NW Metro: Is finding a place to rent (with 3 pets) even possible? (Maple Grove: real estate)

[seekingminnesotanice]

Hi there,

I've never posted here before but I thought it was worth a try, I'm hoping that maybe someone can help me in some way. We're pretty much desperate at this point. My fiancé and I moved from Arizona to Minnesota in October, 2015 and have been turned away from every single rental property because we have 3 pets.

Aside from the fact that we have 3 pets, I think we're pretty ideal renters (not to toot our own horn). We have a great rental history, no criminal history, and excellent credit scores. In Arizona we rented a home owned by a licensed real estate agent. We lived there for 2 years and got all of our deposits back, our landlord has offered to provide an excellent reference for us and our pets.

We have 2 miniature dachshunds and 1 tabby cat. Both dogs are 6, the cat is 5. They're all spayed/neutered, up to date on shots, and extremely well behaved. We're not willing to part with them, and we don't want to be dishonest about them & risk an eviction ruining our clean rental history. Also, dishonesty is just not for me even when I'm this desperate.

We have looked all over the Northwest Metro (Rogers, Otsego, Elk River, Albertville, St. Michael, Champlin, Osseo, Dayton, Maple Grove, etc.) and had absolutely no luck. We're willing to pay $1,600 or possibly more depending on the specific property, but we still get turned away every time because of our pets.

If anybody has advice about how to find *ANYWHERE* to live in the Northwest Metro that will accept 3 pets I would be so far beyond thankful. As long as the place is safe and the landlord is okay with my pets, I'll gladly live there. I don't care about anything else at this point. We're trying our best to hold out hope that Minnesota Nice is so genuine that eventually, someone will be kind enough to trust us with their home.

[silverjet]

I wouldn't imagine there is much available for rent anyway in that part of the metro. Are you willing to look elsewhere? I would put a post on Craigslist and see if you get any replies from anyone willing to accommodate your situation.

[elkotronics]

We finally found a landlord that absolutely loves his dog that would rent to us. It is this connection that finally did it for us. When I mentioned that we had animals he was totally fine with it! Finally. It was not easy. I think landlords are really overdoing it on this "hatred for renters with pets" thing. Ridiculously overboard.


Wish I could help you on this - just keep trying every online and word-of-mouth source you can possibly find. I wish the best for you. Getting rid of your pets is the dumbest idea I've heard, too. Absolutely not an option!

[seekingminnesotanice]

Thanks so much for your responses so far everyone

@silverjet- There are actually a decent number of rentals up here now that it's getting warmer out (in my opinion anyway, as someone who moved here from Phoenix where there's an overwhelming number of rentals). The problem is they all have pet restrictions that make us 'unworthy' candidates. We aren't willing to live outside of the NW Metro area as we relocated to be near my family so that would defeat the purpose. Thank you for the Craigslist suggestion, I have posted on there twice without any responses other than spam emails but I will keep trying.

@elkotronics I totally agree with you on the "hatred for renters with pets" feelings! Pets are family to many people (myself included) and if the prospective renters are willing to be financially responsible, I don't think it should be such a huge deterrent. I understand some have allergies and/or bad past experiences, but for those who allow 2 pets but absolutely *never* 3...I think that's just silly. My 3 pets combined would weigh less (and be less destructive in many cases) than 2 large dogs, so why is that not good enough? I'm glad you were able to find a pet-loving landlord and a place to live! Hopefully we'll be that lucky too sooner rather than later.

[nessa14141]

We live in Cambridge, MN and our landlord is SUPER laid back with pets. We're renting a town house and we have 3 dogs, 3 ferrets and 4 birds! Not sure if he has any places available right now but I could give you his number if you're interested in living around this area (I think he has places in Braham, too). As far as I know, the only thing he won't accept are dogs over a certain weight, but since you have doxies, should be fine .