Does ProMove have competitors? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: real estate, apartment complexes, renters)

[tind]

I'm familiar with ProMove...but I'm wondering who their competition is. What other options do I have if I want to use an apartment locator (or licensed real estate agent) to find a home to rent or lease in the Atlanta area?

Thanks in advance for the replies!

[George Chong]

I just Googled Atlanta apartment locater and this what came back:

Apartments Plus :: We match you to apartments in your area!

Atlanta Apartments for Rent - Atlanta GA - Equity Apartments

Atlanta Apartments - Atlanta Apartment Search - A&A Apartment Locators of Atlanta

Condos that are for rent are usually handled by real estate agents.

[tind]

Hello again.

Are there any apartment locators here on the forums who work with apartments in areas with ethnic diversity? I'm not in Georgia yet, so I need to do much of my search online; and, honestly, I'm getting overwhelmed using apartments.com and forrent.com along with apartmentratings.com (the last of which always seems to have the crappiest rating for apartments I'm interested in....even apartments I've lived in that I know for a fact are decent places in strong neighborhoods!)

Here's my situation -

I've been getting listings from two, well-known apartment locators in Atlanta, and I keep getting steered towards Sandy Springs and Dunwoody despite my (diplomatic) protests.

One of these locators mentioned Marietta, which is better than SS/Dunwoody, but I've heard public transportation out there isn't the best (I prefer public trans, and bike riding)....and that's not where I want to settle down if there are places in the perimeter that suit me even better.

I really don't want to help put food on someone's table when they don't think there are areas in Atlanta worth living if there are more people of color than not (I'm not saying that's the only reason, but....). Do you know what I mean?

Any help out there would be appreciated. If anyone knows any open-minded licensed real estate agents, let 'em know I'm here!

[JakilaTheHun]

Originally Posted by tind

Hello again.

Are there any apartment locators here on the forums who work with apartments in areas with ethnic diversity? I'm not in Georgia yet, so I need to do much of my search online; and, honestly, I'm getting overwhelmed using apartments.com and forrent.com along with apartmentratings.com (the last of which always seems to have the crappiest rating for apartments I'm interested in....even apartments I've lived in that I know for a fact are decent places in strong neighborhoods!)

Here's my situation -

I've been getting listings from two, well-known apartment locators in Atlanta, and I keep getting steered towards Sandy Springs and Dunwoody despite my (diplomatic) protests.

One of these locators mentioned Marietta, which is better than SS/Dunwoody, but I've heard public transportation out there isn't the best (I prefer public trans, and bike riding)....and that's not where I want to settle down if there are places in the perimeter that suit me even better.

I really don't want to help put food on someone's table when they don't think there are areas in Atlanta worth living if there are more people of color than not (I'm not saying that's the only reason, but....). Do you know what I mean?

Any help out there would be appreciated. If anyone knows any open-minded licensed real estate agents, let 'em know I'm here!

Most of the locators I've encountered specialize in particular parts of the Atlanta metro area, so that might be why you're getting steered to those locations. Areas that are on/outside the Perimeter tend to be the least expensive, but those areas also tend not to have good public transit. Dunwoody and Sandy Springs are about the only exceptions to the rule. The Atlanta Metro is also a terrible area for biking, unfortunately.

Is there any particular location you need to be close to (work place, school, etc?). If you're willing to live inside the perimeter, there are lots of locations, but they are going to be more pricey. How much you are willing to pay dictates your choices significantly.

If you want MARTA access, in addition to Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, you might consider looking at places near the Brookhaven, Lenox, and Lindbergh Center stations. I rented an apartment in the Brookhaven/Lenox Park area before and it wasn't that much more expensive than places outside the perimeter. ProMove actually does cover those areas, as well.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with any locator services that work on the East side of the metro or the South side. I could recommend some areas on the East portion, but I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for.

Did you already have areas in mind that you wanted to live in?

[JakilaTheHun]

I'll also say that I found most of the locator services I encountered over the 'net to be completely useless when I moved to Atlanta back in '03. It might be different now, but back then, the ones I worked with would recommend only one option at a time. Which naturally led me to conclude that they had some strong incentive to promote that one property (whether true or not). I kinda like having options, as well.

