politics + apartment hunting

National politics do not mix very well with renting (or buying) a home. A presidential election year is the worst time to search for a new rental, or real estate for that matter. Especially the last month or two before voting day. At least, if your method, in part or in whole, is to hit the streets and drive your target/dream neighborhoods.

Chances are you’re going to see tons of signs out. In yards, windows, and on buildings. However, the chances of any of the signs being “For Rent” signs is pretty slim. My guess on the percentage breakdown is about twenty-five percent “For Sale” signs, five percent “For Rent”…the sad minority, and the winning majority being seventy percent political signs.

Personally, I find this a tad bit frustrating. Showing your support and sharing your political beliefs are perfectly acceptable. But…when all I want to do is find a new place to live and make the right choice, well, I’m not exactly thrilled to see signs in nearly every yard yet find that they are not for a place to rent. The rental signs are the only signs that will actually make a difference in my life…right now.

Oh well, there’s nothing to be done. Pay attention while you’re out searching for a new apartment (or single-family house or duplex or mulit-plex unit) so you don’t miss the signs you are looking for. Landlords…make sure your signs are readable and visible…from a distance.

And, don’t forget to go vote!

Thank you, Craigslist

 

Oh Em Gee !

Craigslist has a map view.

I’m in shock.

One month after writing a post about the other updates Craigslist recently made to the site and mentioning that they need to implement a map view…well, they went and did it. Crazy. It’s probably been in-the-works for a LONG time, but, hey, I called it. They needed to do it. And. They. Did.

Now…to get them to implement a post fill-in form to have strict information requirements for landlords/management companies.

Come on, Craigslist! You can do it. I already gave you the basics for the fill-in form for posts on the “apts/housing for rent” category…see here.

 

 

Craigslist got an udpate

Did anyone notice that Craigslist updated the website recently?

Maybe it’s just me that noticed since I’ve been searching for a place to live for months and am on the Dayton apartment listing page all.the.time.

Craigslist update = a preview image in search results without having to click to view the listing and (on some posts) a pop-up menu for emailing in reply to a post.

Too bad the preview images are so tiny you have to view the post just to see what is in the picture. But, I applaud the change. It’s progress. Now, if they really want to improve the website, at least for people who rely on the apartment/housing for rent page when looking for new digs, Craigslist needs to:

• implement a map view (similar to PadMapper)
• have strict information requirements for landlords/management companies

Both of those things would vastly improve the Apt/housing for rent page and make it a much more reliable source. Incidentally, the other development in the year since my last apartment hunt is the overload of bogus posts on Craigslist. It certainly seems like Craigslist could do something at the point where information is entered with the listing details that would eliminate most of the fraud/scam posts. Seriously, all they need to do is set up a fill-in-the-blank form with the required information. And, I’m thinking it would help if the display of the information was updated to a standard format in the search results. Of course, I’m no website developer so it all seems like it would be super easy to me.

As for the required information that should be standard in any FOR RENT listing, I can help you out with what to include in a form to be filled out online (or at least a standard list of information to ask for when replying to a housing post). And by required, I mean, a rental listing cannot exist on Craigslist without this information being provided:

• $ of each: rent/security deposit/application fee
• lease terms
• date available
• address
• square footage
• number of rooms (total, plus bedrooms / bathrooms)
• utilities included in rent
• type of building (single family house / duplex / fourplex / apartment complex / etc)
• parking (garage / on-street / driveway / additional cost)
• laundry (included & free / coin-operated / hookups)
• kitchen appliances (refrigerator / stove / microwave / dishwasher)
• central air / window AC and radiator / forced-air heat and ceiling fans
• pets allowed

And the optional information that should be on the fill-in-the-blank form as well:

• flooring (carpet / wood / linoleum / tile)
• floor of building (basement / main floor / top floor / side-by-side unit / single story / other)
• extra storage (basement locker / private basement)
• private deck / balcony / porch / patio
• security system
• updates: new windows / flooring / furnace / appliances / water heater / etc

After all, people are searching for their new home. Why not make it easier to find the right place?

