[ISM]

we're targeted to move to michigan this summer. we have a toddler and newborn, and are hoping to rent a house in a family friendly area ( ? ). what's the best way to find a rental home, once we figure out where we want to live? our budget is $1800-2200/mo, but are flexible about that.

[Bydand]

Might be easier if you narrow down what part of the state you are looking at. Michigan is a good sized place.

[ISM]

my husband will work in southfield so not too far of a commute from there.

[Dr.Jim]

In this market? Use a realtor.

[G.P. Steve]

Just out of curiosity, where are you coming from?

[sgs11]

Originally Posted by ISM

we're targeted to move to michigan this summer. we have a toddler and newborn, and are hoping to rent a house in a family friendly area ( ? ). what's the best way to find a rental home, once we figure out where we want to live? our budget is $1800-2200/mo, but are flexible about that.

As someone mentioned realtor could be good idea, though they have their own interests sometimes. You can also search online on sites like rent.com. used to stay in Franklin apartments which are in Southfield, which are good and very spacious for the money. But right now market is great, and you can get condos on rent for great price. I can say that because I am going to put my condo for rent as well. It is great 3 bedroom condo in excellent location for just $1200. To be honest, I am trying to advertise my condo, but also trying to give you some information. If you go to some of the real estate agency sites like realestateone, remax, century21 etc, you can find quite a few condo of different sizes in good price range. I stay in Novi which is very close to Southfield and one of the very good school district. Other good school districts around Southfield will be Farmington hills, Northville.

[gphig3110]

If your husband is working in Southfield. . .Canton, Novi, Northville are all about 30 minutes away and are great cities. For the amount you are trying to rent for you can actually purchase a really nice home. West Bloomfield would be about 15 minutes from Southfield and you could rent a townhome or a very nice apartment.

[cjbailey]

It may seem like a crazy thing for a realtor to advise, but I would caution you about buying a home now, though it's true for that rent level you could be buying. Unfortunately, housing values are still declining here so it doesn't make sense to buy unless you'll be here for more than 5 years.
Plymouth, Northville, Novi and even Livonia have nice homes that rent in that price range. They are family friendly towns and a very quick commute to Southfield.
I am practicing what I preach after losing money in real estate investments the past 3 years.We are renting a beautiful 4 bedroom, 3200 sqare foot home in a lovely Novi neighborhood. The schools here are among the top in the state. Craig's list does not have much inventory for rental homes in these areas, but if you private message me I would be happy to email rental listings from the MLS here.