where to rent an apartment in huntsville or outlying areas? (Madison: apartments, rentals)

[beverlyjean]

I am married with an 11 year old daughter. We are moving to Huntsville this fall/winter. We will need to rent for a while before we can purchase a house. I am not familiar with the area in the LEAST bit. My daughter is shy and I would appreciate any suggestions for apartment rentals and areas. Also, I am not opposed to other areas such as Meridianville, Athens, Madison. Thank you

[Charles]

Where are you (and/or husband) going to be working?
What is your rent budget?
What is your housing budget?

Have you researched the schools yet? I'd start there and integrate the information from your school research with information on a future home purchase.

[beverlyjean]

Charles,
My husband has an MCSE certification and will be working in IT, possibly specializing in Security. Our budget is maximum $1,000 rent per month. I have not researched the schools... not sure wear to start. My daughter will be in 6th grade. He has not settled on a job in a specific area yet.

[Charles]

Are you planning on moving even if he doesn't have a job lined up?

Here's where I'd start: Find an apartment in a middle school (6th grade?) zone that you like and has homes in your price range, configuration, size, etc.

You can use ValleyMLS.com to find homes in specific school zones.

You can use GreatSchools.net to get school data and parent reviews on schools.

You have a lot of work ahead of you.

[beverlyjean]

Thanks. I really needed the school link. My husband will have a job when we move, he is currently in the process of finishing his certification. We don't need to live directly in the city. The outskirts would be great too. I am researching alot of apartments...that's the easy part. The hard part is knowing what areas have more/less crime. The rentals sites make ALL the areas look desirable on the websites.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by beverlyjean

Thanks. I really needed the school link. My husband will have a job when we move, he is currently in the process of finishing his certification. We don't need to live directly in the city. The outskirts would be great too. I am researching alot of apartments...that's the easy part. The hard part is knowing what areas have more/less crime. The rentals sites make ALL the areas look desirable on the websites.

Neighborhoods with good schools probably don't have lots of crime but nothing is absolute.

Can you visit and drive around?

If not, the next best thing (besides posting on City Data) is use Google Maps (or even better Google Earth) street view.

Here's a shot of Grissom High School:

hsv - Google Maps

[Charles]

Found this new tool; looks like it pulls and maps from the Craigslist database...not sure...


Search

[boilrmkr]

We are living in an apartment in Madison while we wait for our house to sell. We live at The Grand Reserve at Madison. A 3 bedroom 2 bath is about $887.00. I believe they have 6 month and 1 year leases. I do know someone who is renting month to month but pays a lot more. There is a pool and a workout room. It is nice here and very quiet. The grounds are very well taken care of and the management is very nice. There are also 2 police officers who live here. My kids go to Heritage Elementary. This is our first year here and I can't say enough good about the school. My oldest is in 6th grade and is very happy.