Bismarck and proximity(Mandan) renting and or buying (Fargo, Minot: apartments, rentals)

[CityFarmer]

Hi everyone
I am
Relocating to Bismarck this coming week!have some questions about rentals and in general about different neighborhoods
Have short term housing made available by employer
Looking ASAP for 2bdrm+ lease or buy, any help appreciated immensely!
Caught the Bismarck flood videos this afternoon on YouTube from 2011,
Wow! Staying on the upside of that is desirable

What is the current availability status for reasonable well kept rentals and their cost?
Our home price limit is around 145K or less, Townhome could be a likely scenario .
Should mention I hate old houses, rehabbed or not

My wife and I plan on possible long term stay, maybe 10yrs, like to find that niche in
one of the areas more unique settings housing wise

If anyone out there has recently put this same exp behind them, please elaborate on your travails and enlightenments, what you might do differently if any?
Regards everyone!

[TrussGuy]

Short term housing provided is a nice score. I was up there recently for a job and there was a lot of building going on but nothing available. I saw at least 7 36 unit apt buildings under const. I hope that I can find something if I end up going there. I might just have to end up buying a travel trailer for temp housing since my wife will follow once school is out.

[CityFarmer]

Originally Posted by TrussGuy

Short term housing provided is a nice score. I was up there recently for a job and there was a lot of building going on but nothing available. I saw at least 7 36 unit apt buildings under const. I hope that I can find something if I end up going there. I might just have to end up buying a travel trailer for temp housing since my wife will follow once school is out.

Hey Truss guy,Housing twasn't all that hard, did most of the leg work from my puter, had a new single wide for my family lined up in Newtown last Dec
5$bills a month + electro. Co-Op there even offered to pay my relocate
Blew the whole deal to kingdom come, heed and hawed about the weather and
Everything, got em to wait twice, finally gave up on me
This last employer is too cheapo to crack the cash pile out
But pay is same as Williston, and they have a house in nord bisymarck
for min rate to me
Found a brand new apt place, nine inch walls, double buffered for
Noise, all through the ceilings and everything
Double car garage, 2 bath, study room, 980$ +just the electro for lights and misc
Be movin in on the 1st April no less already
Probably the best bet for living family style if you value your after
work sanity
I remember those old paper walled apts from the 60's-80's
Whole bldg shook from the stairs being walked on
Your skills if as in your name are highly used over here now
Cheapo apts online from 450$ I saw just 2daya ago But mostt range in
6-650 rangeo. No garage, no w/d hookup. 250 deposit with
one place, have cash and decent credit? PM ME AND I'LL give you the
Name. Have to have verifiable employ though
Good Luck!!

[TrussGuy]

CityFarmer I looked for 2 weeks on my computer from Idaho. It seemed like no one wanted to rent to someone that wasn't currently in Bismarck. I ended up getting in contact with a Civil Engineer who was also moving there and we decided to partner up. He arrived up there before me and so during the day when he worked I made contact with owners and set up appointments to look at houses and apts. It took a week but we finally found a 2bdrm and now I am heading to Bismarck. $700 a month is what we found for a 2bd apt and I can't complain about $350 a month.

[CityFarmer]

So, What's your take so far on ND and Bismarck proper?
Are you there for work or school? Going from Idaho scenery to what have
now would be quite an earth shaker for some.
Everytime before when I drove through this part of ND I'd have to say hey,
Wakeup, we are almost to the boring part of Montana
Not exactly your shock and awe scenic city of the west?ha ha
Best place in Dakotas (bismarck) except for Rapid City, SD, and black hills territory in what I'd seen, living wise
Rest all too blahzay, low pay or just limited overall
I say this from looking at a move off and on for last 4 1/2 yrs
In this region
Visited Sioux Falls, stayex for a week then went over to
Rapid City, nice area, but school and tourist mecca mostly
Fargo was actually decent enough, but low pay kept me going
Minot, now there's a decent area, specially north, think Turtle something
comes to mind.
Was just wondering, here for work,school,short term or?
If you have been through a cold winter such as this before
(I have many yrs)then okay, if not, hmmm
Idaho is no match for ND cold from what ive observed
snow yes

[ironponygrl]

trussguy, how did you look for apartments online? all i can find with any listings is thru bismarck, mandan apartment association. are there any other resources? i'm in bismarck (arrived saturday) with a 2 year contract with the state of North Dakota. I am looking for a small studio suitable for a single professional woman with a tiny (3lb) dog. am I missing something?

[JanND]

Searched Bismarck N.D. rentals... rent bismarck north dakota - Yahoo! Search Results
Hope this helps. Bismarck N.D. homepage full of neat links for community.

[Broncogirl]

Give Bismanonline a try.

http://www.bismanonline.com/?bmoMerge=ma

[Broncogirl]

Originally Posted by ironponygrl

trussguy, how did you look for apartments online? all i can find with any listings is thru bismarck, mandan apartment association. are there any other resources? i'm in bismarck (arrived saturday) with a 2 year contract with the state of North Dakota. I am looking for a small studio suitable for a single professional woman with a tiny (3lb) dog. am I missing something?

http://www.bismanonline.com/rentals Good luck!

[ironponygrl]

thanks everyone for the reponses. i have an application pending, so fingers are crossed.