I liked ProMove better than the others because when I drove down, they gave me about a dozen options and I was able to visit them all in a single day. But they only have offices in the North Perimeter, Buckhead, Gwinnett County, and NE Atlanta areas.

If you're looking in other areas of town, I'm not sure what to recommend. You could try scanning advertisements on Craig's List. That might be your best bet; especially if you can set aside a day to come to ATL and look around. But it helps if you know particular areas you're interested in.

[tind]

Thanks for your two cents, JakilaTheHun.

I do need to be near MARTA. A good school district is more important to me than a short commute (I've done 3hr round-trip commutes to put my kid in a decent public school, so....).

I really don't want to go over $700/mo which, as many have already said, limits my options. I guess I just wanted to double check with folks here on the forums because the apt. locators who've been giving me leads are quick to let me know that areas that just so happen to have more people of color (in general, not just black people) aren't places I want to live.

For example, there are sites/forums elsewhere that would convince you that all of Decatur is a ghetto that'll eat you alive before noon. The locators I've been in touch with so far, who just so happen to not be people of color, "don't suggest" I move there either. They've also warned me about "certain parts" of Marietta and Smyrna. Hmmmm....I wonder which parts of Smyrna and Marietta they could be talking about?

[atlanta153]

Does ProMove get larger "commissions" from apartment complexes that are not getting new renters or retaining their current ones as a means to increase the number of people looking at their apartments? Seems like a good short term financial business relationship for both sides until too many people lease out a not so nice apartment.

[K-SawDude]

Originally Posted by atlanta153

Does ProMove get larger "commissions" from apartment complexes that are not getting new renters or retaining their current ones as a means to increase the number of people looking at their apartments? Seems like a good short term financial business relationship for both sides until too many people lease out a not so nice apartment.

I've been wondering this, too. But to their credit, they've been pretty good about showing me a range of options--almost too many. I was specifically looking at the Vinings Area, and based on the rent levels I said to them, I got a TON of suggestions to consider. In general, my promove consultant was pretty honest about places that fit the sort of demographic/feel I was looking for. And I didn't feel like they were pushing any one apartment over the others.

That being said, I certainly got vibes similar to the OP's--the sort of "you don't want to live there" type stuff that was related either to crime or to "shady" characters issues. Nothing was ever said about race, but I felt like there were underlying racial tones.

[tind]

Originally Posted by K-SawDude

I've been wondering this, too. But to their credit, they've been pretty good about showing me a range of options--almost too many. I was specifically looking at the Vinings Area, and based on the rent levels I said to them, I got a TON of suggestions to consider. In general, my promove consultant was pretty honest about places that fit the sort of demographic/feel I was looking for. And I didn't feel like they were pushing any one apartment over the others.

That being said, I certainly got vibes similar to the OP's--the sort of "you don't want to live there" type stuff that was related either to crime or to "shady" characters issues. Nothing was ever said about race, but I felt like there were underlying racial tones.

No doubt I was given ample listings, and I should've at least said that; however the question remains:

Why are areas with schools that have students scoring in the 80th percentile and above considered areas you wouldn't want to live in, when we all know that the neighborhoods you want to be in when you have a family are schools that produce high test scores?

Marietta and West Lake High School are good schools when it comes to test scores (It's right there on greatschools.net); and Marietta High is on the Top 1500 US public schools list right along with Tucker High, another school where a majority of the students are black (even though Tucker, GA proper has a black population of 14%).

The same can be said for a few public schools in Texas with majority latino populations. So majority-white public schools have merit, but you shouldn't send your kids to public schools with a majority of a specific non-white student body? WTF?

This is why it's so important to take information with a grain of salt and do your own research, especially if you're from a politically marginalized community - whether that community is ethnic, religious, gender-specific, whatever. Do your homework, ppl!

[itellyouthetruth]

tind, I know a good agent, very good agent who will give you cash back for signing that lease and will send you listings also.

Promove is such a rip-off these people are so rich!!!