Moving to Clearwater from MO (Tampa, Orlando: apartment complexes, rentals, condos)

[chiefs1]

We are relocating from Missouri to Clearwater. We recently spent the weekend looking for apartments but are still unsure of the areas and apartment complexes we should be considering. My husband is working in Clearwater and I will not be moving for a few months so I do not know where I will be working. I've searched some forums for feedback on apartement complexes but I'm still confused. Any suggestions on good apartment communities in the area for a couple in their early 30s? Any areas that we should stay away from?

[krissic]

I'm originally from MO. Where are you from? I'm from Cape Girardeau, now living in Orlando, thinking about the Tampa St. Pete area. Good luck!

[negreenUSF]

I don't have a lot of knowledge about the Clearwater area but I can give you a little help in looking for apartments in general. There are tons of condo/apartment communities all over Tampa Bay some are privately owned (condos) and others are owned by a company (apartments). One of things I learned when I moved down here is to watch out for apartment communities. They like to ********* for every dollar they can with random fees and "upcharges". The reasons they give are insane...one place we looked at wanted to charge us $60/mnth for water! The place we live in now isn't even $10/mnth we basically were paying to keep the pool for the otherplace! A lot of apartment communities will seem cheaper at first glance but when you add on all the other fees it ends up being more expensive than most places. They also charge you an arm and leg for application fees/credit checks and then usually a deposit that goes no where but in their pocket. Most communities have gates but they rarely work and the staff are usually rude. Granted this in NOT everyplace but everyplace we looked at.

Renting a privately owned condo or townhome in similar communities I believe is the best way to go. There aren't any hidden fees and usually much easier to deal with plus better neighbors. If you check craigslist tampa they always have lots of rentals listed and that's where we found our condo. I can't help you with areas in Clearwater but I wish I could. You can look where I rent in the Gateway/ NE St. Pete (4th and Gandy) there lots of condos and new condo conversions (apts that sold to investors) and it's a great area to start out. It's right over the bridge from Tampa, 10-15mins to beaches and downtown St. Pete and 10-15mins to Clearwater/Largo area. It's safe and clean! I hope this helped a little bit!! GOOD LUCK and let me know if there are any other questions I can help you with!

[chiefs1]

Thank you for your help! It seemed to be like there were a lot of misc charges that added up at a lot of the places. I didn't think of craigslist. we will check that out!

[cariad]

Originally Posted by negreenUSF

Renting a privately owned condo or townhome in similar communities I believe is the best way to go. There aren't any hidden fees and usually much easier to deal with plus better neighbors. If you check craigslist tampa they always have lots of rentals listed and that's where we found our condo.

I definitely agree with this. There are many rentals-a lot being first time on the rental market. Good prices and good quality. We found ours on craigslist-even though it is being handled by a realty company.

[chiefs1]

Originally Posted by krissic

I'm originally from MO. Where are you from? I'm from Cape Girardeau, now living in Orlando, thinking about the Tampa St. Pete area. Good luck!

I'm living in St. Louis now but originally from Ste. Genevieve so I'm very familiar with Cape!

[krissic]

Originally Posted by chiefs1

I'm living in St. Louis now but originally from Ste. Genevieve so I'm very familiar with Cape!

a lot of my family is from ste. gen! (biesers). good luck to you!