What am I missing on where to look for home rentals?

[gaillardia]

We are in a really bad bind.

Alone, out in the wind, relocating to a place we don't want to stay...

Craigslist is okay, but maybe there just isn't much for us to rent at our price in our location. Homes dot com, rentals dot com...

We know very few people in the area and the prices seem a little high for the area and economy.

 

We have a dog and a cat and are putting ourselves in another bind by refusing to part with them. We're going to look at a place tomorrow that doesn't exactly fit our needs, but we are getting desperate.

One area that has lower cost housing (sales and rentals), has higher crime rates such as breaking and entering, theft, rape, etc., but is away from the main city by a good 40 minutes. The job is not in the major city but one of the smaller communities.

I would post the major city/state but I am feeling particularly spied on by a certain person in our lives who we would rather just not have any more contact with, yes, an extended family member.

We had a realtor showing us homes to buy last week but it was so discouraging we decided we didn't want to stay and are looking instead at rentals.

 

[TranquilMind]

We are in a really bad bind.

Alone, out in the wind, relocating to a place we don't want to stay...

Craigslist is okay, but maybe there just isn't much for us to rent at our price in our location. Homes dot com, rentals dot com...

We know very few people in the area and the prices seem a little high for the area and economy.

 

We have a dog and a cat and are putting ourselves in another bind by refusing to part with them. We're going to look at a place tomorrow that doesn't exactly fit our needs, but we are getting desperate.

One area that has lower cost housing (sales and rentals), has higher crime rates such as breaking and entering, theft, rape, etc., but is away from the main city by a good 40 minutes. The job is not in the major city but one of the smaller communities.

I would post the major city/state but I am feeling particularly spied on by a certain person in our lives who we would rather just not have any more contact with, yes, an extended family member.

We had a realtor showing us homes to buy last week but it was so discouraging we decided we didn't want to stay and are looking instead at rentals.

Airbnb is our top choice. You can find a place for many months, at least.   You might also try homeaway or VRBO but they won't be long term either. 

 

Craigslist still works but you have to pick through a lot of garbage. 

Just noticed the pets thing.  That might kill the deal.  Most landlords do not want any pets, but some are more pet-friendly, but have fees, due to being burned by other pet owners. 

[6packofun]

We are having a hard time, too.  We were passed over for the only house that I've seen available in over a year that would (barely) fit us all AND be within budget.  

 

Have you tried asking different realtors?  Sometimes they know homeowners who are willing to rent and the homes only show up on Zillow.com or Realtor.com as "for sale" (those sites are also good to check, though, but prices always seem high)  The only other way we've found a home is by putting the word out at our church and among acquaintances that we are looking.

 

Rentals are WAY high.  :(

[EmseB]

Hotpads is an aggregator that I love using.

[gaillardia]

hotpads is showing quite a few places, JodiSue, thanks!

6packofun, we are thinking about renting to buy, but we really do not like it there.

Still, asking a realtor for leads is a great idea.

Dh has called a few places, rental management companies, and they're not returning the calls, for days.

TranquilMind: this looks to be majorly out of our price range by thousands per month.  

 

[tshirtyogapantmama]

I second JodiSue on hotpads. Zillow's rental search can be good.

 

What about checking the local newspaper (online edition), where I live people still put "For Rent" ads in the paper.  

 

Does the realtor you worked with to look for homes to buy, willing to show you homes for rent? If not, consider finding a realtor that will. 

 

Alot of people I know also drive around the area they want to live in and look for "Rent" signs. 

 

My suggestion is when you set up a time to see a property, let the agent or landlord know up front about your pets. In our area some charge a pet fee or deposit and others simply do not what any kind of pets in their home. This can save you time on viewing places that will not allow pets or ask for too much in fees to have your pets in the house.

 

Good Luck :)

[ashfern]

We bought this house as a lease-purchase. The house had been under contract but that fell through and the owners were willing to do a one year rental with us. 

[ashfern]

hotpads is showing quite a few places, JodiSue, thanks!

6packofun, we are thinking about renting to buy, but we really do not like it there.

Still, asking a realtor for leads is a great idea.

Dh has called a few places, rental management companies, and they're not returning the calls, for days.

TranquilMind: this looks to be majorly out of our price range by thousands per month.  

 

My friend had the same problem with rental management people not returning calls in a timely manner. She ended up calling daily until they finally were able to look at properties.

[Brenda in FL]

Both times we moved (different states) we contacted a local realtor (we got recommendations for them from local people).  Both times we were shown  several homes for rent and dealt with very professionally.  So don't overlook the realtor angle.  In one market, rentals were tight and we had to compete!  The realtor was able to advocate for us with the owner, and that is probably one reason we got the home that we did.