Best apartments near Chandler AZ under $550 (Mesa, Tempe: to rent, houses, buy)

[Yakob]

I just got offered a job at the Shoe Carnival in Chandler Az and I'm looking for a studio apartment in a decent area for $550 or less a month. I realize that's not alot, but I just need something for 6 months to a year until I can buy a house. Reviews of every apartment online are always negative so I'm looking for actual first hand experience from you guys. Where should I look.

[El_Waiboi]

Maybe West Mesa or downtown Chandler area...

[hikernut]

Are you open to a housemate situation? I've done this in the past, both as the landlord and the renter. Look for someone who owns their own house and lives there, and just wants to rent out a room or two. Fewer people in the house means fewer conflicts. Not having to share a bathroom also helps.

By doing this you avoid all of the fees for hooking up services too, which can be considerable. Many people will just write a month-to-moth agreement, which is nice to have when you're house hunting.

Stay away from "flop houses"... homes where the landlord rents out individual rooms and doesn't live there him/her self.

There are some roommating websites out there, and then of course there's Craigslist.

hikernut

[ShampooBanana]

I used Roommates.com when I first moved here and was able to land a really nice apartment with 1 roommate, gated community with nice amenties, overlooking the pool, about 1,100 sq. ft., with covered parking in a desirable area of S. Tempe for $600/mo. There were cheaper places than that but I wanted something relatively nice. It worked out great so I'd say that's the way to go.

[crystalys]

I agree with the renting a room in a house that the owner lives in. You would be hard pressed to find even a studio for $550 or less a month that is decent and you would have to tack on utilities which would bring your monthly payment above that by a considerable amount in the summer.