Help with renting a house in Phoenix Historic Districts (Scottsdale: real estate, rental homes)

[irmav]

We are planning to buy a home in the valley, but want to rent first so we know what neighborhood we like and to wait until I find a job. The job location will help inform where we end up buying to ensure a bearable commute. Is there a good resource for locating rental homes? Not familiar with where to search for rental homes. Do I need to work with a realtor, or is there a publication in which rental houses are commonly advertised? Any advice is appreciated.

[AZJoeD]

I would ask why you are focusing on historic districts? There are far more rental homes available in the urban center that are not in historic districts that may well suit your needs and probably for less money. People automatically assume that because a home is in an historic district that it is desirable, but many are just old and run down. If the time comes for you to buy and you wish to go to an historic district and make the commitment to an historic home, go for it. Meanwhile, while renting find the nicest house for the least amount of money. You are not buying it, just living there temporarily.

[irmav]

Ah, thanks for that bit of advice. We thought it might be important to live in the area where we might buy, which is why I was focusing on the historic districts. You said there are more rental homes in the urban center? Is it close to the historic districts? Where is that area and how would I go about finding houses for rent? Do I need to use a realtor for that? Thanks again for any additional help you can provide.

[Bungle]

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[AZJoeD]

Originally Posted by irmav

Ah, thanks for that bit of advice. We thought it might be important to live in the area where we might buy, which is why I was focusing on the historic districts. You said there are more rental homes in the urban center? Is it close to the historic districts? Where is that area and how would I go about finding houses for rent? Do I need to use a realtor for that? Thanks again for any additional help you can provide.

I guess the point I was trying to make is that historic districts are generally small in area (some only a few blocks in area) and only comprise a portion of the city. There may be homes nearby that are just a nice that are not within a historic district. Pricing is also a consideration. Some districts like Willo will be higher cost than Oakland.

Since you did not indicate anything about your needs or budget it is hard to advise.

There are several ways to find rental homes. You could contact an agent, some will do rentals, others won't. There is not a lot of money to be made doing rentals, so it just depends on the agent. You could always try newspapers, Craigslist, Back Page, etc., just be careful there are a lot of scams with rental properties. Or you could just drive around until you find something.

[The_Cadillac_Lawyer]

I recently lived in the Coronado district. Initially the rent was seemingly proportionate given the proximity to downtown ($800/2bdrm/900 sq ft), but the landlord raised the rent to $900 and I bailed. The homes in that area are hit or miss. IMO, besides not having a commute, it was not worth paying a premium.

[sargeant79]

Craigslist, Zillow, and Realtor.com are the three best options that immediately come to mind as good resources to get started. You might get lucky and find what you're looking for right away, but you'll probably want to expand from those sources. When you stumble across ads or listings placed by realtors/agents, you'll find a few that have their own websites or a company website linked in the ad. I've found that by browsing the listings on those pages as well you can come across several different options that may not have shown up on Zillow or Craigslist. I did work with a realtor the last time I looked for a rental house, but I came across her by doing exactly as I described above.

Good luck!

[irmav]

Thanks everyone -- this is all very helpful. I take your points that it is not worth paying a premium to rent a house in the historic district. We had a vacation town home in Scottsdale for 7 years (lived in Chicago at the time) and spent a lot of time in the Arcadia neighborhood, so I know I like the feel of that area, but Arcadia is too expensive for us. We are in the $400K range, so from reading other threads, I know that Arcadia Lite might be a good place for us to look, but so are some other areas in the historic districts. We are currently living in Prescott and it is too rural/small town for us after Chicago, so we're moving to the valley and I'll most likely be going back to work (my choice as I'm 56 and not cut out for retirement at this point). I could end up working downtown or for a corporation, so we need the flexibility of a rental. We've spent most of our working life living in suburbs, so we know what it's like to live there, but Phoenix is very different from Chicago and that's why we want to see if we would like living close to downtown. That's why we want to see what it's like actually living in or near the historic districts.

[BoiWonder13]

I pay $900 for a 2bdm in Garfield...which is probably the cheapest of the historic districts excluding that neighborhood off 15th avenue and Van Buren. Believe it's called Woodland Historic District though. My area is still very gritty and maybe crackish, but the homes remind me of neighborhoods in Los Angeles, nothing like the residential areas in other parts of Phoenix. Just my two cents!