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Hey all, my family and I are planning on moving out of state and won't have the funds to go visit the city and find a rental beforehand, and we were planning on having a place already rented by the time we get there. I don't want to move into something sight unseen and end up with something completely rundown and unsuitable for us. For those who may have experience with this, would it make sense to have a friend go to the apartment and check it out for us before we commit? What do you think the landlord would think? Staying at an extended stay hotel isn't an option for us. Any tips are much appreciated.
Hey all, my family and I are planning on moving out of state and won't have the funds to go visit the city and find a rental beforehand, and we were planning on having a place already rented by the time we get there. I don't want to move into something sight unseen and end up with something completely rundown and unsuitable for us. For those who may have experience with this, would it make sense to have a friend go to the apartment and check it out for us before we commit? What do you think the landlord would think? Staying at an extended stay hotel isn't an option for us. Any tips are much appreciated.
We've moved into 2 different apartments sight unseen. Both times we had family or friends look at the place before we made a commitment. My parents even looked at a few different apartments before we ended up deciding on one. None of the landlords ever had a problem with it.
I retired from an apt mgr job last year in Silicon Valley (SF Bay Area) and rented to a lot of students and techies moving to the area from out of state or country. If they had a local friend or family member who wanted to look at the place on their behalf, that was fine with me. In fact, they often took videos and/or photos, and sometimes even Skyped with the prospective tenant, showing them the apartment and letting them talk to me, asking questions, etc.
So, from my perspective, it wouldn't be weird at all. All paperwork, credit checks, etc., can be done long distance.
Hey all, my family and I are planning on moving out of state and won't have the funds to go visit the city and find a rental beforehand, and we were planning on having a place already rented by the time we get there. I don't want to move into something sight unseen and end up with something completely rundown and unsuitable for us. For those who may have experience with this, would it make sense to have a friend go to the apartment and check it out for us before we commit? What do you think the landlord would think? Staying at an extended stay hotel isn't an option for us. Any tips are much appreciated.
Yea, don't do it. Not unless you can really, really trust that friend and their opinion on what's a 'nice' area and what's a 'not so nice area'. I'm too picky to allow someone else to make that decision for me.
I'd make the extended hotel an option....it's a win win. You store your things, live in the hotel for a month or two and find the place that works for you.
The landlord wont' think it's weird at all...people do this all the time for work, but they actually do some research before packing up the U Haul and heading across country
Yea, don't do it. Not unless you can really, really trust that friend and their opinion on what's a 'nice' area and what's a 'not so nice area'. I'm too picky to allow someone else to make that decision for me.
I'd make the extended hotel an option....it's a win win. You store your things, live in the hotel for a month or two and find the place that works for you.
I agree. It may well only take you a week or two at most to find a place which suits your family. Making such a move with a family is vastly different from that of a single student or "techie" moving for college or a job.
As a landlord, we actually will not rent to someone who hasn't seen the house or had a 3rd party they trust see it for them. So not weird at all. We wouldn't rent to you otherwise.
And I agree, if there is ANY way you can see it for yourself, do that.
I have been married to an aviation contractor for 30 years and a euro one at that. In Europe and in back in the states we always go the extended stay route. In some cities I think I would have just STAYED in the extended stay but seriously ,it helped me get out of a jam more than once from going through tons of credit checks to find the right place. When we moved to Seattle I went to an extended stay I booked through priceline ( or hotwire ) and got it for $30.00 a night . It's worth it and I still live near it !
As a landlord, we actually will not rent to someone who hasn't seen the house or had a 3rd party they trust see it for them. So not weird at all. We wouldn't rent to you otherwise.
And I agree, if there is ANY way you can see it for yourself, do that.
So how do you recommend getting a place to rent before you move, when you have no friends or family in that area and can't afford to go see it first yourself?
Yea, don't do it. Not unless you can really, really trust that friend and their opinion on what's a 'nice' area and what's a 'not so nice area'. I'm too picky to allow someone else to make that decision for me.
I'd make the extended hotel an option....it's a win win. You store your things, live in the hotel for a month or two and find the place that works for you.
The landlord wont' think it's weird at all...people do this all the time for work, but they actually do some research before packing up the U Haul and heading across country
I have a friend who did this. I think his friend FaceTimed him when she was seeing the apartments. I stayed at the apartment he ended up renting and it was in a very convenient area where he could walk to the main shopping area in town and was across the street from a Trader Joe’s.
When I first moved to my current area, I rented a hotel room for a week (there were no Airbnbs in the area) and just did the apartment hunt when I got here.
So how do you recommend getting a place to rent before you move ... ?
You go back to that wonderful employer offering you the job that doesn't pay enough to afford an extra trip.
Or is the problem deeper? That there isn't a new job to go to in the new town yet either?
Long Story Short: Extended Stay Motel for the week or so it takes to sort through the basics.
Maybe an extra week (or two) to work out the rest of the kinks.
eta: start your own thread rather than resurrect old ones
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