Tempe Small Dog Friendly Rental (apartment, rentals, condo)

[Neophyte282]

I currently live in South Mountain (4 mins from my work) with a roommate in a house but I'm looking to move more towards Tempe. I tend to shop and do more things out there when I'm not at work. Some places I frequent are Jerry's Artarama, Sprouts and Trader Joe's. Can anyone suggested a place to rent a one bedroom apartment that is accepting of small dogs and is in a safe area? I'd prefer to live somewhere that I'm not going to be surrounded by screaming kids and low-income housing. I'm looking for rent under $700, if possible (I know that may limit me) but any ideas would be great.

Thanks.

BTW, I love it here, I moved from WA in September.

[Neophyte282]

I went to the Ahwatukee area, off of 48 and found a nice 736sq ft one bedroom for $705 (plus utils and 2% AZ rent tax, wtf, jeez...). Admin fee just over $100, app fee $40, pet fee: $200 refundable, $200 non-refundable plus $20 a month pet rent... is this for real?

[observer53]

Have you actually seen the place and have those terms in writing? If so, what makes you think it's not "for real"? I don't see anything, from what you've said, that makes me question those terms. You might also want to look at some of the places in Tempe, just east of the I-10 around Elliot/ Grove Parkway/ Hardy to see how they compare. I know some allow pets.

[Neophyte282]

I'm just surprised at the amount of money that is required. I've never had to pay a pet rent before or a rent tax.

[observer53]

Pet deposits and pet rent are very common here. A 200 deposit and an extra 20 a month does not strike me as unreasonable. Rental tax is the law, so yes, it is for real.

[Neophyte282]

Thanks for the help.

[Neophyte282]

Found a potential roommate in the Arizona Mills 1222 West Baseline condo's. How is that area?

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by observer53

Pet deposits and pet rent are very common here. A 200 deposit and an extra 20 a month does not strike me as unreasonable. Rental tax is the law, so yes, it is for real.

There are places that charge pet rent, but there are lots of places that do NOT. I have 4 animals (2 cats and 2 small dogs) and refuse to pay pet rent. I have had no trouble finding places that don't charge it. My current place didn't even charge a pet deposit.

Another thing to be aware of is application fees. Some places charge ridiculous amounts like $50 per adult. I also avoided those properties. Plenty of places do not charge app fees.

You just have to shop around.

[Neophyte282]

I think once I see a place I really like, I'll offer to take it then. I'll say no pet rent, no app/admin fee and see what happens. I don't have much to lose, lol. If they want the money that badly, I'll request they apply it to my next months rent or something, in addition to a deposit.

[klotone]

Have you looked on craigslist? I know a lady who only rents to people she finds on craigslist under "Housing Wanted." We've done that twice on short term rentals and it worked out well - will probably work for long term rentals. You can specify the amt. you want to pay. We also found that people are a lot more flexible on the price when we ran ads like this. Also, I always google the apt. complex to find reviews!