Furnished vs. unfurnished apartments in Charlotte (Fairview: apartment complexes, rental, condo)

[ZoeBartlett]

We have no experience renting a furnished apt., but my husband may need to rent one for a few months. He'll probably look for something in south Charlotte, as he'll be working in Southpark. We're looking for something in the $500-$700 range, monthly. If we could get something for $500 per month, that would be ideal.

We've researched a few sites, but I wondered if anyone has experience with a particular complex or place worth checking out.

My husband could bring a few things to get by with if he rents an unfurnished apt., but he may only need something for 3 months. I'm assuming that he'll focus on a furnished apt. (corporate housing??) instead, but I wanted to mention both, as our options are open. Cost is the most important factor, most likely.

If anyone has any thoughts on the subject, I'd love to read them. Thanks!

[spiderbear]

He'll want to stay in a weekly stay motel, at that price and with him requiring furnishings. You won't find anything decent (if at all) for what you're expecting to pay.

[NCgirl]

ZoeBartlett - In Charlotte, it will be hard to find a nice, safe unfurnished apt. for $500. I imagine a furnished one would cost more. You'll have more options (unfurnished) in the upper part of your range. However South Park is a more upscale area and apts. can be more expensive there vs. other parts of the city.

Some apartment complexes offer short lease terms but in my experience the rates are a lot higher than the rates for a 12 month lease.

[ZoeBartlett]

Thanks Spiderbear! I know $500-700 isn't much, but we also own a condo in New England that we need to continue paying for as well. In order to afford both, we're trying to go as low as possible on this rental.

[ZoeBartlett]

Thanks NCgirl! Is there an area that you could recommend we look? I thought Southpark was expensive (well, the neighborhoods we saw while driving around). Since we do have a range, we could focus more on the upper end of our range. Maybe we'll have better luck. We really couldn't go higher than $700.

[Belmarin]

Zoe
I had a friend in a similar situation and he resolved it by finding a short term share rental. He used craigslist and posted his situation. A number of people contacted him and he qualified them by phone interview. He ended up with a furnished room in an upscale area. The owners helped him acclimate to the area and they are good friends to this day. Just a suggestion that may work for you.

[ZoeBartlett]

Thanks for the suggestion Belmarin! We'll check into Craigslist and see what we come up with.

[coped]

Try Camden Fairview or Camden Foxcroft. They sometimes have furnished places. And their unfurnished places are definitely in your range. They're at the corner of Providence and Sardis/Fairview

[joanchris2000]

A couple of years ago I was looking for a short term (3-4 mos) rental for my husband as well. We were looking for furnished, but could find nothing in our range. He ended up in a decent unfurnished 1 br in Uptown (he works up there) for $800/mo, brought a sofabed that he put in the bedroom, a nightstand, maybe his dresser, a TV and a few pots/pans etc for the kitchen. He lived that way for over 3 mos, and on weekends the girls slept on an air mattress in the empty living room. Oh, he also brought 2 tray tables and 2 folding chairs, so we would have somewhere to eat!
Not fabulous but we did it. Good luck to your husband with finding a solution. I think the craigslist idea sounds good. I suggested something similar to my husband but he would not consider sharing a rental.

[Tober138]

Originally Posted by Belmarin

Zoe
I had a friend in a similar situation and he resolved it by finding a short term share rental. He used craigslist and posted his situation. A number of people contacted him and he qualified them by phone interview. He ended up with a furnished room in an upscale area. The owners helped him acclimate to the area and they are good friends to this day. Just a suggestion that may work for you.

That's probably the best route for the OP's price range. When we had to get a furnished apartment here for about 2.5 months, we really didn't find much below $70 per day through the companies that rented furnished / corporate apartments on short term leases.