Santa Barbara Area and Corporate Rental and Dogs (Goleta, August: real estate market, rentals)

[darlene1960]

My husband is going to be relocating us to Santa Barbara/Goleta for a new position. It will take some months to sell our house here in Florida. As you know all the real estate markets are slowing down in terms of time on market.

I have 2 well trained 70# labs. I have spent the last 2 years training them from pups. They are litter mates and inseperable (sp)! So it is 2 or none. (PS No children. Like them, just were not able to have them.)

We are looking to rent for 6 to 12 months, and are willing to put down significant $$ to insure that we take care of the 1st floor apt/condo/home that we rent. Our home is immaculate (if I say so myself), as will be the rental unit during rental and upon departure. I am well aware of what most rental units look like, so I am not sure how to convey our difference.

Any ideas on where to find such a situation? We are looking for mid to late August (2007)... Not sure how long these postings stay up.

As I mentioned, this is a corporate relocation and my husband is an executive.

Any help is appreciated!!!

[Starrynight227]

I lived/rented in Santa Barbara for 5 years so here's my two cents. The rental market is super competitive in SB/Goleta due to the University and the incredibly high house prices. Therefore, landlords tend to be very, how shall I say it, anal, rude, picky, etc. So, be prepared for some of that. However, the last year that I lived there I had a great landlord that let us have a dog and didn't request an additional deposit. All the rentals listed in the paper you can find on santabarabranewspress.com.

The only other advice I can give you is stay away from Milpas and Nopal St. area. There will be a lot of house rentals around there and they will be cheaper but it's because it's a higher crime area. I really like the Santa Barbara Foothills/Mission Canyon area (around Foothill Rd.). But other good areas are San Roque, the Mesa (near the city college), and the east areas of Goleta.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your move!

[goatherder]

I think giving a writeup of your situation on the SB craigslist housing wanted would help, that is how I got my tenant. Stress that you are a mature minded homeowner in your ad and if you want to know about a specific area send me a PM. Your timing is pretty bad as you will have a thousand students trying the same thing but your ad will be more attractive as you sound like a good tenant.

[darlene1960]

Thank you for the replies. I have found criag's list - and there is a wealth of information there. I have to remember we are moving to CA, and criag's list rocks in that location!
THANK YOU so MUCH...
Take care...
Darlene