Billings rentals and area questions (Laurel, Park City: real estate, apartments, HOA)

[maine52]

In anticipation of moving to the Billings area soon, I have been looking online for house/townhome rentals that allow pets. Any suggestions? I've checked out property management companies...reviews are sketchy, at best, and the ones they do have mostly say no pets. Are there ones you would recommend? Do people really just stick a for rent sign out front instead, as some have said? We like a more country area...can you make recommendations as to areas to check out that aren't too far for commuting to Billings? Is it true that Laurel has an odor? Is it a place to avoid? What about safety? Are there areas to avoid? Any help you can give me as to the area would be very much appreciated. Looking forward to living in a new state!

[Senah]

Montana has a real dearth of reputable and able rental companies. It is a little more old fashioned, even in our "big cities". You might want to do 3 things to find a place, especially if you have a pet (rental companies don't like to have their cut threatened by damage done by a pet so they often bar you from having one).

1) Check the local newspaper's classifieds. Lots of homes/townhouses are rented by the owners direct so that they don't have to let a manager take a cut, and as it is a very pet friendly state, they are often willing to let you have one, especially if you are willing to put up a pet deposit,
2) Check craigslist - be careful about scammers, but Montanans use it a LOT,
3) Drive around neighborhoods that you might be interested in if you end up in a short-term rental and look for signs in windows - a lot of rentals are done this way. Worst case scenario, there are vacation rentals that are classified as "long-term rental friendly".

[TaxPhd]

Both Laurel and Billings have refineries, and yes, there can be an odor, depending on your location and the direction the wind is blowing. If you choose to live outside of town, you may well be exposed to farm odors. Both of these tend to offend city folk from out of state, but they are a fact of life here. Both represent economic activity, jobs, and prosperity and are to be embraced, in my opinion.

Montana is overall, very safe, compared to just about any large city location in other states. We have some issues here, same as anywhere, but overall it is a great place to be.

Senah hit the main points of shopping for a rental. it's a lot easier to find a place if you are here, rather than trying to do it long distance. If you aren't currently here, can you take a few days for a visit? You will probably have greater success.

[historyfan]

Park City has a feedlot aroma near the exit but several miles south the country life might be just what you're looking for. Rentals in Montana besides business traveler/executive furnished type are an "in person" type transaction.

[maine52]

Thank you so much for all the valuable information! Just what I was looking for! We will be going out there in a little over a week to look for rentals. I'm anxious to see the area...never been there before. We do plan on driving around the neighborhoods and towns to get a feel for the area and to look for "for rent" signs! Senah, I have ventured onto Craig's List, but was afraid of the potential scammers. Good to know a lot of people use it, so I will take that into consideration, with caution! So glad to hear it is a more "old fashioned" area in some ways. We are coming from a small town, and we like the old-fashioned way of doing things. TaxPhd, I don't think those odors will be much of a bother to me. We are coming from a paper mill town...can't even begin to describe that smell to you! I'd like to avoid refinery and sugar beet odors, but I don't mind the smell of a farm at all!

Question about the roads in winter. We live in Maine and are used to driving in snow. The roads are taken care of very well, even during the height of a snowstorm, for the most part. Considering if we live outside of Billings my husband might have to commute to Billings, how are the roads during the winter? Do you get much in the way of snow? We were pummeled with snow and cold last winter in Maine. Don't mind it at all, just checking to see how Billings fares in comparison. Might affect how far away from Billings we live.

[oldtrader]

Difficult to get a place that allows pets. Reason: Pet damage is often expensive to landlords at move out time far above deposits. Barking dogs upsetting other tenants. Etc. Etc.

Billings has a shortage of rentals for it's size. Landlords can rent without having to accept pets and pet problems. So there is no incentive to landlords to rent to pet owners.

This makes it difficult to find a place that accepts pets, as landlords take the easy route, and do not rent to pet owners.

I was a real estate investment broker, from 1972 till I retired in another city. I managed a lot of properties for our investors. We never allowed pets. I was president for the county wide Rental Owners and Managers Association. It was very rare that any of the members would accept pets.

Smart rental owners rent using risk assessment of tenant damage to an apartment or other rental. You determine what tenants will cause you the most problems, and potential expense, and the risky ones you do not rent to. Pets just increase the risk to the point, that smart owners do not rent to tenants with pets. It is not worth the headache that pets can cause.

That is the reason that professional managed units, do not allow pests. This is why you find it difficult to find rental units that allow pets.

[havedogwilltravel05]

Maine,

I was in your position just a few months ago, and successfully moved to Billings one month ago. I was burned by three different management companies from May to August. We wasted $$ on putting application fees down and when a pet friendly unit would become available it was rented out from under us within minutes (though I question if they simply did not wish to do business with people from out of state) of saying we were interested and prepared to place a deposit. One management company said one thing and the deal was 95% done when they called the next day and wanted 6 months rent upfront in addition to a $2000 deposit, needless to say this scared us off as we were tentative to do business with them due to the bad internet reviews. We actually even had to delay our move from August to October 1st as a rental we had secured fell through 2 weeks prior to move-in which again we wasted $$ on travelling up here to do business with a company that was less than professional.

Not to dwell on my difficulties any longer, we have made the move and LOVE IT!!!

We chose to do business with IRET, CastleRock apartments specifically. They allow 2 pets per unit with a deposit and monthly fee. We do not regret our decision to do business with this complex. Amy, the manager made our move from out of state easier than could be imagined; she is competent and friendly and I wish I had called her first instead of holding out for a house with a yard. We have a clean and spacious 3 bedroom and there is very little we don't like about the complex. The ONLY dog park in Billings is only a short walk away. Lake Elmo is also nearby and they have a dog beach which seems nice for warmer months. We had to sacrifice having a garage, but got a good deal on a storage unit nearby (there is a waiting list for garages at the complex). We had to sacrifice a yard, but there is a large park nearby and lots of areas to walk so definitely not a difficult adjustment to make. Now that we're here we feel like finding a rental home/townhome that is pet friendly will be much easier in the spring.

Best of luck!

[Senah]

Originally Posted by maine52

Question about the roads in winter. We live in Maine and are used to driving in snow. The roads are taken care of very well, even during the height of a snowstorm, for the most part. Considering if we live outside of Billings my husband might have to commute to Billings, how are the roads during the winter? Do you get much in the way of snow? We were pummeled with snow and cold last winter in Maine. Don't mind it at all, just checking to see how Billings fares in comparison. Might affect how far away from Billings we live.

We do get a lot of snow in MT, but of course this past year we got a lot less than the east coast (was terrible for us skiers ) At any rate, I have all weather tires on my cross-over vehicle, and this gets me all over the state in the winter (I travel for my job). Of course, I also have a recovery kit in the vehicle, chains, and emergency supplies. This is much more important in MT than it would be in ME as we have lots of areas without cell service, and places that are farther from civilization when you are commuting. However, that said, in the areas outside of Billings, if you slide off, someone will almost always pull over and help you out (we've never in the years we've lived here had to wait for a tow or highway patrol).

The only other thing would be if you live down a road that isn't plowed, you'd have to either chip in for an HOA fee to get it plowed in the winter, or get a truck with an attachment and plow it yourselves.

Also, FYI for the areas we do have cell service, Verizon is the plan you'll need. The others have very, very poor coverage.

[maine52]

Thank you so much for the information. We will be moving to Billings the first week in December. I'm really looking forward to it!