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Any landlords or property managers out there, take note. Please. You can start the change by providing the above information without the help of an online form. If not, expect a lot of questions. At least from good tenants who really care about finding the right place to call home. Like me.

PS: dear Craigslist, you’re welcome. Any donations you want to send my way for providing this genius concept will be cheerfully accepted.

instant decision?

I don’t think so. Maybe some people out there can make snap decisions, but I’m certainly not one of them. I can decide pretty quickly on things that are definite NOs.

In the realm of apartment decisions I’ve noticed that it takes me at least three days to come to the point where I think I can make a decision. Especially when I’m looking at a variety of apartments. I like to compare—make sure I’ve checked out all my options and have some certainty that this is likely to be my best option. And make lists—pros and cons comparing price, amenities, bonus features, location, etc.

I saw a nice place last Monday. Liked it, but wasn’t completely in love. It wasn’t quite what I expected (or want) in a historic neighborhood—gutted & totally new interior (ie: no original character & charm). Don’t get me wrong, it was very nice (see pics below), but it threw me off. It had a great room for the living space, big bathroom, small 2nd room (maybe my office?), and a decent bedroom with the only closet.

and, yes, houses really are built that close together

Cute, right? Just not brimming with historic charm.

After seeing a lot more apartments and comparing the places I like, I started to warm up to the idea of “brand new” in the historic district. By Wednesday I’d pulled out my IKEA catalog to get ideas (& prices) for the place. I was starting to picture myself living in brand new interior of an old historic cottage.

But, I still wasn’t ready to make a decision. So I called Mr Landlord to set up another viewing—in order to get room measurements and such. And…he informed me that he rented the place out the night before. Just a tad bit annoying since he’d called me on Tuesday leaving a voicemail asking if I was still searching or had made a decision (I did return his call saying I’m still interested).

I guess some people are faster decision makers than me.

Note to self: tell landlords/property managers I need a minimum of 3 days to decide if I want to rent from them. Maybe a whole week, so I have time to think about and compare with other apartments, figure out how/if my furniture will fit in the layout, and also schedule a second viewing…before deciding if I want to live there.

painting is a good thing

I just looked at a few apartments with a realtor who represents multiple property owners.

I kinda liked one of the units and asked a few questions beyond the standard “how much is rent” and “what utilities are included.”

One of my questions was “would they allow me to paint?” Which is apparently the magic question for him. Immediately he told me he loves it when people ask that question and always encourages the property owners to rent to tenants who want to paint. He said it shows that someone is going to care about the place where they live and treat it like their own home (in the sense that people generally don’t trash their own property). It also might indicate that you plan on staying for a while.

He did say that there are usually some restrictions in color and you’re likely to have to paint it back to the original color or at least prime it (so there’s less expense and work for the owner). But, I’d say it might also depend on whether you rent from a management company or an independent landlord. If your apartment is one of just a few units owned by the landlord there might be more flexibility on this issue. At least I have found that tendency to be true.

On the restrictions I found it absolutely hilarious because one of the phrases that came out of his mouth was “as long as it’s not electric green.” And I had to stop myself from snickering and saying something about my bedroom and bathroom in my last place (which I painted).

I do have to say that I think there is a big difference between electric green (or fluorescent) and lime or apple green—which are rather trendy colors right now.

Oh, and he also eliminates hot pink from the options. Which I am in agreement with. Nobody should ever paint hot pink on walls in a home or apartment. But, then again I don’t like pink, so maybe it’s a personal thing for me. Generally you might be limited to selecting from a palette of muted and neutral colors when renting.

I recommend checking out paint chip samples from Restoration Hardware if you happen to live anywhere near one of their locations. They have some gorgeous colors that are lovely muted neutrals—soft blues, greens, yellows, creams, grays, and browns. And you can find bedding and towels to match! If you pick from their paint colors take your paint chip to your local hardware store for expert color matching services so you don’t spend a fortune on paint.