Using a Realtor to find a Rental (San Diego, Corona: extended stay, apartments)

[on.the.move.again]

Hi group,

My husband, 2 year old and I will be moving to San Diego in August for a job. We will not have much time out there before we move, so I am hoping for some help in finding a rental. Does anyone have recommendations for a realtor or where to start looking for one.

We are looking for a 3 bedroom rental in Hillcrest/North Park (but are open to other areas).

Thanks in advance for the help!

[moved]

Look on Craigslist.

[tonyinsd]

Craigslist, apartments.com, padmapper...there are a whole bunch of places to look. A three bedroom might be a little tougher to find, but you can find them.

[lrmsd]

You could also rent an apartment in a 'complex' with resort amenities-pool, tennis, that sort of thing, great for kids/families-as a starter option. I suggest this b/c they usually offer short lease terms (6 months, sometimes 3 months) with low move in deposits-usually 600 or less-so you could look around and find the right place. Streets in the areas you are looking vary almost block by block at times, in terms of safety, noise, etc. It would be tough, in my opinion, to find something from afar in that regard.

I know complexes are sterile, but they might offer an easier landing pad to catch your bearings.
You can search rent dot net for listings for these. Also, trulia dot com does have rentals of all types of housing. There are realtors who do rentals, but you'd need to google and search to find them; unless someone here recommends a particular company, I would not particularly trust these agents to find you housing from afar.

An example of apartment rentals: we live in carmel valley [though we lived for 3 yrs in the area you are looking at,-we were in Normal Heights near Univ heights, specifically, and with a young child, as well-we got out, finally, b/c we needed clean, safe, lots of parks and trees so my child could have a somewhat normal childhood. it's been a great choice]-and we pay $1460 for a 2/2 apartment, with w/d in unit, olympic pool and tennis courts great clubhouse, etc. and it's 3 miles from the beach with no freeways [torrey pines state park], as well as walking distance to jimbo's health store, theaters, etc. [Yea, i never thought a pool and tennis would be so great, but with free tennis classes for the kids, and my child being able to go mornign and night, alone with friends to swim or tennis, it's been a boon, for sure.]

I'm just giving an example of something that might be workable as a temporary solution for you guys. These types of complexes are all over san diego, some of course much nicer than others. Lots of families, too. UTC is another area with many families, since UCSD is there.

I'm not sure where your husband's job will be, but carmel valley is on the 56/5/805,a nd getting most place is easy and traffic free. UTC is on the 5, also easy in and out access. It's about 20 min to central SD [which includes hillcrest] from either location, as an example. Many areas of san diego are commutable, although they are not walkable in the way that urban areas such as north park/hillcrest are, nor do they have charm. These are the caveats].

If you want to share the job location, people can give you other, conducive location options.

Good luck in your search and enjoy your move! (:

[echo42]

Realtors do not work the rental market in California like they do in other parts of the country. If you find a realtor working rentals, more than likely he/she is a property manager and you are just going to be looking at their rentals. This is due to the fact that there is no "MLS (multiple listing service)" in the rental market here in CA and no cooperation between agents, as far as rentals go.

The rental market in San Diego and particularly North Park/South Park is a cottage industry and there is no one leading "rental company". For this reason, I would advise you to stay away from realtors for this purpose. Caveat for the RE Agents reading: I am a supporter of your industry, just not in the SD rental market.

Craigslist and the Union Tribune are your best bets for the San Diego rental market. I am a landlord and use these as advertisements for vacancies.

[loveCA]

You can check in Trulia.com and hotpads.com websites to find a rental. They will also give the street view and info about near by schools, grocery stores etc.

[AADAD]

Originally Posted by echo42

Realtors do not work the rental market in California like they do in other parts of the country. If you find a realtor working rentals, more than likely he/she is a property manager and you are just going to be looking at their rentals. This is due to the fact that there is no "MLS (multiple listing service)" in the rental market here in CA and no cooperation between agents, as far as rentals go.

The rental market in San Diego and particularly North Park/South Park is a cottage industry and there is no one leading "rental company". For this reason, I would advise you to stay away from realtors for this purpose. Caveat for the RE Agents reading: I am a supporter of your industry, just not in the SD rental market.

Craigslist and the Union Tribune are your best bets for the San Diego rental market. I am a landlord and use these as advertisements for vacancies.

Realtors do work in the rental market here in San Diego.

[oddstray]

When my sister and nephew moved to San Diego, they stayed for a month in a long-term-stay hotel while they hunted for an apartment. They had previously had me find them a storage unit, and they shipped their stuff out here with me meeting the movers and waiting while they loaded the stuff into the storage unit.

Is that a potential game plan for you?

[on.the.move.again]

Thank you all for the input. It is very enlightening. We have been looking at craigslist, and there do seem to be options posted there, but they seem to come up very close to the move in date.

That said, we could do a short term extended stay, but ideally we would not want to do this. Our contract in the area is for only 1 year, so ideally we would move into a 1 year lease right away.

As for job location, it will be spread out around the area. El cajon, Coronado, and La Jolla. We are in a big complex now and while its nice we would really like something with "character" hopefully near Balboa Park.

Thanks again for all input.

[moved]

What's your rental budget, and what do you want in a neighborhood? It'll much easier if you look for a two bedroom, because like tonyinsd said, they can be tough to find.