moving to new orleans questions- help! (real estate, apartments, rentals)

[hershey87]

sorry if any of these are redundant- i know there are a lot of threads on this.

i'll be a grad student at tulane this fall and will need to come down from new hampshire and get an apartment. i'm wondering...

1.) when is the best time to apartment hunt? my program begins august 30. do most apartments go on rent for the first of the month? in that case, i'd need to get an apartment around august 1... and if that's so, should i come down at the end of july? btw i am hoping to live in the university/uptown area. are apartments in this area gone so fast that it's best to come maybe in july?

2.) do you know if realtors are generally good about renting to grad students? i have good credit history, but i'll be living on school loans down there. i won't be doing much working.

3.) do you think i should hire an apartment finder? or should i meet people off of nola.com, craigslist.org, etc.?

4.) are there any really cheap furniture places there? i have to decide if i should drive a trailer down from NH with my furniture (which would only cover me for my bedroom probably)- the rental alone will cost around $800. or i can drive down with my car and just buy furniture when i'm there. any thoughts? i'll need moving help too once i'm there. gah.

5.) do you know of any cheap parking garages, in case my apartment doesn't have parking? fwiw, tulane offers parking for around $500 a year.

that's it... sorry for the million q's. first time mover here!

[Aiten]

Originally Posted by hershey87

sorry if any of these are redundant- i know there are a lot of threads on this.

i'll be a grad student at tulane this fall and will need to come down from new hampshire and get an apartment. i'm wondering...

Originally Posted by hershey87

1.) when is the best time to apartment hunt? my program begins august 30. do most apartments go on rent for the first of the month? in that case, i'd need to get an apartment around august 1... and if that's so, should i come down at the end of july? btw i am hoping to live in the university/uptown area. are apartments in this area gone so fast that it's best to come maybe in july?

The University area is one of the tightest rental markets in N.O. (i.e. lessor's advantage). The best student deals tend to be taken by mid-May. That is because graduation occurs in May and seniors wisely sign leases ending that month. New students learn quickly that by the time school starts in August there is almost no decent stock left. Upperclassmen know this and plan on an easy return in the fall by finding a place before they leave for the summer., i.e. in April or May. As a grad student with good credit, however, you should have a better shot than undergrads at the apartments that exclude student applicants, but be advised that those apartments tend to be (justifiably) more expensive.

2.) do you know if realtors are generally good about renting to grad students? i have good credit history, but i'll be living on school loans down there. i won't be doing much working.

Tulane University has a apartment listing service, although it's a mixed bag. Check it out online: Tulane University ApartmentSource using your grad school ID. Going through a professional real estate agent is viable, but know that many require an "exclusive" agreement for a stipulated period of time, which usually means that they must be paid a commission whether they or you or your cousin's best friend's mom, etc., find the apartment.

3.) do you think i should hire an apartment finder? or should i meet people off of nola.com, craigslist.org, etc.?

You should test your luck on craigslist.org or latter-blum.com, the latter (unintended pun) effectively functions as a MLS for residential listings in New Orleans.

4.) are there any really cheap furniture places there? i have to decide if i should drive a trailer down from NH with my furniture (which would only cover me for my bedroom probably)- the rental alone will cost around $800. or i can drive down with my car and just buy furniture when i'm there. any thoughts? i'll need moving help too once i'm there. gah.

There are many good thrift shops in New Orleans. Besides the Salvation Army and Goodwill, there are also many homegrown outlets such as Bridge House, which serve worthy causes and often (but not too often...) have pretty nice furniture.

5.) do you know of any cheap parking garages, in case my apartment doesn't have parking? fwiw, tulane offers parking for around $500 a year.

Parking can be a major hassle around the universities and there are few, if any, public options as the surrounding area is almost all residential. Your best scenario would be to find an apartment which includes off-street parking. Failing that then the Tulane option seems preferable to wasting time driving around looking, worrying about security, and possible paying more in tickets in the end.

that's it... sorry for the million q's. first time mover here!

a

[Aiten]

Sorry, newbie on this site. Quote function is different from what I'm used to.

[mnr3]

I would make contact pronto with members of your department. they should be able to help a great deal

+ what Aiten said

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by hershey87

sorry if any of these are redundant- i know there are a lot of threads on this.

1)IMO the best time is now or ASAP. You can work with some landlords regarding your move in date, especially if you talk to them ahead of time. You also want to beat out all of the other students.

2)Don't know. The University Area is full of student rentals so I don't know how much of a problem that will be.

3)I would meet people and look for myself.

4)It depends on what you consider cheap. Rooms-to-Go cheap or Thrift shop cheap?

5)No parking garages that I can think of in the University area.

[hershey87]

aiten, i can't thank you enough for your reply!! it was so helpful. i didn't know about latter-blum.com- that's an excellent resource.

i am really dismayed to hear that my best bet is to get an apartment by may. i simply won't have the funds to cover rent during the whole summer. i may be able to swing it in june, which is better than august. i could also opt not to live in the university area. it's tough making these decisions when you're so clueless about your future home. i've visited twice but didn't see the whole city and am not well versed on the geography.

if you don't mind another "which neighborhood...?" question, can you give me an idea of what neighborhoods are closest to tulane, apart from university/uptown? i see so many listed on craigslist- mid city, treme, gentilly, algiers, etc. and don't know where they are exactly.

mnr3, thanks... i'll try to get in touch with someone who can help me with off campus housing info.

westbank- i want furniture that is comfortable but cheap... like ikea prices but hopefully better quality (i've heard ikea sucks.) if only you guys had a bob's. but i'm sure i'll find some great thrift stores. if anyone has any recommendations, shout 'em out.

[Aiten]

If you don't mind a roommate it'll be best to find another grad student to share the effort and the expenses ahead. I imagine there are message boards at Tulane to help match roommates. Perhaps someone is looking for a place just like you, or, better yet, is already established and in need of a roommate. Furthermore, based on my observation there are many more multi-bedroom units than single-bedroom or efficiencies (studios) listed.

If you refer to this map http://www.gnocdc.org/mapping/docs/neighborhood.pdf (broken link) the neighborhoods you should focus on are, in order of desirability: Audubon (University), East Carrollton, Uptown, & Black Pearl, and you might consider sections of Marlyville (Fontainebleau), Broadmoor, and Leonidas. Plenty of people, workers and students alike, commute from more distant points to the university, but for a one bedroom or a share situation it'll hardly be worth the few tens of dollars a month difference after everything is weighed including your time and the enjoyment of it while here.

BTW, our host has pretty good information on the various neighborhoods, about 2/3 of the page down:
//www.city-data.com/city/New-Or...Louisiana.html

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by hershey87

i am really dismayed to hear that my best bet is to get an apartment by may. i simply won't have the funds to cover rent during the whole summer. i may be able to swing it in june, which is better than august.

You don't necessarily have to move in right now. You can go ahead and get an apartment, just tell them that you can't move in until August. Some landlords will hold the apartment or there maybe a tenant already moving out and that way you can get the apt without having rto risk someone beating you to it.

[hershey87]

aiten, thanks again so much! that map is very helpful. i couldn't find a good one on google for some reason.

i've found some people on fbook looking for roommates. i'll keep an eye out on there, craigslist, and other sites.

westbank- so far, on craigslist at least, people only seem to be advertising apartment openings about a month ahead of time, so i'm wondering how i'll find out about apartments that are available this fall. i assume i'd have to pay if i claimed one now- would they really hold one for me with no incoming rent? hm. i'll keep looking around.