Stresses of moving... (Independence, Overland: apartment, renter, townhouse)

[RJDBLues]

I need to vent for a moment...You've been warned!

I have spent all morning on the phone and computer trying to locate some possible rentals for us to look at when we come up to KC next month.

I get folks who only want to talk to you if you want to rent right now, today, or I get scamers.

How hard is it for someone to tell me if they might have rentals (house, townhouse, or duplex) that would be ready to be rented in Nov. or the first of Dec.?

I've rented out properties before and knew when the the lease was up and if I was going to keep that renter or not. I understand that many places may not know for sure until 30 days before the lease ends due to the current renters not letting the owners know. But...Everyone!

As you can tell, I hate not having everything planned out well in advance. I sure hope I don't have to just suck it up for 6-8 more weeks.

What's up with so many places trying to push the rent to own?

If you know of anyone that may have a place that fits our needs please send them my way. Needs:
1. House/townhouse/duplex with a good elementary school.
2. Fenced in yard (big or small). We have 2 mid sized dogs.
3. Storage, basement would be great.
4. Garage
5. 30 min. rush hour drive from midtown.
6. 2-3 bedrooms.
7. $700-$900 a month, 6 month-1 year lease.
8. Fireplace would be nice.

So, am I asking for too much?

[emariek11]

No. Absolutley not. My husband found out today that we are being transferred to KCMO and wiill need to be there by Oct. 1st. Talk about stressed!! We also have 2 kids who will need great schools.
I cannot offer any suggestions- I would only like to say good luck and keep your chin up.
Also- what sites are you looking at to find out if an area is safe? That is my biggest concern!!

[famusdarlin]

I am so sorry to hear this. I didn't realize people would act like that. I would think they would be happy to have a potential renter and income. Do you know what school district you are looking for?

[northbound74]

Some places certainly are pushier than others. When we first moved here, we just looked around Independence, and didn't have too many problems like that. The bigger complexes seemed to be much more anxious than the individual property owners. I'd stay away from some of those rental-finder type places, they can be very annoying.

[chaneyz]

When we moved here we had a terrible time finding a place to rent initially. Can you come for a weekend visit and perhaps in person landlords would be more willing to work with you.
There seems to be a lot of movement here where we live during the summer months, then when school starts - everything seems to have been filled. (we're in the shadow of William Jewel College).

One thing I have found out moving here is - a lot of rentals do allow animals.

Where we moved from it was almost impossible. Good luck, and keep us updated.

[BostonToKC]

A little bluntness here:

Some things in life are stressful. Moving is one of them, especially long-distance moves. Eating vanilla ice cream is not stressful. Deal with it.

[TabulaRasa]

Our friend moved here from western New York after landing a job in Johnson County. He got here at the beginning of September, and is staying with us while he secures an apartment and a car...every place we toured this weekend in Overland Park, which are the necessary distance from his workplace, has openings in November at the earliest. So looks like we'll have a houseguest for a bit longer than we figured.