Moving to Madison next year (Milwaukee, Fitchburg: sublet, 2013, affordable apartment)

[Jaye0307]

I'm hoping to move to Madison from the Milwaukee area next spring or summer. I don't have a job lined up yet, so I'm wide open to areas to search for apartments. When is the best time to start looking at apartments - March, April, May or should I wait until summer? Also, what areas of Madison, as a single woman, would be considered safe? Lastly, what publications would you suggest I look at to find an apartment? I've looked at Start Renting and For Rent, but can't find anything (right now) that fits my price range. I'm hoping for a 1 bedroom around $700.

Any help you could give would be wonderful. Thank you!

[amysherman]

Madison is a college town. Therefore most leases turn over in August. Not all, but most.
As I just posted, try Craigslist if you are trying to find a place at another time of year. You can almost always find a sublet or short term lease that can be re-upped at the end of the sublet.
$700 a month is going to be a little tight. In general you'll be safe on the near west and near east side of Madison. You can also find place on the far west (avoid southwest side) and far east sides of town. If your near the downtown area things get more expensive and your likely to be surrounded by college students (that like to party into the wee hours of the night) as the University and downtown area are all mixed in together.
The suburbs are generally good but some like Sun Prairie and McFarland can be a hike from town. But Middleton, Verona and Fitchburg are basically a part of Madison. So depending on where your job is they might be a good alternative.
If you have questions about specific complexes people on this website are very helpful and knowledgeable.
Good luck with your search! Welcome to Madison!

[Jaye0307]

Thanks, Amy. I'm hoping with a new job, I'll be able to afford more than I'm paying right now - $655/mo. I'm more concerned about when to start looking for an apartment and what areas are good (as well as ones to avoid). I do love the west side, especially Middleton, and I like the east side as well, but I would prefer not to be amongst college students (no offense). Your information did help!

[7G9C4J2]

While I certainly agree that a lot of Madison leases start on August 15, it's a wee bit of a stretch to make a blanket statement that "most leases turn over in August." For people who want to live either on or within a mile or two of the UW campus, that is definitely the case, but the farther away you get from the center of town, the greater variety you'll find in availability dates.

Looking for apartments farther away from the campus also means you don't have to start hunting as early. I can absolutely guarantee you that the most prime campus-area addresses are already leased up for the August 2012-August 2013 lease term at this point, but if you're looking at places four or five miles away from the campus, you can wait to start looking until just a couple or three months before you want to move.

You'll also find more affordable rent rates the farther you go from campus. I worked for five years for a campus-area landlord, and a Langdon Street or Frances Street address invariably cost at least 30% more than a comparable apartment five miles away would. Parking downtown was even worse - tenants of my former employer paid anywhere from $95 to $175 to park their cars, and that was nearly a decade ago!

$700/month is probably the bare minimum you'd need to plan to spend on a one-bedroom in a not-bad part of town, and it would likely be a pretty small, no-frills place at that price. The sad truth is that even after the past three years of economic challenges, Madison is not by any definition a cheap place to live, and it's really tough to find an affordable rental.

Do you have a decent vehicle that you trust for winter driving? With a target rent amount like that, I'd suggest looking in some of the nearby bedroom communities rather than in Madison itself, because you're likely to get a lot more bang for the buck if you look a little farther afield. Check into places like Sun Prairie, Monona, Cottage Grove, or some areas in Fitchburg. Cross Plains might also be worth checking out. Middleton is lovely, but it tends to be just as pricey to live there as it is in Madison.

The other thing I'd mention is that very often, the best prices are those offered by small, independent landlords who only have one or two buildings, and often they don't advertise at all beyond putting a sign up in front of the building. Is there any way that you could manage a scouting trip here a couple of months prior to your planned move, just to drive around neighborhoods looking for "For Rent" signs? My elder kid found her last two places that way, and both were significantly less expensive than similar places advertised in the online rental sites.

Good luck to you, and if you find any specific locations that you'd like to know more about, stop on back by and we'll do our best to help you.

