Moving in May (Sacramento, Folsom: extended stay, apartment complex, rentals)

[ilvesam]

Hello all,

My husband and I will be relocating to Sacramento at the end of May and I have a question about our apartment search. Should we secure our lodging before we arrive in Sacramento, sight unseen aside from photos, or is it possible to arrive and find a place within a week or two?
We are moving from the Boston area and it is difficult to find an apartment here without a broker. I'm guessing from my research that Sacramento isn't that difficult. Also we are looking a living in East Sac or Midtown because it will be close to my husbands work and we only have one car at present.
Any advice is appreciated.

[Westbound and Down]

You are asking the same question, more or less, that I have posed (look a little further down the forum). Nobody has responded to my question, but I hope they will at least address yours, if not mine, too.

I am familiar with renting in Boston, and it was bad there, very stressful. Where I currently live (Charleston SC area), occupancy rates are very high and you are best advised to secure an apartment 60 days ahead of anticipated move-in (they tend to have 2 month notices at apartments here).

So I hope you have better luck than me getting a reply. My gut tells me Sacramento is "easier" than Boston or where I am now, but I would love to hear someone with local Sacramento experience chime in here. It would be awesome to do what you are asking, to show up and find a place.

Good luck.

[wburg]

This isn't a particularly high-volume forum, and you only posted two days ago, so regulars here may not have noticed your message yet, Westbound. Occupancy rates in Sacramento are not super high so 60 days ahead of anticipated move-in would be highly unusual. It's always a better idea to visit an apartment in person--if you can arrange to stay at an "Extended Stay America" or other hotel designed for a few weeks' occupancy you can take time for an apartment that suits you better or costs less. But securing a place 60 days before moving in seems very unusual.

East Sacramento and Midtown are great places to live. If you're coming from Boston expect a lot slower pace of life, but they are good options if you're looking for a short commute and close access to amenities, from nightclubs to bike trails.

[Westbound and Down]

Originally Posted by wburg

This isn't a particularly high-volume forum, and you only posted two days ago, so regulars here may not have noticed your message yet, Westbound. Occupancy rates in Sacramento are not super high so 60 days ahead of anticipated move-in would be highly unusual. It's always a better idea to visit an apartment in person--if you can arrange to stay at an "Extended Stay America" or other hotel designed for a few weeks' occupancy you can take time for an apartment that suits you better or costs less. But securing a place 60 days before moving in seems very unusual.

East Sacramento and Midtown are great places to live. If you're coming from Boston expect a lot slower pace of life, but they are good options if you're looking for a short commute and close access to amenities, from nightclubs to bike trails.

Thanks for the response - it helps me (hopefully it helps the OP, too). Having rented houses and apartments on the east coast for the past 25 years, it sounds like Sacramento does operate on a different level of urgency. It is not unusual in the high demand / high occupancy markets back east to advertise and lease places 90+ days in advance. I have seen houses listed for rent near me showing availability 4 or 5 months out (like Aug and Sept 1).

Given what you have said, 60 days does sound like overkill, but do you think that it really isn't necessary to make a special trip out there say May 1 to find a place for a June 1 +/- start date? I do notice on craigslist lots of houses for rent via "open houses" and the availability is immediate. I would hate to go to the expense of flying out on May 1 and finding a place that I would have to rent on the spot and pay for a month before I could even get moved out there.

[calnbs]

It depends really on you. If you are picky or not. It depends on your budget and what is available in that area that you want to live. But it should not take long to find a place to rent. I've rented in the past and never have any issues finding a place to rent within a short period of time in Sacramento. As long as you have good credit, good paying history, should be a smooth transaction.

[wburg]

I personally wouldn't rent an apartment sight unseen, but theoretically you could do it on short notice. For the OP of this thread, May/June is probably an easier time to rent because it is the end of the school year at CSUS and a lot of students are moving out of town for the summer, especially in Midtown and East Sacramento, which are close to the campus and popular with folks of student age. I wouldn't want to be in the position of telling you "Come on out to Sacramento and rent a place sight unseen with no notice the same day!" but I haven't heard of people having to reserve apartments several months in advance like that. And I'd recommend coming out with some lead time so you can look around to find what neighborhood suits you best. Taking a realtor or apartment broker's word that the neighborhood is safe and quiet, or close to all the action, is a risky proposition.

[ilvesam]

Thanks everyone for the replies. My husband is from LA and used to that particular market and obviously we have been dealing with the fun of renting in Boston for the past 5 years, so we were really unsure about Sacramento. Westbound, I mistakenly didn't read all the recent posts before posting, but I'll be looking at your responses too :-)

I think, if my husband agrees, that staying at an Extended Stay would be a good idea for us in order to check out the different neighborhoods. We were worried that our stuff would arrive before we have an apartment, but maybe I can work it out with the moving company to make us their last stop. Fingers crossed!

[Westbound and Down]

Originally Posted by ilvesam

Thanks everyone for the replies. My husband is from LA and used to that particular market and obviously we have been dealing with the fun of renting in Boston for the past 5 years, so we were really unsure about Sacramento. Westbound, I mistakenly didn't read all the recent posts before posting, but I'll be looking at your responses too :-)

I think, if my husband agrees, that staying at an Extended Stay would be a good idea for us in order to check out the different neighborhoods. We were worried that our stuff would arrive before we have an apartment, but maybe I can work it out with the moving company to make us their last stop. Fingers crossed!

I apologize for glomming onto your thread, but it seems like we are after the same kind of nfo, so it worked out.

Good luck in your move.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by wburg

I personally wouldn't rent an apartment sight unseen, but theoretically you could do it on short notice. For the OP of this thread, May/June is probably an easier time to rent because it is the end of the school year at CSUS and a lot of students are moving out of town for the summer, especially in Midtown and East Sacramento, which are close to the campus and popular with folks of student age. I wouldn't want to be in the position of telling you "Come on out to Sacramento and rent a place sight unseen with no notice the same day!" but I haven't heard of people having to reserve apartments several months in advance like that. And I'd recommend coming out with some lead time so you can look around to find what neighborhood suits you best. Taking a realtor or apartment broker's word that the neighborhood is safe and quiet, or close to all the action, is a risky proposition.

I completely agree with wburg
So many places look great online, or even if you are looking at the apartment model, and then you see your unit....
IMO, I wouldn't want to live in an apartment complex full of college students. I like to relax and unwind when I get home, but that's just me. Others may like that atmosphere.
When I moved to town, I was fortunate to rent a room from a friend. I lived at the 4100 Folsom condo complex (in the Fab 40's) for 4 years. It was the perfect centralized location, and all my work commutes were "reverse commutes" so I wasn't stuck going to same way as the majority of the cars. I recommend that you check it out.
A good rental website is www.sacrentals.com

[wburg]

Most of the apartment complexes in Midtown or East Sacramento aren't full of college students--those tend to be the ones farther east, or at least that is my understanding, over the American River where the apartment complexes are cheaper and more tolerant of shenanigans. East Sacramento apartments tend to be in small buildings located in residential neighborhoods with notoriously limited tolerance for loud parties. If you live in Midtown, a certain level of wackiness tolerance is encouraged.