Affordable rental with dogs (Chattanooga, East Ridge: sale, apartments, rentals)

[Kelly.e.piazza]

Hi! My family is moving to Chattanooga with a 16-month old son and our three dogs this summer. We need to rent at least for the first year to save up to possibly buy. With our three dogs, we need a backyard. We are both in public service (police officer, teacher), so our budget is pretty low, ideally about $800 per month. I have seen some affordable houses on Craigslist in East Ridge. I'm hoping for advice on areas to look for small homes with fenced in yards. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

[Blue502]

Do a search on homes. I am not sure of your credit standing, etc, etc. But some homes that need work (and not alot mind you) have been going from $15,000 to 40,000. That's cheaper than any rent , plus at that price, any improvements you do will put the sale price above what you paid in a few years.
Also, is your husband/you going to be or are already a Chattanooga officer? They have a program for home buying and renting that saves lots of money! With the homes, they can get grants for downpayments and apartments will usually give a few hundred off rent for trade in having an on site officer.
I personally don't have alot of info on apartments themselves and be VERY careful of rentals on craigs list, I have heard about people losing security deposits , etc. If want to check, do a property search by address on www.hamiltontn.gov or www.chattanooga.gov . Then you will always know the name of the owner of the property and match it up to whomever you speak with on renting. Even if it is a person handling someones property, they should know the owners name. Also, it will usually show the address of the owner on the property search and you can tell if they are out of town owners.

[Blue502]

oh, meant to mention, I've always like East Ridge. Soddy is another great area with reasonably priced rentals and homes.

[u4icmusic]

I think a lot depends on were you will be working. Are you both working in the city of Chattanooga? We can point you in the right direction if we have more details. East ridge is close to downtown Chattanooga and has excellent freeway access to I-75 and I-24, so you can get anywhere from Eastridge in a few minutes. Soddy Daisy is semi-rural and about a 20 minute drive from Chattanooga. There is also not much out there, although there is more buidling going on there. Eastridge has a few areas that seem a tad run-down or in need of some care or code enforcement, but other than that, it's a fine place to live and be close to Chattanooga and Georgia.

[Kelly.e.piazza]

Thanks for the insight! I just read about that homeowner's program for police officers. That definitely is going to be worth looking into! We aren't quite in a position to buy, but I'm hoping we can after renting just one year. We don't know where we'll be working yet, but the plan is he will start with Chattanooga PD as soon as they set the next Police Academy date. I am applying to jobs in all elementary schools in Hamilton County. It sounds like East Ridge will be a good option as far as a pretty central location. We probably won't be there until the end of summer and by the time we are ready to move, I'll hopefully have a job and know exactly where I'll be commuting to daily so we can find somewhere nearby.