rent sight unseen or wait until we get there? (San Diego: extended stay, appointed)

[bqst]

Hi everyone,

We're a young family, two parents and an 8 month old, and we're very excited to be moving to San Diego in late June!

However, we won't get a chance to visit ahead of the move, as we're currently in NY. We're nervous about renting an apartment sight unseen...

Is it a crazy idea to just show up and try to find an apartment in person when we get there? Or will we have a hard time finding a nice place that way?

We're looking at 1 bedroom units in the $1k-1.5k/mo range, possibly in the UTC area? I'll be working in the Hillcrest neighborhood, and not making much money as I'm still in training, so our budget isn't very flexible.

If you have any thoughts on any of this, we're all ears! Thanks in advance!

-BJT

[kettlepot]

San Diego doesn't have rent control, so finding apartments in San Diego is easy. And since your child isn't in school, there are lots of neighborhoods in which you could find acceptable rentals for your budget. Spend a month in the Extended Stay America hotel in Mission Valley which is just down the hill from Hillcrest. Use that as your base of operations and go apartment hunting.

[Just1Lion]

absolutely get out there and then look. many places only have sample pictures. and you truly need to see a place before you decide whether or not to make it your home. i would second the notion of staying in a hotel for a few weeks. best of luck. im jealous.

[donalduckmoore]

You can rent a two bedrooms with the budget in Mira Mesa easily. It takes less than 20 min to UTC and you can take I-15 and then I-163 to Hillcrest very easily. That is what I did when I lived in Mira Mesa.

[nicmey]

Don't rent anything sight unseen.

Assuming you don't have any large pets, I would recommend that you find an extended stay hotel somewhere on hotel circle for a month or so, and then find a place once you get there. Hotel circle is just a short drive away from Hillcrest.

Just put your stuff in storage. This way, you'll at least have a week to visually cruise the neighborhoods so its not a complete surprise.

[hsimp239]

DEFINITELY come and visit and check out the places. I just found a place after 4 days of apt hunting last week. We actually got a really nice house in North Park, which was about the only place my girlfriend and I agreed on.

I stayed at the Extended Stay in Hotel Circle as well and it is indeed very close to the Hillcrest area and is easy to get to just about any neighborhood from there.

I saw about 30 places and most did not look like their pictures. Much of the time, once we got to a place, we were very disappointed having high hopes from the Craigslist ad. Google Street View certainly helps, but I would not risk renting a place with a lease without being inside it.

[nmnita]

You don't want to take something sight unseen. You don't know the area, the true condition or anything. Come, find an extended stay hotel where you can prepare your meals, relax, etc and start looking. It shouldn't take you more than a few days to find something. The secret could be when will it be available?

Nita

[MAK802]

We rented ours online, before moving here and not seeing it. We knew the area we wanted (UTC) and had a friend check out the place for us before we finalized anything. We couldn't be happier. If you have specific questions about the UTC area and the complexes around here, email me. I know people in many of the complexes here and can probably help you pinpoint the perfect one.

[Snort]

Go here first: California apartments and apartment reviews - ApartmentRatings.com
Then, when you get into town, look at the ones that are recommended. Never, ever rent sight unseen.