Any good leads on apts for rent in Salem?? I'm looking (Boston: real estate, apartment complexes)

[Justjessla]

I'm finally back in NE after 12 years absence and staying with my mom. I will be starting my look for apts in Salem Mon or Tuesday of next week.
Does anyone have any leads on apts for rent or where I could go other then Craigslist?
Thanks!

[daniellenbosley]

Did you find a place?

[ymvg]

I'm now looking too, so any leads would be highly appreciated!

So far looks like Jefferson at Salem Station ticks lots of boxes, but I have read very bad reviews about the real quality of the buildings & neighbors

Any alternative there?

[daniellenbosley]

Originally Posted by ymvg

I'm now looking too, so any leads would be highly appreciated!

So far looks like Jefferson at Salem Station ticks lots of boxes, but I have read very bad reviews about the real quality of the buildings & neighbors

Any alternative there?

I did take a peek at your original post on Mass forums about your moving to Boston. We are thrilled to have moved to Salem. That being said, we came here with a clear idea of what we would get for our money. In addition, we plan to move next year. Knowing we were leaving the New England area in only a year encouraged us to store most of our belongings and downsize considerably for the year. It would have been a rare feat to find the space we had before in New Hampshire (3000+ square foot house on 5+ acres in upscale community) here, and we definitely would not have done it for less than what we were paying there ($2300 a month). I'm not sure what you're paying to live in London. However, your other post mentioned your employer paying 15K a year for your rent and that you'd prefer to not have to pay any. I definitely don't see that as a possibility if you aren't willing to give up some of the other things you mentioned. Space here=money. You pay for what you get. Your employer will give you $1250 a month then. We pay $1715 for a two bedroom, one bath apartment in Salem that is approximately 1000 square feet. We searched tirelessly and there wasn't much we found in the 2-2+ bedroom range that was much lower than the rent here. If it was, it was generally a very run down place, something in a bad area (the point), or was under 900 square feet.

Garage or storage space is hard to come by. Hence why we have two storage units right now. Parking is something you should ask each place about that you inquire at. Many only come with one parking space, so if you need two, you'll end up having to park elsewhere or pay for garage parking, etc. There is an active bus system here and if you move close to downtown, you wouldn't have to go outside of walking distance often.

We're downtown and aside from making a trip to Target, shopping outlets, or the market (there is one within walking distance that is small, but not a big supermarket. It suffices though for last minute needs or small trips for milk, steaks, etc.) The farmers market is downtown every Thursday. It'll likely take us all year to explore all the restaurants we can walk to and there is plenty of the social life you are looking for with less of the nightclub experiences. Most places have a good vibe and popular spots are buzzing with locals every night of the week. Living in Salem has been the closest experience I've had to living in Europe.

Again, you get the experience of living here at a cost if you are on a budget. You'll have to compromise on space or money most likely—which is more important to you to hold on to.

Do you have pets?

Good luck!

[ymvg]

Originally Posted by daniellenbosley

I did take a peek at your original post on Mass forums about your moving to Boston. We are thrilled to have moved to Salem.

(...)

Again, you get the experience of living here at a cost if you are on a budget. You'll have to compromise on space or money most likely—which is more important to you to hold on to.

Do you have pets?

Good luck!

Hi!

Thanks for your insight,

The more I look around, the clearer I have that I will need to top-up a bit my employer's budget (or negotiate it with them) to get a two-room apartment, which would be nice; one bedroom and one hybrid studio/guest. Or I could start with a one-bedroom for now.

And, the more I look, the clearer I have that Salem will be. I have virtually travelled around Salem with Google Street View, and searched further info on this and other websites... I think it's the place!

Outside space... I see it is fairly common to find apartments with balcony, that would be enough. I have also lived in small flats with no outside space whatsoever and nothing happened, so it would certainly not be the end of the world.

Storage space is the smallest of my concerns as I won't really need it on a day-to-day basis. I will need to store some work stuff, but can manage with a storage unit out of town. I may need to go there once a week, no more.

I guess if I go a little higher on the budget and a little lower on the requirements, I'll find the right place.

