[sr021505]

I've been looking around Trulia to find potential places to rent and I'm just curious if anyone has experience finding legit rentals on this site. I initially requested information about one place and got what I consider an odd response. The person went into their life story and telling how they were going to sell the place but then decided to rent it etc. It sounded really scripted and just off to me. So I requested information about a couple other places and got basically the same type of response. They were all different but all had that sketchy feeling about them. I'm tempted to try a couple more just to make sure I'm not over thinking and being too cautious about it (which I don't think I am).

So has anyone else had this experience using the site or actually found a legit place to rent off of it?

Any other suggestions for find potential rentals. Craigslist is usually a go to for me but I like to have options.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by sr021505

I've been looking around Trulia to find potential places to rent and I'm just curious if anyone has experience finding legit rentals on this site. I initially requested information about one place and got what I consider an odd response. The person went into their life story and telling how they were going to sell the place but then decided to rent it etc. It sounded really scripted and just off to me. So I requested information about a couple other places and got basically the same type of response. They were all different but all had that sketchy feeling about them. I'm tempted to try a couple more just to make sure I'm not over thinking and being too cautious about it (which I don't think I am).

So has anyone else had this experience using the site or actually found a legit place to rent off of it?

Any other suggestions for find potential rentals. Craigslist is usually a go to for me but I like to have options.

When you are on Trulia you're looking at MLS listings that they aggregate. It's a very good site to see the comps etc (scroll to the bottom) for sales.

If you post a question ON TRULIA you're getting random realtors trying to get you to call them. Or even NON realtors just anon random people.

You have to click on the LISTING you are interested in, look on the side to see who the realtor is, then go to the REALTOR who HAS the listing and call THEM. Scroll down to where it says contact info.

Posting questions on Trulia is usually a waste of time, go to the agent who OWNS the listing or has business in that community.

If you got that weird story from an AGENT, it IS possible. Plenty of them thought they would be "investors" during the crash down here and it turned out badly.

[StarfishKey]

Trulia is not a great place for rentals - it's not their specialty. The best place for legal rentals is to seek out a legitimate real estate agent who specializes in apartments. You can also check apartment . com. If you're going to rent from a random resident, make absolutely sure that they have the right to rent to you (zoning, if they're the owner, if it's an illegal sublet, etc.) and make absolutely sure you have a signed lease! It's amazing how many people will skip protecting themselves legally just to save a small amount of cash up front, and have that end up costing them years of aggravation and financial troubles afterwards. It's not the same everywhere, but many times a real estate agent will be paid by the owner, so the person seeking the apartment can get their services for free. Craigslist, as we all know, has a ton of scams and illegal rentals, although many long-term rental ads are legit.

[sr021505]

Thanks for the info. Looks like the best option is contacting a realtor. I'm looking more along the lines of houses or potentially condos/townhomes and not apartments. Too many apartment complexes are nice in pictures and on paper but are a completely different story when it comes to actually living in them.

[Restrain]

Be careful of Craigslist as there are on-going scams down here from people 'renting out' properties they don't own or manage.

[runswithscissors]

Trulia is NO different than Realtor dot com.

BOTH have MLS listings aggregated and when I look at MY community on both sites this morning the number of listings are almost the same.

If an agent has a rental listed with in MLS it's going to show up.

Your challenge is going to be an agent will only want to show you THEIR Listings.

And it's nothing new that ANY PROPERTY looks better online than in person.

I was flying down to see duplexes from an AGENT, and when I got here the attached UNIT HAD MATTRESSES ON THE FRONT PORCH.

I also lost $2700 to a scam Craigslist HOMEOWNER who was renting out his OWN duplex to multiple people when he already had tenants in it. In Hollywood 3 houses FROM the BEACH. The detectives confirmed for me that he WAS the legal homeowner. He had over 140 liens and judgments on the Broward docket. The county considers that fraud a civil matter and I could wait in line for a lifetime and NEVER get my money back.

Also my kid was in THREE different SoFL condos that went into foreclosure when the market crashed. It was a very common problem here. And a couple with MOLD that was covered up until he got IN THERE and it came back.

How I ended up in Vero Beach was because it was the only place I could find a decent honest realtor (for a RENTAL) during the crash. Starting out in Broward and working my way UP the coast. And I GREW UP HERE part time my whole life.

Househunting long distance is not for the faint of heart. Especially in Florida.

If I had it to do over again, I'd move to FL. put my stuff in storage, and rent an execustay type of place for a month or two THEN start looking.

[EricBoyd]

My own website will syndicate our Rental listings to Trulia, Zillow, HotPads, and other listing aggregator sites. I also post to Craigslist and Facebook, but those are manual postings. You can also check Florida Homes for Rent | Houses for Rent in Florida and Houses for Rent - Find Rental Homes, Apartments, Condos, Lofts at Rentals.com.

[projectmaximus]

I use property managers who post to trulia, and I myself posted one prop on Trulia once very briefly. I even got an email from an interested renter so it is a real thing. Can't say there isn't illegitimate activity on there though.