[Megan1967]

MWBW is correct. If you get out of the campus area, rental units become available every month. Most landlords like to start and end their leases in the summer months, however, because that is when they can get the most applicants - obviously more people are willing to move in June than January because of the weather.

Watch out for Fitchburg. A wonderful community, but if you found an apartment in your price range, it isn't going to be in a good neighborhood.

Your only real option, in my opinion, is to look at the outlying communities. I don't think you can find a decent 1 bedroom for less than $800 a month in Madison. Even that isn't going to be luxurious.

What is your line of work, by the way?

[amysherman]

I going to respectfully agree and disagree with the posts above.
It is tough to find an apartment in the Madison area for around $700 but it can be done. Don't expect bells and whistles but a safe apartment in a decent neighborhood can be found.
Depending on your income you might qualify for income restricted housing.
An example:
GORGEOUS BRAND NEW BUILDING AFFORDABLE ONE-BEDROOM APARTMENT HOME (http://madison.craigslist.org/apa/2688364534.html - broken link)
I do some rental tours for my company and there is no doubt that the rental market is tight. I agree with MwBW, you really do need to come to Madison if at all possible. Things that look good online can turn out to be in either a bad neighborhood or just pigs with lipstick.
Good luck with your search! And as I said before, don't hesitate to ask more questions.

[Jaye0307]

Thanks, everyone! I do have a very reliable car and I do try to get to Madison about once a month since now I only live an hour away. I will keep the outlying areas of Madison in mind when looking for an apartment - I don't mind having to drive into the city. And, in answer to your question, Megan, I'm an Administrative Assistant working in insurance right now, but I don't have to stay in the insurance business.

[7G9C4J2]

Check out American Family Insurance (headquarters on the extreme east side of Madison) and General Casualty (HQ in Sun Prairie) for possible job leads; both have employment search functions on their websites, and both hire regularly. You can also check here: State of Wisconsin Government Jobs - Job Search and do a search on Administrative Support jobs in Dane County for other leads, though I'll warn you that it can take the state up to three months from the point when you apply for a particular job until they extend an offer.

If you've got a reliable vehicle, if you aren't intimidated by winter driving, and if you land a job on the east side of Madison or an eastern suburb, there's a complex called School Road Apartments out in Marshall that you might consider. My elder kid lived there for a couple of years and was paying around $750 for a large three-bedroom, including the extra fee for a couple of cats. I know they rent out garage spots for parking, too, though I don't know how much they charge, nor do I know what current rent rates/availability are. My kid found the management (at the time) responsive and helpful, and while she rolled her eyes occasionally at the behavior of neighbors, there were no outright safety concerns that either she or I had.

I wouldn't suggest that location if you wind up working on the west side of Madison, though, as the commute would be untenable, particularly in winter, and you'd wind up spending way more in gas and vehicle wear & tear than you'd be saving in rent.

[Ragnar]

If the OP is coming from the Milwaukee area, then Marshall may be a pretty dull place to live, especially if she finds she needs to drive 20 miles into Madison for everything. But having an affordable apartment in a safe area is important too. It depends on what her priorities are. I'd personally never choose to live in Marshall as I'm not interested in living in small town WI. Also, Madison is a small enough place that regular commuting shouldn't be necessary, especially during the long winter.

[7G9C4J2]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

If the OP is coming from the Milwaukee area, then Marshall may be a pretty dull place to live, especially if she finds she needs to drive 20 miles into Madison for everything. But having an affordable apartment in a safe area is important too. It depends on what her priorities are. I'd personally never choose to live in Marshall as I'm not interested in living in small town WI. Also, Madison is a small enough place that regular commuting shouldn't be necessary, especially during the long winter.

Those are perfectly valid points, of course, Ragnar, and I will freely acknowledge that my kid wasn't really all that enthused about living in small-town Wisconsin, either. But there are some stages in our lives when safety and affordability win out over fun and excitement, so it may be useful, at least for the short term until the OP can start moving up the ladder and afford something more interesting.