6 weeks looking for a rental and still looking!! (Boston, Worcester: sales, apartment complex)

[tjfm]

Okay, so i have posted before but that was before i came to MA. 6 weeks in and i know what i like but it is out of my price range! MA isn't too dog friendly in terms of rentals unless you own a little dog.

Here's my needs:

At least 2 bed, 3 or 2 with a den is preferred.
Dog friendly for a poor old English bulldog
Within an hours drive of Burlington MA
W/D in unit (baby = too much laundry)
Good storage

Wants:
Patio/private yard
Single family
Close to groceries/parks (Walkable)
Garage parking

Budget is up to $2000, $2000 being the places closer to Burlington. I've exhausted craigslist, i've seen a lot of nasty houses thanks to craigslist! I have checked papers and sites like rent.com, rentals.com hotpads.com and no luck.

Is it the time of year or are my rental needs just not attainable in my price range? If you have any tips on where to look for rental listings, especially by owner listings, please share...

[LeavingMassachusetts]

You need to change your search to Central MA. If you are willing to do an hour drive to Burlington then you need to switch your search to the Worcester County area and stop looking in Boston and the burbs...those needs are close to impossible there.

Good luck!

[wxjay]

You might want to try S NH as well - If you live near Nashua, Rte 3 is a quick and easy way to get down to Burlington and back. Plus, properties are much cheaper up there, including no state income tax or sales tax. Check out Nashua, Pelham, and Hudson.

[elnene2k]

We were going to rent ourselves when we make our move back North in 2 weeks but forgot how dog "UNFRIENDLY" New England was!!! It's either no dogs or small dogs...If they allow dogs, they want to know breed, size, temperament, etc...

So now we will be living with our parents until we sell and find our house...

[Essel]

Originally Posted by tjfm

Okay, so i have posted before but that was before i came to MA. 6 weeks in and i know what i like but it is out of my price range! MA isn't too dog friendly in terms of rentals unless you own a little dog.

Here's my needs:

At least 2 bed, 3 or 2 with a den is preferred.
Dog friendly for a poor old English bulldog
Within an hours drive of Burlington MA
W/D in unit (baby = too much laundry)
Good storage

Wants:
Patio/private yard
Single family
Close to groceries/parks (Walkable)
Garage parking

Budget is up to $2000, $2000 being the places closer to Burlington. I've exhausted craigslist, i've seen a lot of nasty houses thanks to craigslist! I have checked papers and sites like rent.com, rentals.com hotpads.com and no luck.

Is it the time of year or are my rental needs just not attainable in my price range? If you have any tips on where to look for rental listings, especially by owner listings, please share...

Hello.

I truly feel for you as a fellow dog family.

I am looking for something similar close to Boston, Cambridge area and I have a small dog - a poodle. In the areas that I am looking I have the same issue - none of these places are precisely dog friendly. I also have a parking requirement that makes my search a daunting task. However, if you are looking in Burlington, have you tried Kendall Court / Kendall Towers? I am not too sure about storage but it is dog friedly, has large closets and washer - dryer in unit. Kendal towers have 2 bedrooms and Kendal court has 3 bedroom townhomes. Kendal Towers is a new construction. Has a nice sized (for an apartment) kitchen and modern fittings. I have seen some big dogs there. I am not sure how the rent will work out - as I only know the Studio rate there - but I am fairly certain you can get something close to your budget if you can negotiate a longer lease.

I would also advice on compromising on your requirements a bit. Some of these places may be not exactly walking distance from grocery. But may have a good dog walk area or patio. There are things we simply cannot do without - and others - we cam manage with a little adjustment. I am making a lot of compromises on my expectations based on what I have seen and experienced in my search.

If you are from near that area, you should get a copy (free) of the Boston Apartments guide. You should get a list of good rentals from there.

Good Luck on your search..

[holden125]

Originally Posted by wxjay

You might want to try S NH as well - If you live near Nashua, Rte 3 is a quick and easy way to get down to Burlington and back. Plus, properties are much cheaper up there, including no state income tax or sales tax. Check out Nashua, Pelham, and Hudson.

If you work in MA but live in NH, you still pay MA income tax.

It is doable in Mass., and without going way out into the sticks. The dog, unfortunately, will seriously limit the number of properties available to you, and finding single family homes in that rental range might be tough. If you're open to 2-family houses there are actually more options in closer-in towns like Newton, Arlington or Belmont. The more woodsy towns tend to have far fewer rentals.

For example, our place has everything on both of your lists except single family and maybe the dog (neither apt in our house has one, but our next-door neighbors rent and they have a dog). We live in supposedly crazy-expensive Newton and we pay $1600 for a nice apartment in a 2-family house. We've got LR, DR, large kitchen, 2BR plus a smaller den off one of the BRs, lots of closets, fireplace, screened porch, built-in china cabinet, dishwasher, a shared yard, 2 parking (1 in garage). Lots of closet space and we have have half of the unfinished basement for storage. W/D in the basement as well.

The kitchen looks a bit 1980's but it's perfectly functional, and we love the period details in the rest of the house. We're 20-25 mins from the Burlington Mall and going against most of the rush hour traffic. We're also 20 mins or less to Boston. We can walk a couple of blocks to the commuter rail and a small downtown with CVS, Starbucks, supermarket, bookstore, etc. There were plenty of apts like ours under $2000 when we were looking a few months back.

[Valerie C]

Please let us know if you decide to check out Nashua, NH. There is a very dog-friendly apartment complex very convenient to Rte 3, which I cannot for the life of me remember the name of right now. A good friend of mine got a place there last summer, no problem with the multiple big dogs (including a wonderful Doberman Pinscher) that are part of her family.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by holden125

If you work in MA but live in NH, you still pay MA income tax.

... which you get back after filing your taxes.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by wxjay

... which you get back after filing your taxes.

Um, no. If you work in MA, you owe MA income tax on any income earned in MA, no matter where you live.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by holden125

Um, no. If you work in MA, you owe MA income tax on any income earned in MA, no matter where you live.

Oh wow, I didn't realize that. I thought it worked the same as when I lived in RI and worked in MA - i.e., I had to file with MA to get my taxes refunded and then paid them into RI. Maybe though it was because it was a part-time job...?

Sorry about that.