I need help looking for apartments (Columbia, Germantown: 2014, apartment complexes, rental)

[member456]

Good evening everyone.

I come here today looking for some advice on apartments.

I currently live at the Enclave at Emerson in Laurel, MD. (Howard County) Unfortunately, I need to start cutting back some expenses. The rent at this place is a little ridiculous for a 1 bedroom/ 1 bath. When I renewed my lease, I did not expect the rent to go up a lot. It did and now I'm looking to leave and find better value somewhere else.

What I'm looking for:

1 bed/ 1 bath

Budget : 1100 is my max/ month. I know it's not a lot. However I'm a young professional, new to the states and my career, with no family for 1000s of miles.

I work in Laurel. I have gotten used to the 10-15 minute commute. If possible, I'd like to keep it as short as possible, but options further away are also acceptable. My girlfriend is currently in school and her schedule doesn't allow her to work a ton of hours to really chip in with rent.



The issues:

I seem to be having a hard time finding what I'm looking for.

Safety is my primary concern. I keep reading reviews of places and there seem to be quite a few that talk about break-ins, maintenance walking into apts while gf's are in the shower, etc.

What neighborhoods would you guys recommend and if at all possible, are there any apartment complexes that are worth looking at?


I appreciate any feedback.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by member456

....I appreciate any feedback.

The best I can suggest is to look on Craigslist or the classifieds in local papers for a basement apartment. In Columbia, there are a few townhouses where there was a ground floor apartment in addition to a two story unit above. Some individuals also have rental apartments in their homes. These places should have less safety concerns than large complexes.

In Howard County your price range is nearly impossible, and I think you are going to have to accept a longer commute. For example, if you look in Glen Burnie or Arbutus, it will be much easier to find something in your price range.

[member456]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

The best I can suggest is to look on Craigslist or the classifieds in local papers for a basement apartment. In Columbia, there are a few townhouses where there was a ground floor apartment in addition to a two story unit above. Some individuals also have rental apartments in their homes. These places should have less safety concerns than large complexes.

In Howard County your price range is nearly impossible, and I think you are going to have to accept a longer commute. For example, if you look in Glen Burnie or Arbutus, it will be much easier to find something in your price range.

Thanks a lot for the response.

I'm not set on Howard county. I apologize if the original post seemed to come across that way. I don't mind a longer commute. I'd like to find something close to work, but if it's impossible then I'm willing to explore different areas.

My girlfriend's parents live in Crofton. I've had a look at a couple of places there, but that area is a little of a last resort as my commute would be around 30-40 minutes.

I'm not going to lie, but a few people I've spoken to don't have a lot of good things to say about Glen Burnie. I'll look into it though.

Keep the suggestions coming though.

Thanks.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by member456

My girlfriend's parents live in Crofton. I've had a look at a couple of places there, but that area is a little of a last resort as my commute would be around 30-40 minutes.

Crofton is good if you can find a place you can afford. The cheapest 1-bedroom apartment I see on Hotpads.com is at Crofton Village from $1105 to $1170. I am concerned your budget of $1100 just won't be enough to get you a place in a good area and you need to make some compromises. IMHO, Glen Burnie is working class, rather than a bad neighborhood.

As one alternative, I see Craigslist listings for basement apartments in good areas of Columbia for $950 and $870.

While short commute are desirable, I used to commute from 50-60 minutes one way for the right job. Many people do make long commutes when they can't afford to live closer to work.

[EducatedBro82]

I would look in Odenton.... Odenton has some places that are a little cheaper than Emerson... Heck Emerson is waaaay expensive, but a beautiful area. Most of the Mansions in Laurel are over there.

Odenton is on the other side of Ft. Meade. You would take either 32 or B/W Parkway to Laurel. Not much crime is over there also... ANother option would be Burtonsville which is on the other side of Laurel off Rt. 29. Not much crime over there either. Both areas, including Laurel have a low crime rate...

Another option would be renting a basement apartment in some SFH, around $1000 is some on Craiglist.

[member456]

Originally Posted by goldenage1

Crofton is good if you can find a place you can afford. The cheapest 1-bedroom apartment I see on Hotpads.com is at Crofton Village from $1105 to $1170. I am concerned your budget of $1100 just won't be enough to get you a place in a good area and you need to make some compromises. IMHO, Glen Burnie is working class, rather than a bad neighborhood.

As one alternative, I see Craigslist listings for basement apartments in good areas of Columbia for $950 and $870.

While short commute are desirable, I used to commute from 50-60 minutes one way for the right job. Many people do make long commutes when they can't afford to live closer to work.

My girlfriend will probably chip in a little. 1100 is my target, but I can afford a little more if need be.

As far as basement apartments, thanks a lot for the suggestion. Unfortunately, every search I do tends to return results primarily in Rockville/Germantown/G'berg. I guess I'm searching the wrong area because I can't seem to find a single thing in Columbia. In addition, I do have cats and pets are mostly not an option at these places. And I'm a smoker. (Never indoors though)

Originally Posted by EducatedBro82

I would look in Odenton.... Odenton has some places that are a little cheaper than Emerson... Heck Emerson is waaaay expensive, but a beautiful area. Most of the Mansions in Laurel are over there.

Odenton is on the other side of Ft. Meade. You would take either 32 or B/W Parkway to Laurel. Not much crime is over there also... ANother option would be Burtonsville which is on the other side of Laurel off Rt. 29. Not much crime over there either. Both areas, including Laurel have a low crime rate...

Another option would be renting a basement apartment in some SFH, around $1000 is some on Craiglist.

I've been having a look in Odenton. My gf is well knowledged in the area and she has some concerns over the places we've seen. Did you have any apartment complexes in mind?

As far as Burtonsville goes, I've yet to find something decent out there. Once again, as mentioned above, I''m probably not searching right. Any suggestions for this area would be very welcome.

Emerson is crazy expensive. When I first moved in, I could handle the base rent. Unfortunately, all the silly little costs as well as the lease renewal has brought my total pretty high.


I appreciate the responses here folks. I truly do.

[EducatedBro82]

Originally Posted by member456

My girlfriend will probably chip in a little. 1100 is my target, but I can afford a little more if need be.

As far as basement apartments, thanks a lot for the suggestion. Unfortunately, every search I do tends to return results primarily in Rockville/Germantown/G'berg. I guess I'm searching the wrong area because I can't seem to find a single thing in Columbia. In addition, I do have cats and pets are mostly not an option at these places. And I'm a smoker. (Never indoors though)




I've been having a look in Odenton. My gf is well knowledged in the area and she has some concerns over the places we've seen. Did you have any apartment complexes in mind?

As far as Burtonsville goes, I've yet to find something decent out there. Once again, as mentioned above, I''m probably not searching right. Any suggestions for this area would be very welcome.

Emerson is crazy expensive. When I first moved in, I could handle the base rent. Unfortunately, all the silly little costs as well as the lease renewal has brought my total pretty high.


I appreciate the responses here folks. I truly do.

i heard Seven Oaks in Odenton is pretty nice... I had friends live there and it was real quiet, neighbors walk the dog at night, jogging at night and nothing would happen. Also Also is Odenton Town Center but it may be mroe expensive due to the recent construction..

Burtonsville has Knights Bridge Apartments which are very nice as well so is Country Place apartments... both are prettu nice and well quet and well maintained...

[Bejank]

Would you be interested in a two bedroom apartment in Mt. Airy, MD. It's very close to Rt. 70, clean, safe, and we accept pets. $1100/month plus security deposit. I can send you a link to the ad on Craigslist if you are interested. We are hoping to rent by January 1, 2014.