Apartment hunting for newbies?

Drakeon

So, I have a problem denizens of H/A. I currently have a place, but this being my first ever apartment, I've found it being a little too expensive for my current job to support. I'm kinda just scraping by at the moment, so I'm looking for a new place. I don't seem to find much luck on Craigslist and even less luck looking on websites like Forrent (it lists like 7 out of dozens of apartment complexes in the city). I'm not even specifically looking for an apartment, homes/duplexs/condos are fine too, I just can't seem to come up with a good strategy. I feel like I'm missing out on places because I'm not looking in the right spots.

Thing's I've been doing to find a new place to rent:
Looking on craigslist (basically daily now)
Looking in the local want ads, a freebie one, just started this, but I find that a lot of the places listed won't list an address. Does anyone know why people don't want to list a specific address?

And thats mostly it, I don't really thing driving around my city just looking for For Rent signs is a great use of my gas/time (although I have seen a few and called, to no avail). It frustrates me to no end that people refuse to use craigslist at the very least. How am I supposed to find out about places for rent if all they do is post a for rent sign on the lawn? Am I just being impatient here? I'd wanted to get out by the 1st of December, but that's looking increasingly unlikely. Should I be looking at a Realtor? Would they have lists of houses for rent?

evilmrhenry

I've had good luck with padmapper.com and hotpads.com.

Drakeon

evilmrhenry wrote: »

I've had good luck with padmapper.com and hotpads.com.

Padmapper and hotpads, unfortunately, rely on internet data, of which there doesn't seem to be much for my city.

Essee

Got a local newspaper? You could try checking their classified ads, like people did before Craigslist was a thing. Certain newspapers even have them on their website, but if your town has that small of an internet presence, maybe you'd need a physical copy. Hey, the paper is still cheaper than gas I bet. :P

Veevee

The easiest, but far from cheapest, way to find places is to drive around the neighborhoods you'd like to live in and look for "for rent" signs. Do this with someone else so they can write down the phone number on the sign and a quick note about it's location (Apartment name, street name, etc) so you can remember where it is. You should end up with a couple dozen numbers to call and see which ones are listed in your price range, then set up a viewing and go from there.

Metalbourne

Veevee wrote: »

The easiest, but far from cheapest, way to find places is to drive around the neighborhoods you'd like to live in and look for "for rent" signs. Do this with someone else so they can write down the phone number on the sign and a quick note about it's location (Apartment name, street name, etc) so you can remember where it is. You should end up with a couple dozen numbers to call and see which ones are listed in your price range, then set up a viewing and go from there.

This is my favorite way to do it. Neighborhoods can vary from street to street so it's an easy way to get a feel for whether you're wasting your time or not by setting up an appointment for a viewing.

AspectVoid

In all honesty, my preferred initial apartment search tool is always Google Maps. I've never had it fail to find apartment complexes when I've needed to move, and its an easy way to tell what's in the area of the complex. It won't help if its just a homeowner wanting to rent out a room or a slum lord's building where the only accepted payment is cash, but if you want something on the up and up, I feel its a good first place to start.

amateurhour

I've always just picked up one of those apartment guides and found everything in my price range, then as I go to those apartments to check them out, I look for others in an area.

Also make sure you always call or go to the apartment, don't just go by what you find online or in the books, because their rates will ALWAYS fluctuate depending on how booked up they are and what promotions they are running.

azith28

www.backpage.com is similar to craigslist. Not promising positive results in any way, just saying they are similar sites.

DeShadowC

In my area a lot of people use realty companies, especially smaller non-national ones, as property managers. Normally you can check their sites for open rental properties.