Trying to find 1 bd apartment-impossible (Minneapolis, Coon Rapids: apartments, rentals, mortgages) - Minneapolis - St. Paul - Minnesota (MN) -Twin Cities - City-Data Forum

LeaveWI · 09-12-2016, 04:18 PM

Hi all- My brother and his wife have enlisted my help ( I think he should get his own account, but whatever) He has gotten a lot of positive feedback from prospective employers in the Twin Cities area, so they decided to move there, then find work-They have 3 years living expenses saved up, but would rather not go through that. All they are looking for is a 1 bedroom apartment in a safe area, takes cats, garage, under $900, (would love to have a w/d in the unit, but that's proven impossible to get) but after calling 75 places, they were told the soonest a 1 bedroom will be open is May Feb 2017!!
First of all, why is it THAT hard to find what they want, and my second question is where else should they look to find rentals? So far they just used Apartments.Com and Rent.Com, but maybe there's a better source that taps the "hidden" housing market. They only openings they found were for $675 but as you can imagine, for that cost in the Cities, they area was a bit rough, to say the least. I refuse to believe what they are asking for is THAT difficult to find.
Are there any suggestions as to a better place to search? Thanks all! and Go Packers!! oops sorry

StPaulGal · 09-12-2016, 04:38 PM

Check padmapper.com

Honestly, they are kind of looking for a needle in a haystack. They are looking for something at over 1/3 cheaper than average, that takes cats AND offers a garage. That is by definition a subset of a subset of a subset. Can they drop the garage requirement? That's probably the biggest deal killer.

Mason3000 · 09-12-2016, 04:41 PM

Craigslist

Duk123 · 09-12-2016, 06:21 PM

What do you consider a rough area? I did a search on Craigslist of NE Minneapolis zip code 55418 and 55413 and found 50 plus properties for rent below $1000. The only part of their wish list they may have to sacrifice is the garage. But even that is do able.

LeaveWI · 09-12-2016, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StPaulGal

Check padmapper.com

Honestly, they are kind of looking for a needle in a haystack. They are looking for something at over 1/3 cheaper than average, that takes cats AND offers a garage. That is by definition a subset of a subset of a subset. Can they drop the garage requirement? That's probably the biggest deal killer.

I'm sure they can-the only reason for the garage was to protect their car from the cold. So far, they find more with garage options or underground parking, than they are with w/d in the units. Are they really asking for that much? I would think given the severity of MN winters, that at least covered parking would be readily available. They are also no sure which 1st ring suburbs are safe. They are also interested in Delano, Hastings, Coon Rapids, but I told them the commute might be long

gweilo845 · 09-13-2016, 06:49 AM

Covered parking and garages are pretty rare for cheaper apartments, at least in the city - many buildings do not even have dedicated parking lots besides a few spaces, so you will have to park on the street. The cold shouldn't really be an issue if you take care of your car.

In unit washers/dryers tend to be in newer buildings, which are probably out of that price range.

The first ring suburbs are safe for the most part.

There are a lot of houses being sold in the metro area - people can't afford the payments and are still defaulting on mortgages - so they are looking to move into apartments. Also a lot of younger people ("hipsters") want to live in the city, so there hasn't been as many people moving out of apartments in the city to houses in the suburbs, so there have been a lot of new "luxury" buildings put up as well as old cheaper ones getting renovated, so the overall average rent has been rising the past few years.

MN_Ski · 09-13-2016, 10:07 AM

Only about 6 months ago I had a 1 bedroom right in Loring Park with garage parking and a great downtown view for $905. Washer and Dryer was not in unit, but they had a nice facility in the building and well as a Dunn Brothers downstairs.

Check out Park Terrace Apartment...I had a lot of issues with management, but overall upkeep and maintenance was actually pretty good.

wushuliu · 09-13-2016, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeaveWI

Hi all- My brother and his wife have enlisted my help ( I think he should get his own account, but whatever) He has gotten a lot of positive feedback from prospective employers in the Twin Cities area, so they decided to move there, then find work-They have 3 years living expenses saved up, but would rather not go through that. All they are looking for is a 1 bedroom apartment in a safe area, takes cats, garage, under $900, (would love to have a w/d in the unit, but that's proven impossible to get) but after calling 75 places, they were told the soonest a 1 bedroom will be open is May Feb 2017!!
First of all, why is it THAT hard to find what they want, and my second question is where else should they look to find rentals? So far they just used Apartments.Com and Rent.Com, but maybe there's a better source that taps the "hidden" housing market. They only openings they found were for $675 but as you can imagine, for that cost in the Cities, they area was a bit rough, to say the least. I refuse to believe what they are asking for is THAT difficult to find.
Are there any suggestions as to a better place to search? Thanks all! and Go Packers!! oops sorry

Well school just started so a lot of apartments got snapped up for students and recent grads. Twin Cities has a LOT of colleges. It's going to be tougher to find a place this time of year. Second, nix the garage for the metro area. Might have better luck in suburbs - St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, Hopkins, etc.

LeaveWI · 09-14-2016, 12:32 PM

Thanks all!! He told me today that he's finding the 1 bedrooms but that the earliest available is November-not a thing earlier so far

pvoyd · 09-15-2016, 09:52 AM

I was recently asked to help a colleague moving from overseas to look for an apartment in St Paul and the NE suburbs. At least in the suburbs (Roseville/Shoreview/Maplewood/New Brighton/Arden Hills), there were plenty of apartments under $1000 with garages, with availability in October 2016.

The areas themselves are nice; I was a little surprised to find multiple negative reviews of the apartment buildings, with tenants complaining about slow response to maintenance issues, and noisy and dirty neighbors. Not sure how widespread these problems are.