BEST method for searching for apartments in NH (Concord, Dover: rentals, insurance)
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I am relocating from Florida to NH for a new job. I will be working out of Portsmouth.
Firstly: I searched for over a month and still haven't found anything. I am looking to live in Dover, since its cheap and it has its own downtown activities and such. It's not as active but it's a cute city.
Secondly: I have looked everywhere. I mean everywhere. But a decent-sized reasonably-priced apartment still eludes me.
Lastly: How do you search for apartments here? Most of the apartments that I took an interest were privately owned. That's okay, but they want an arm and a leg before you move in. Today, for example, I like this small about a 450 sq ft sized apartment in a community called Cricket Brook. I was informed that I needed to pay 1st and last month's rent and a hefty security deposit, PLUS a pro-rated charge for moving in a few days early.
That totaled to 2,815 dollars. Too much money.
It's difficult to find a good apartment here in NH, what techniques could I employ to make it better?
I am relocating from Florida to NH for a new job. I will be working out of Portsmouth.
Firstly: I searched for over a month and still haven't found anything. I am looking to live in Dover, since its cheap and it has its own downtown activities and such. It's not as active but it's a cute city.
Secondly: I have looked everywhere. I mean everywhere. But a decent-sized reasonably-priced apartment still eludes me.
Lastly: How do you search for apartments here? Most of the apartments that I took an interest were privately owned. That's okay, but they want an arm and a leg before you move in. Today, for example, I like this small about a 450 sq ft sized apartment in a community called Cricket Brook. I was informed that I needed to pay 1st and last month's rent and a hefty security deposit, PLUS a pro-rated charge for moving in a few days early.
That totaled to 2,815 dollars. Too much money.
It's difficult to find a good apartment here in NH, what techniques could I employ to make it better?
What makes you think that renting an apartment in Dover should be "cheap"? And define "cheap".
You're going to have to pay first, last, and a security deposit in most places. See if you can adjust your move-in date so it doesn't provoke an extra payment. If you have pets that are driving up the security deposit, look for places being advertised as pet-friendly.
You're going to have to pay first, last, and a security deposit in most places. See if you can adjust your move-in date so it doesn't provoke an extra payment. If you have pets that are driving up the security deposit, look for places being advertised as pet-friendly.
Are you sure that's true? That doesn't match up with what I have read. I was surprised when I first moved here to only have to pay first month's rent, and a security deposit. In the Boston area, I would generally pay first, last, security, and the equivalent of another month's rent if I went through a broker.
To my knowledge in NH, for properties larger than a certain size (I can't remember how many units, but not many) it is illegal to charge more than one month's rent for security or anything else, in addition to the first month's rent. That is to say, two month's rent would be all they could ask for. Then again I suppose it may be that "most" places are actually so small that they can charge what they want.
Here's what the DOJ website says:
The Law
New Hampshire's law on security deposits (RSA 540-A) defines a security deposit as any money that a tenant gives to his or her landlord other than the monthly rental payment. The name given to the payment - cleaning deposit, last month's rent in advance, etc. - does not matter. The amount is a "security deposit" if it is anything other than the monthly rent.
In New Hampshire, a landlord who owns more than six units can ask for no more than one month's rent or $100, whichever is larger, as a security deposit. The landlord must keep security deposits in a special escrow account or post a bond with the local municipality to secure repayment.
1st, last and security is illegal in NH, except under very limited circumstances.
As for rent pricing, they are way over-inflated. Property owners see another rental at a high price, so price theirs high. Then other owners see that and price theirs high, and so on.
I see the same rentals being advertised over and over again, so they are not being snapped up.
In regards to rent pricing... property owners have property taxes to pay, plus mortgage payments, insurance, building maintenance, winter snow removal... and add in just one bad non-paying tenant, and being a landlord is pretty much a perpetual headache.
And the cheaper the rental, the more applicants to interview. And the tenants that can afford higher rent tend to be better quality tenants.
I stand corrected. I've always paid first, last, and security everywhere I've rented.
Upon thinking about it though, you're probably right in a way because it may well be that the majority of apartments rented in NH are rented by private landlords who don't own many units. I've only ever rented from either a complex or a big property management company with lots of buildings, which I guess is the way to go if OP doesn't want to have to pay more than 2 months up front. (But, that limits him in number, and probably the less expensive apartments will be with small-time private landlords.)
I see the same rentals being advertised over and over again, so they are not being snapped up.
And yet, in many areas, there is very very low vacancy, with Concord, for instance, having below 2%. (That's what I know off-hand - looking it up, as of summer 2016, vacancy rates for the state fell to 1.5%, with 7 out of the 10 counties showing vacancy rates at below 2%) Maybe it's something other than the price that is keeping people from renting them? (Price and lack of qualified tenants?) I've read a lot about low vacancy and high prices being considered a crisis in the state.
Upon thinking about it though, you're probably right in a way because it may well be that the majority of apartments rented in NH are rented by private landlords who don't own many units. I've only ever rented from either a complex or a big property management company with lots of buildings, which I guess is the way to go if OP doesn't want to have to pay more than 2 months up front. (But, that limits him in number, and probably the less expensive apartments will be with small-time private landlords.)
I'm realizing now that the places I've rented in larger complexes were all condos which I rented from the individual owners. So I don't think that law wouldn't apply there either.
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