Apartment Guide" that you can find for free at grocery stores or bookstores. I always went to see for myself, as rating are hard to interpret. I would also look in the newspaper, to see if anything was listed in the area and price range I wanted.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I did not use an agent when I was apartment hunting oh so long ago. I just looked for apartments that had a location I liked. Then I went and looked at it and talked to the landlord. I liked the one I found, so I went right there, and needed no agent.

When I bought my house a few years later, I did use an agent.

 

[Kestra]

Craigslist, other online searches like padmapper, driving around, coming home at the end of the day and crying because everything is both horrible and overpriced.

If you really like a place but it has bad online reviews, take a closer look. Is it just one or two? We're the complaints for something that is still relevant? Management sometimes changes, noisy neighbors move, construction eventually finishes, etc. If you meet with a leasing agent at the complex, take a few minutes before or after to walk around yourself. Ask someone who lives there if they'd recommend it.

Every apartment is going to have bad reviews, because apartment living sucks. You have to figure out what's important to use and minimize the risks of those particular annoyances. We waited for a top floor apartment because we heard bad things about noise. Turns out we actually like the ground floor more!

Don't be disheartened, and don't just stick to online searches and reviews. Some of the best rates and info on a place are found just by going around in person.

 

[Shanndee]

I agree with Kestra...and do keep in mind that satisfied residents are not often moved to write a review, while people with complaints (just or otherwise) tend to scream from the rooftops. For every negative review there could be 10 or 20 happy residents. You really do need to go to the apartment, talk to the manager, and bring up the complaints. You can form a decision based upon the response. ( I also found my place on Craigslist).

 

[Colonel Green]

The last couple places I rented I found through friends, they mentioned they knew of places when I mentioned I was considering moving. Before that, craigslist or the newspaper.

I always have a good look at the landscaping when I look at a apt building, particularly for smaller low-rise buildings. I've found it to be a good indicator of the quality of the management.

 

[Maestro]

I haven't rented in a decade, but the logistics of moving to my new job pretty much require me to rent for a year before I can get the house sold and the family moved. I used craigslist, and with the exception of the skeevy family next door (who's kids are still screaming about the neighborhood at 10 pm), I'm really pleased with the results

 

[Trekker4747]

I basically just drove around, found places that looked good, went into the office and started talking with landlord/property manager.

In a pinch you could through a local service that helps people find apartments but, really, I think if you put feet to the ground it won't be too hard. Talking with friends/relatives who live in apartments may help too.

 

[rhubarbodendron]

I'm going to move on Friday
I usually try all methods available here: local newspapers, internet, friends/colleagues/acquaintances and agencies (sadly, we have no ratings - those would come handy). I also keep my eyes open for "to let" signs.

I wouldn't 100% trust the ratings as different people have different needs and what drives one insane is perhaps to another's liking. I'd use the crime statistics to pre-select a neighbourhood, then pick the most interesting appartments from the internet and the agencies and have a look at them. Then I'd come back next day without the agent and chat a bit with the neighbours and if possible with the previous tenants. They'll tell you what the agent doesn't


I got my current appartment by advertising in the local weekly newspaper. The new one was a tip from a friend's friend who happens to live next door and wanted to make sure he gets a nice neighbour *plugs in halo*


Good luck with your search, Snaploud!

 

[Holdfast]

The US has an interesting system with its managed apartment complexes. We don't really have that system much in the UK. Even where the freeholds of large complexes are owned by a single organisation, the leaseholds are frequently broken up amongst many individuals who then take on individual landlord responsibilities. For example, I own two properties within a large complex. The freehold for the entire complex is owned by one company, but estate-wide management/upkeep is delegated to another. There are lots of individual leaseholds within the complex (for example, mine were originally for 999 years), and then as a landlord I decide who to let to, using an estate agent for marketing, vetting, and collection.

So over here, people tend to find places either through an estate agent (I think you guys call them realtors? Not sure what the eqv. term is...) or a personal contact.

 

[Captain Ice]

^ Leave it to the British to complicate apartments.

 

[Talosian]

Here's the criterion that matters.

If you're a single guy, you choose the apartment which is closest to downtown, to the college bars, to the local pubs, to the weekend clubs.

If you're in walking distance of multiple bars, then you'll have a good time of it. If not, you'll be living a chaste existence.

 

[Balrog]

Ask people at your work.

 

[Holdfast]

^ Leave it to the British to complicate apartments.

Well, it's what you're used to, isn't it? The US system is the one that sounds funky to me and ours seems straightforward to me.

 

[Captain Ice]

^ Leave it to the British to complicate apartments.

Well, it's what you're used to, isn't it? The US system is the one that sounds funky to me and ours seems straightforward to me.

This is true. The US health care system is an absolute clusterfuck of complication, but we can't seem to grasp the idea that there is a better way to do it, even though, seemingly the rest of the planet lives with it every day and cannot fathom how it works here.

 

[Pingfah]

The US has an interesting system with its managed apartment complexes. We don't really have that system much in the UK. Even where the freeholds of large complexes are owned by a single organisation, the leaseholds are frequently broken up amongst many individuals who then take on individual landlord responsibilities. For example, I own two properties within a large complex. The freehold for the entire complex is owned by one company, but estate-wide management/upkeep is delegated to another. There are lots of individual leaseholds within the complex (for example, mine were originally for 999 years), and then as a landlord I decide who to let to, using an estate agent for marketing, vetting, and collection.

Yeah, I'm an ex-leaseholder who joined up with the other tenants in his apartment block (well it's a divided up house actually) to buy the freehold and jointly manage it between us.

I'm not sure how it ultimately benefitted us, or why some random bloke I never met owned it, but it was a quid, so what the hell.

 

[RoJoHen]

Found my current house on craigslist.

Found my previous apartment on -- wait for it -- apartments.com.