Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm just finding this so frustrating. Of course we are going to have to fly up there to look at actual places, and of course it isn't affordable to do so without at least 2 weeks lead time. My son will have to take time off work - he insists realtors won't do weekend rental searches. Half the things I was interested in are already rented, or about to be rented this week.
Sure, things come and go on the market all the time - the problem being that there is no reason to assume that something will come on the market just in time for me to get there and see it. If you fly up for 3 days or so, then you end up HAVING to pick something you see during that trip - because you cannot come back and do it again (expense ... time ... he has to get ready for his own out of state move as well)
It's different if you're already there - then you can look around at what pops up over time. But trying to do it long distance, and when you have a specific budget that requires a niche dwelling - which exist, but appear and disappear from the market sort of at random - well, it's just really frustrating and ... FRUSTRATING, LOL!
If you make a connection with a realtor who understands what you are looking for and is willing to do some leg work for you, that might be the answer.
We did just that. We spent a 3 day weekend looking with a realtor but didn't find anything at that time. He did understand what we wanted after that process. We went home, and we both continued looking. With the many pictures online and the ones he took when viewing houses, we were successful in buying a house without seeing it in person. The inspection was helpful in determining if there were any major issues.
I'm just finding this so frustrating. Of course we are going to have to fly up there to look at actual places, and of course it isn't affordable to do so without at least 2 weeks lead time. My son will have to take time off work - he insists realtors won't do weekend rental searches. Half the things I was interested in are already rented, or about to be rented this week.
Sure, things come and go on the market all the time - the problem being that there is no reason to assume that something will come on the market just in time for me to get there and see it. If you fly up for 3 days or so, then you end up HAVING to pick something you see during that trip - because you cannot come back and do it again (expense ... time ... he has to get ready for his own out of state move as well)
It's different if you're already there - then you can look around at what pops up over time. But trying to do it long distance, and when you have a specific budget that requires a niche dwelling - which exist, but appear and disappear from the market sort of at random - well, it's just really frustrating and ... FRUSTRATING, LOL!
Where is up?
Can you imagine now how people relocated before the age of the Internet? Had to go to the library, sift through national newspapers or order one from the new possible location (it arriving some two weeks after printing), then calling LD, then booking a flight....
Another option would be to pack up everything and get it moved (with pods or a mover). Contract with a storage unit month to month for a place to unload everything once it gets there. Then you drive there, go to a hotel/motel/ short term week to week place and stay there until you get a rental. Then move the stuff out of the storage yourself or with help. Seems like a cheaper way than flying back and forth just to get an end point.
If you make a connection with a realtor who understands what you are looking for and is willing to do some leg work for you, that might be the answer.
We did just that. We spent a 3 day weekend looking with a realtor but didn't find anything at that time. He did understand what we wanted after that process. We went home, and we both continued looking. With the many pictures online and the ones he took when viewing houses, we were successful in buying a house without seeing it in person. The inspection was helpful in determining if there were any major issues.
^^^
A really good realtor or rental agent will work hard for you, doing just this. Be sure to ask him/her to take pics outside the dwelling, on the property, on the street, and in the n'hood. You can also type an address into google and see a "street scene" close-up from all angles around the dwelling.
We used a realtor, for their access to MLS, as well as completed our own searches. We first narrowed down acceptable neighbourhoods and then spent some time every night going through padmapper.com, realtor.com (has MLS listings), craigslist, and the posts our Realtor would send. Most realtors have the ability to set up search fields with recurring alerts that get emailed out to you based on your criteria - they don't really do any weekend rental searches...
I think the OP and other posters are talking about two different things. OP is talking about renting, and others are talking about buying. Unless a realtor thinks the OP is going to buy in the future with them as agent, not many are going to take the time to help them find a rental. It does happen, just not that often.
Instead, OP might want to hook up with a property management person who has many rentals in the area they are moving to.
Another thing I would suggest, is if the rental market is tight as it was here when I rented, be ready to POUNCE on a rental with deposit and references in hand when you go to look. It literally would not have made a difference here when I moved if I lived just down the street, or 2000 miles away; I needed to jump on rentals soooooo fast..........
I think the OP and other posters are talking about two different things. OP is talking about renting, and others are talking about buying. Unless a realtor thinks the OP is going to buy in the future with them as agent, not many are going to take the time to help them find a rental. It does happen, just not that often.
This is true. In my area, a real estate agent typically collects the first month's rent for handling rental properties. For that fee, the agent provides standard listing info and pics and shows the property to the prospective lessee; then screens tenants and handles paperwork for the lessor. That's it. The agent has to split the fee with his/her broker so there's not much money in it.
I rented sight unseen from 1,300 miles away. And I had to have a place with a yard for my dogs. I found the house on Craigslist. I really didn't have time to fly out, so I scoured the management compny sites and Craigslist. I found what appeared to be a great deal for its location. The "keeper" of the house seemed friendly enough, so I was semi-aggressive about getting the place. I knew it would be tough to appear serious when I wasn't even in town, but I did what I could. She initially chose another woman who learned she couldn't run her business in the house, so then it came to me and I jumped.
The house is a bit scruffy, but we figured we could handle anything for 6-12 months. There's a bit of a leap of faith to it.
We've been wrangling about this for weeks now, ever since he got a job offer out west. He's going to a desert - MY idea of a great place does not include cacti and tumbleweeds, LOL!
I am disabled and had a long illness during which he had to take care of me. I was not very well off for a long while but things are somewhat better now. Not perfect - but not as bad as they had been for awhile. He has been concerned about me living on my own and that has been a bone of contention between us.
I have considered Colorado Springs, Florida, Oregon, Washington State, northern CA, and southern CA. Avoiding all the megalopoli of course. Colorado Springs is my preference but the rentals that suit me and which I can afford are very niche-y (and usually very small as well), so that was a problem. Due to the disability I do not drive so - trying to go up by myself and look around would be pretty difficult without a car. I've been watching for weeks now and stuff comes up that would suit but then it's gone - of the latest crop only a couple are left, and who knows what would be on the market by the time we got reservations and got up there. So there was my the source of my frustration meltdown earlier today, LOL!
But after hashing it out some more I guess the best thing to do at this point is go on over to the desert with him and make trips driving across the border into Southern CA on house hunting forays. It's a long drive but at least its more do-able than trying to fly up and make a decision in 3 days (and with me being slow so dashing from house to house just isn't going to happen, LOL!) At least the pressure will be less, as well as the expense.
Not sure it'll help with the frustration level though, LOL!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
