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Those of you who are not finding rentals on Craigslist, where are you looking to find a place to rent?
In a Nutshell:
Apartments.com / Apartmentguide.com / ForRent.com / apartmentfinder.com / HotPad.com (these are basically all the same--my biggest frustration with these sites is that the floorplans are not always listed)
Zillow / Realtor.com - select the RENT option - these also are basically the same
Zumper (sort of a mix between the two above)
www.rentcafe.com - many apartment complexes use this site to manage their application process
condos.com - select rent option
FB marketplace local to where you want to move - do a search on facebook (ex: apartments - xyz, NY) and a list of groups you can join should appear
Bear in mind that the information on these sites (especially price) may not always be accurate. If I found an apartment that looked interesting on apartments.com I would always do a follow up google search to see if they have their own website (most do) and get the pricing from there. For large apartment complexes prices fluctuate daily contingent on "market value" so the price that gets quoted today may not be the same as tomorrow's.
You can also check out the local paper or community bulletin on line ads (the "old fashion" way)--many will list rentals
I have been there and done that (for far too long it seems....)
My current and last apartment were recommended by friends. Previous apartments I scouted the area where I wanted to live and looked for apartment for rent signs on the buildings.
My current and last apartment were recommended by friends. Previous apartments I scouted the area where I wanted to live and looked for apartment for rent signs on the buildings.
Yeah, I forgot the most obvious one--drive around town until you find a FOR RENT sign.
Today I found one on Google Maps while setting up directions to go elsewhere. Not sure why the name of the apartment complex showed up--maybe I did a search for it previously and just forgot.
The scammer ads are roping in people who hope they can take advantage of someone else. Gee, that stupid landlord doesn't know rents are $ 1800? I'll take advantage of that real quick and get a place for $800 that's worth $1800. Too bad for the stupid landlord, yeah for me, I'm getting away with something.
That's an interesting way of looking at it. I would think that it has more to do with people trying to find something that they can afford.
Have you ever thought about the possibility that those who "fall for" ads like that might have lower education/intelligence levels, which might match their lower income?
Try to have some compassion sometimes.
My mother is the most honest person I have ever encountered in my life. She's also not particularly educated and has had some mental health issues all throughout her life. She was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's at 49 years old.
Even before the most recent diagnosis, she would be the exact person to fall for a scammer's ad. Not because she's trying to take advantage of anyone. My mother would never try to take advantage of anyone. She'd just be looking for something she could afford, and she has always been someone who always assumes the best about people, even when she shouldn't.
So my husband is trying to help out a friend find housing in the city and noticed that the amount of fake ads and scams have probably increased double it was only a couple months ago when we last searched.
I don't know how people find normal renters from this site anymore as I couldn't imagine shifting through all the $800 4 bedroom 2 bath listings in Seattle. There are so many, and most are just filled with errors or have 4 identical ads all posted within the same hour. And countless times I spot homes where the imagines are straight up stolen from listings on home listing sites where you can see that the home is clearly for sale and currently empty. It's just so out of control and it seems like there's no consideration from craigslist end to even try and stop them.
We also keep seeing these credit check ads promising to cover individuals who have bad credit, no employment, or need other verification "adjusted" to get housing. Are these for real? I know when looking at Vegas rentals we saw a bunch of ads, posters, and signs promoting these kinds of cheat supervise; but I didn't consider it a real thing. I've seen enough con artists fake their way into rentals and fool landlords who honestly take as many precautions they can to know it's possible; but is it really becoming that bad of a problem? I get that housing is hard to find in some places, but that doesn't give you the right to commit fraud! And as a current renter who likes my neighbors to be responsible, clean, and honest; so this does cause me to worry about getting neighbors who find a way around the system I use to protect my family when renting.
I not advertise on Craigslist. It really is the bottom of the barrel imo.
CL is known throughout the LE community as scamming people with too good to be true listings and once the buyer shows up, gets robbed. As most dealings on there as cash deals. I'd stay away from CL IMO.
I've found some rentals on CL before. What drives me crazy is all the spamming from apartment complexes trying to make each ad look like a different rental. I don't see a ton of trash on there in the rentals, but I do see an overload of the same apartment complex ads - sometimes quite a few each day.
I've found some rentals on CL before. What drives me crazy is all the spamming from apartment complexes trying to make each ad look like a different rental. I don't see a ton of trash on there in the rentals, but I do see an overload of the same apartment complex ads - sometimes quite a few each day.
That happens in my area. They'll post 10-15 of the same ads EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!! Then there's the ones that say "rare vacancy", "coming soon" or "limited availability" EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!
I set a minimum rent on there. If something sounds too good to be true, like a 4 bedroom house in Seattle for $800, then don't click on it.
About a month after I purchased my current home, a man came to my door with a laptop in his hand. He said he was from such-and-such church and asked if I was the owner of the house, and when I said yes, he said that his church helped homeless families get back on their feet. He saw my house was listed for rent on craigslist, but he was suspicious it was a scam because he checked the property records and saw it had recently been sold to a single woman, and the rent being asked for seemed too low for the area.
He showed me the ad and I thanked him, and notified the woman I bought the house from (a FSBO) and asked her to take the ad off Zillow.
A day or two later, I saw three men in their 20s climbing up the stairs to my deck off the kitchen. I intercepted them at the sliding glass door - I knew why they were there, to check out the "rental." They felt awful when I opened the door, assuring me they weren't burglars, and apologized profusely for coming into the back yard, but I told them it was ok and that I had already been alerted to the scam.
Ah, karma. Just as we were talking, the "owner" of the house called. He lived in Nevada (so he claimed) and wanted to know if they had had a chance to look at the house before wiring him the money for the deposit and first month's rent. The young man who he called handed me the phone and I chewed the scammer out up one side and down the other. CLICK!
I called the police, but they said unless money actually changes hands, they can't do anything. They also told me many of these scams originate out of the country, so they have no jurisdiction, anyway.
So yes, take rentals on craigslist with a small Siberian salt mine.
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