I have also started looking Landlord rentals instead of professionally managed properties. I see the prices are a lot lower... Can this be confusing because you have to face lots of unexpected expenses after all?

We don't have pets currently, but would like to get a dog once there (if the neighborhood where we live allows them, of course)

Still thinking about renting a short-term apartment to stay 1-2 months and search 'onsite'. Any recommended short-term accommodation?

Thanks!!

[daniellenbosley]

Short term lodging- I really couldn't tell you. We stayed in the "guest house" of a woman's home for a week in Salem prior to moving into our apartment. It was one bedroom, but plenty of space and a trundle bed in the living room, which was roomy, fully equipped kitchen etc. It was $600 per week though. I'm not sure that your budget accommodates that or not. If you are interested, PM me and I can forward you her information. Not sure when you are moving either, but if October is your plan, you will find temporary lodging to be scare and highly increased in price- obviously, it's October in Salem!

Pets- the majority of rentals here do not allow pets. We have two dogs and that was the deciding factor for us on many properties we inquired about. I would venture to say 8 out of 10 places I requested information on did not allow pets. So definitely weigh how important that is to you.

I did research all of the storage units here prior to moving. While many will draw you in with deals such as first month for a $1, they don't mention how high the second month is, etc. The most affordable storage units in the area are actually Uhaul's. The one in Danvers(a neighboring town) and the one located in Salem (which you may prefer traffic-wise if you need to access it on a regular basis) are both around the same price. Salem's is inside an office park and a bit more complicated to get into and out of, so check it out before renting if you are interested, but it is the cheapest and is also indoor, with climate control and secured with video monitoring etc 24/7.

We looked at a few landlord rentals. I am not sure where you are looking. Really the only resources for around here are Craigslist and Realtor.com. You may find a handful of rentals on Ebay Classifieds in Salem if you search the Boston area. The Salem News wasn't helpful to us, but it may have one bedrooms if you're willing to scale down in size. That being said, Craigslist- TONS OF SCAMS. If it sounds too good to be true, don't waste your time emailing. If there isn't contact information it's also likely a scam. Another issue I ran into there was that it was just flooded with ads from local real estate agents. That was a real pain to sort through every day and most I ever clicked on I'd seen the day before, and the day before that, etc... they just constantly repost them. If you can get past all that hoopla and find the spot for you, I don't see how you could regret it. Just my opinion, but Salem is awesome.

There are a few reasons landlord-owned properties can be lower in cost than professionally managed places. One being that most of the professional places are located in more desirable areas. Unless you are looking in the McIntire District, where you'd be lucky to find a one bedroom in your budget, most of the houses or landlord-owned apartments are further into the suburbs and outlying areas of Salem. Not all, but most. Those closer to downtown seem to be for rent less often than those further away judging from what I have seen, but that makes sense, people like to hold on to their close-to-downtown locations!

Also, with professionally managed places,

Apartment complexes, your utilities will generally be lower than in a house, especially if you settle into one with energy star appliances, etc, but regardless, having the extra insulation helps a lot. The biggest change we will see is our energy bill. In short, it costs A LOT to heat a home in New England. In Salem, many homes are OLD. Don't underestimate that. Many have no insulation in some walls and original windows. While you get charm with those places, you will not get a cozy house in wintertime if they aren't properly managed. The plus for me having rented many places from both landlords and from management companies is that the latter actually fixes problems, they don't infringe on my life, and they don't make my cutting them a check every month a personal thing, or ever step in to stipulate what I can do with my space, etc. It all comes down to personal preference really.

[CJMoss]

Salem is a fantastic city for both young and old. The booming downtown has seen a wonderful amount of growth over the past decade, with new restaurants and stores that seem to pop up every day. My wife and I have lived here for 4 years, with no plans on leaving any time soon!

Apartment hunting can be daunting, especially if you are unfamiliar with the area. While Craigslist does contain listings, often times landlords choose to list their properties with local real estate agents. And sometimes those listings don't need to be posted as the agent simply matches a client they have with the apartment.

Case in point- I actually own rental property, and I didn't need to post the property either on MLS or Craigslist, I simply matched it to a friend of mine who I knew was looking to move.

Cheers!