Killing myself on finding an apartment.. (Pittsburgh, Bloomfield: sales, real estate, apartments)

[ljf2313]

I'm moving to Pittsburgh this summer since I start law school in the fall at the University of Pittsburgh. I have been doing a TON of research online trying to find apartments to look at...and not having much luck for my needs. My biggest problem is that I have a tiny dog, about 9 pounds. I want to spend no more than 850 a month with utilities (not including cable if that counts), and would really like to be downtown, Squirrel Hill, or Shadyside.

I feel like I have found decent places if I don't have the dog, but everywhere that will take him seems to have gotten bad reviews. So I don't really know what to do. Should I listen to online reviews or meet the management and judge for myself?

Also, they're all large management companies, and I would prefer a smaller more private company, but I'm guessing going down there and walking around is the bet way to do this? Or would a realty company be the way to go? Because where I live they show a bunch of the apartments around.

Sorry this was so long..I'm just exhausted from looking and getting nowhere it feels like.

[fleetiebelle]

Any particular reason for just those three neighborhoods? If you widened your search to places like Bloomfield, Greenfield, Regent Square, South Side, etc. you may get more options. Padmapper ( http://www.padmapper.com/ ) is helpful, as well.

[SorryIMovedBack]

Did you try an ad on Craigslist? I did that last year, and got an answer from a grad student who wanted a housemate. The location was too far from where I was working, though, and he had dogs and I had cats, so it didn't work out. I found that the landlords in the area were getting very pet un-friendly.

Try Coldwell Banker and whoever else he works for / with:
Brian H. Robb "I do sales for Coldwell Banker"
(412) 805-3960

[BrianTH]

Online reviews are typically biased toward the negative experiences, but still, large management companies are not known for their customer service. You'd have to be prepared for that, even if the online reviews give an exaggerated impression.

Unfortunately, it is pretty hard to apartment-search here online if you don't want to go through large management companies, because lots of apartments are offered by small landlords that still don't do much online.

[jay5835]

Walnut Capital allows pets in some of their buildings.

Walnut Capital - Pittsburgh's Best Properties

Walnut Capital - Local Business - Pittsburgh, PA - Wall | Facebook

[Scott2187]

A lot of places in those areas are waiting to hear from their current residents about renewing their leases right about now. February is when most management companies and others post their listings for the fall.

[Hopes]

When I rented, I preferred small independent landlords too. You can negotiate with them more. With a dog, you can offer to pay an additional security deposit if they don't allow pets.

I'm surprised to discover that landlords still list rentals in the Post Gazette:

Pittsburgh Real Estate & Homes for Rentals in Pittsburgh - PostGazette

Walking around and finding "for rent" signs is another way to go.

[UKyank]

Did you try Oakland? Should fall well within your budget & you can walk to the school.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I'm surprised to discover that landlords still list rentals in the Post Gazette.

I'm convinced a good chunk of them never migrated to Craigslist and such.

[Nutshell2009]

I too have a small dog and rent in Sq Hill from Walnut Capital. They allow pets in some of their properties for a nonrefundable deposit equal to 1/2 of your monthly rent. I have been impressed with the maintenance of the property and their responsiveness in general. The big knock on them is supposed difficulty getting your security deposit back, something I cannot yet speak to.