Apartment hunting in another state

Klein

So, next year a friend and I are moving to another state and are looking for a place to live. However, it is 12 hours away and we will not be able to visit before we move in. Besides looking for reviews online, what else should we ask to get a feel for the place? We do have a friend in the area who would be willing to lend us a hand as far as checking stuff out. We are a bit worried that some places may look good online, but may be different once we got there. We know what areas of the town to avoid so we are hoping to avoid that issue.

noir_blood

Renting an apartment without every looking at it beforehand is a really bad idea. I think pretty much everyone will tell you this.

Depending where you're moving to, you're better off either staying at one of those long stay motels until you find a place, or something like airbnb.

davidsdurions

Can you visit your friend for a weekend and blitz out a few apartments to check out?

Klein

We will not be able to visit him, we are too busy with work. I think I will talk to the apartment people and our friend and bribe him with beer to do a visit.

Gabriel_Pitt

You should look in person before you move anywhere. It sounds like you've got lots of time. Find a way to get out there and see things, because doing things like checking out the neighborhood is always a good idea. Whenever I move to a new place, one of the things I always do is drive through an area to check out what it's like in both the day and the night, see what's going on.

Local H Jay

When I moved to Austin I found a place on Craigslist. I regret signing that lease before getting here so much. The house was in a terrible location, nowhere near a bus stop or grocer store. It had roaches, and a terrible A/C system. It was so bad my roommate broke the lease and went back to our home state.
Luckily my second apartment is exactly what I wanted and where I wanted. All because I was here to actually see it. I can't stress enough, you will want to see it before signing anything.

Artereis

Visiting apartments in person is an important thing to make time for, regardless of what time you think you have. Unfortunately, not doing so will only be something you feel the repercussions of after moving in and having to deal with lots of problems you didn't know about.

CelestialBadger

Next year? Why the hurry. You'll have time to visit between then and now.

Klein

By next year I meant next academic year, so about 3 months. We will see what we are able to do in terms of visiting, we will definitely try to get a trip together, or maybe stay at a friends place a week afrer we have to visit and during that time look around. Any more advice for looking for a place would be appreciated.

Eat it You Nasty Pig.

Your best bet (imo) would be to find some kind of student-ish apartment complex that will extend you a short lease (six months or a semester or whatever.) You can be relatively confident that the big ones will maintain their buildings fairly well and have a standardized rental arrangement that isn't hugely exploitative. Then if it sucks, just bail at the end of the agreement.

You'd ideally get to visit and scout places yourself, but if that's not workable then you want to avoid getting stuck with a questionable apartment or a small-time landlord sight unseen