Please share your experiences with finding apartments on Craigslist. (Atlanta: sales, 2015)

[Rocco Barbosa]

If you have experience with finding an apartment that you've rented from CL, please share.

Was the ad legit? Did you find a "good deal", at least according to your budget? etc....


Share anything helpful.....


Thanks.

[testa50]

I've found legit apartments and had friends do the same. And yes, you'll tend to get a better deal for a couple reasons: (1) they are not as well-marketed as apartment complexes that put money into more sophisticated marketing programs and sales staff, and (2) they tend to be smaller properties without the overhead and amenities that tend to make them more desirable and drive up rent.

So to say it's a better deal is maybe a misnomer. BUT if you don't need the swimming pool, car in parking garage, gym, etc, you can save a heck of a lot of money finding a person with a converted upstairs unit on craigslist, for a similar quality unit to a big complex without amenities.

By the way, when people compare Atlanta rent with NYC/SF/etc, that's an important thing to keep in mind: in those other cities, when they say "I'm paying $2,100 for a 1/1!" they're more than likely talking about an upstairs unit, small apartment complex, no amenities, no parking, old, etc. In Atlanta, people are indeed paying $1,300 for the eastside neighborhoods and $1,600 for Midtown, but these are new-builds with parking and tons of amenities. I haven't looked closely in a while, but I'm guessing there are still units in old, small complexes in these neighborhoods for $1,000. Heck, you could get them for more like $600-800 three or four years ago.

[Rocco Barbosa]

Thanks for the help.

I'll be back in Atlanta this weekend until Tuesday to finalize a few things and I was thinking of meeting with a few folks that were advertising on CL.

Originally Posted by testa50

I've found legit apartments and had friends do the same. And yes, you'll tend to get a better deal for a couple reasons: (1) they are not as well-marketed as apartment complexes that put money into more sophisticated marketing programs and sales staff, and (2) they tend to be smaller properties without the overhead and amenities that tend to make them more desirable and drive up rent.

So to say it's a better deal is maybe a misnomer. BUT if you don't need the swimming pool, car in parking garage, gym, etc, you can save a heck of a lot of money finding a person with a converted upstairs unit on craigslist, for a similar quality unit to a big complex without amenities.

By the way, when people compare Atlanta rent with NYC/SF/etc, that's an important thing to keep in mind: in those other cities, when they say "I'm paying $2,100 for a 1/1!" they're more than likely talking about an upstairs unit, small apartment complex, no amenities, no parking, old, etc. In Atlanta, people are indeed paying $1,300 for the eastside neighborhoods and $1,600 for Midtown, but these are new-builds with parking and tons of amenities. I haven't looked closely in a while, but I'm guessing there are still units in old, small complexes in these neighborhoods for $1,000. Heck, you could get them for more like $600-800 three or four years ago.

[ElleKaye]

Craigslist would not be my first choice. Things can definitely go awry and not just because you might respond to a psychopath. Private rentals are just hit or miss whether you find them listed on Craigslist or the side of a building. You'd be better off trying to buy a house on Craigslist than renting one. In my experience, if for no reason than maintenance, it's better to rent from a complex than a private landlord.

[Rocco Barbosa]

I've had great success here in Columbus, Ohio as well as in Chicago with CL. It's nice to hear you've had some success as well.

Originally Posted by testa50

I've found legit apartments and had friends do the same. And yes, you'll tend to get a better deal for a couple reasons: (1) they are not as well-marketed as apartment complexes that put money into more sophisticated marketing programs and sales staff, and (2) they tend to be smaller properties without the overhead and amenities that tend to make them more desirable and drive up rent.
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[ronyusa]

I have found good roommates using Craigslist in the past. I have noticed though that a disproportionate number of apartment ads posted on Craigslist tend to be private rentals (not owned or managed professionally by a reputable property management company), which, as someone else pointed out, can be a hit or miss.

When looking for rentals I usually go with Rent.com or Apartments.com and check out their review on apartmentratings.com before calling. Never regretted it. Rent.com even has a program to pay you $100 in gift card if you find an apartment through them.

Good luck with your search.

[ronyusa]

If you are looking for apartments in Atlanta area I have noticed Post Properties has a big presence in Atlanta with well-maintained properties everywhere in the metro area. Rent may be a bit high and they seem to be notorious for raising rent quite a bit after your initial lease is up (in fact that seems to be a trend these days for many professionally managed, reputable apartments complexes). I lived in Buckhead from Aug, 2014 - March, 2015 in Post Stratford owned by Post Properties and have zero complaints.

[CashmereEsquire]

In college and when I first graduated I found nice Condos that I rented in ATL and in Savannah. I would look for listings made by rental companies or a landlord who set up their own legit rental company.

[glovenyc]

I found an awesome apartment back in Brooklyn on Craiglist back in 2007.

[koko339]

It's how I've always found my apartments, they've all been in Midtown, and I've never paid more than $800 a month. It requires more effort for sure, but it's good for people who aren't into the megaplex apartment buildings.