First time renting apartment - questions on timeline

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Fax machines and email work all over the world.

Unless there are a lot of vacancues, and I don't think there are in that part of the country, you might have a problem finding anyone to hold an apartment for you for that length of time.

[sic-parvis-magna]

Originally Posted by jaynarie

I would search now.

First, you will have family there. When I relocated cross-country, I took my mom with me on one trip and my sister on another. (I went for interviews, but also checked out apartments when I was there since I'd have to rent from a distance.) It made me feel more confident with another opinion and my family felt more secure about me going.

Secondly, if you are anywhere near a college, July is going to be a harder time to rent.

Thanks, I think I will! I feel that way, even if the current units available end up being rented out before my move-in, at least I will have an idea of where I would prefer to stay and maybe go for a temporary accommodation while waiting for more to become available.

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Fax machines and email work all over the world.

Unless there are a lot of vacancues, and I don't think there are in that part of the country, you might have a problem finding anyone to hold an apartment for you for that length of time.

Would it be okay if I looked specifically for apartments that are available for perhaps a couple of weeks before my move-in date? Most apartment websites tend to show what date the unit becomes available, so I thought it would not be a problem asking them to hold it for a week or two, or if they have any with available dates after my preferred move-in date, I could apply for them and stay somewhere temporarily while waiting for my lease to begin.

[RamenAddict]

Originally Posted by sic-parvis-magna

Thanks, I think I will! I feel that way, even if the current units available end up being rented out before my move-in, at least I will have an idea of where I would prefer to stay and maybe go for a temporary accommodation while waiting for more to become available.



Would it be okay if I looked specifically for apartments that are available for perhaps a couple of weeks before my move-in date? Most apartment websites tend to show what date the unit becomes available, so I thought it would not be a problem asking them to hold it for a week or two, or if they have any with available dates after my preferred move-in date, I could apply for them and stay somewhere temporarily while waiting for my lease to begin.

If by "hold" you mean sign the lease remotely and pay for those extra weeks, yes, that would probably work. I have done that in the past when I wanted a particular unit in a complex that was extremely popular. They put me on the waiting list for it and when it opened up they told me I had to rent it starting about 15 days earlier than I would have wanted, but I did it because that complex was much cheaper than the alternative I would have gone to anyway. I just signed the lease remotely and sent in my payment.

In your case, if it isn't more than a couple of weeks earlier, it will probably still be cheaper than having to stay in a hotel for a week or two while you look. I'm currently in that situation and my options were extremely limited because I a) had to get my stuff out of my prior residence ASAP and b) staying in a hotel for more than a week ends up getting too expensive.