For Rent By Owner (Colorado Springs: real estate, rentals, motel)

[Julianne Pack]

Colorado Springs bound from California. Every rental I find seems to be through some kind of a Realtor or Property Management firm. Most want a $$ processing fee per person, pages of application, not pet friendly etc. Throughout my life I have always found places to rent by just driving around, finding 'For Rent' signs on the lawn or in the window and talking to the owner. Has anybody out there found this to be possible in Colorado Springs? I'm thinking that I will just rent a room at Motel 6 for me and my pets (1 small dog and 2 cats) hop in my truck and start cruising. When I find a place, then my sister and her adult daughter will head on out here as well. Three grown women looking to make Colorado Springs their new home and please don't hate us because we are from Crazy California, the land of fruits, nuts and flakes.

[Jcelmer]

During our rental search, we had to pay 3 different property management companies to do background checks on us in order to be considered as tenants. I don't know if this is common practice or not, but it was annoying, as we spent $200 before even deciding on a rental. Since good places went quick, we decided to put in 3 applications in order to keep our options open, and not miss out. We even played the military card, to no avail.

Your best bet is to visit militarybyowner.com and see if there are any suitable rentals there. Even some of the simple 'for rent' signs we saw WERE associated with property management companies. Usually they do use the sign as an opportunity to advertise though.

[Julianne Pack]

Thanks. I will give that militarybyowner.com site a shot.

[heckynoodle]

Originally Posted by Julianne Pack

Colorado Springs bound from California. Every rental I find seems to be through some kind of a Realtor or Property Management firm. Most want a $$ processing fee per person, pages of application, not pet friendly etc. Throughout my life I have always found places to rent by just driving around, finding 'For Rent' signs on the lawn or in the window and talking to the owner. Has anybody out there found this to be possible in Colorado Springs? I'm thinking that I will just rent a room at Motel 6 for me and my pets (1 small dog and 2 cats) hop in my truck and start cruising. When I find a place, then my sister and her adult daughter will head on out here as well. Three grown women looking to make Colorado Springs their new home and please don't hate us because we are from Crazy California, the land of fruits, nuts and flakes.

Go for it. And if you have an extra bedroom for non-smoking me (F) and my tiny dog, I'll rent it. I'm serious. Contact me if the forum allows it.

[Sonic_Spork]

I think there is such a huge majority of homes being rented by Mgt/Realtors is because of all the military. These folks wind up having to move away and have to get someone to manage a house for them...and I guess anyone here who is NOT in this situation just assumes that's the way it's done? I vastly prefer to rent from private individuals, too, but it is very hard to find here. Only place online I've seen it is craigslist, though militarybyowner would also be a good candidate. But I do advise you to come here in person if possible and stay someplace for a minute, and search in person before making a commitment. I have not only experienced deceptive photos in rental listings, but in real estate listings too. No one will tell you if a house has been trashed since the photos were taken, so try not to commit sight unseen if you can avoid it.

[Julianne Pack]

Thank you Sonic_Spork. I know what you mean about deceptive photos. When I have been able to find the homes with pictures on Google Maps; boy is there big difference between pictures. I guess that will be my plan; stay someplace while I use my own eyeballs for the search. Thanks.