German shepherd friendly apartments? (Raleigh, Cary: 2013, apartment complex, renter)

[Vinny536]

We're FINALLY on our way! My wife starts her new job 8/5/2013. We will be moving into Raleigh the end of July.

We have a 7 year old Shepherd who is well behaved. We have lived in an apartment with her last year with no problems. Now my search restarts for a nice apartment complex that does not have restrictions against this breed. A pet park on site of nearby would be a nice bonus. Can you name some?

My wife's position will be near the PNC arena, we would like to keep her commute reasonably short, but will not exclude the perfect apartment if it's a little out of the way.

and just for fun here is are pics of her and her buddy.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Vinny536

We have a 7 year old Shepherd...

Look for a house with a yard to rent.

[Vinny536]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Look for a house with a yard to rent.

out of the question. We'll start in a short term lease in an apartment until we learn the area and have ample time to discover neighborhoods on our own. I also feel more comfortable renting an apartment from afar than a house. Renting a house sight unseen opens myself up for more risk of ending up in a bad area or with a bad landlord.

As I said, from 2/2012 until 4/2013 I lived in a third floor apartment with my dog and had no issues.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Vinny536

We'll start in a short term lease in an apartment...

You want a short term lease *and* to allow a dog? Good luck.

[nrmanby]

Congratulations on your new job and move, welcome to the area!

We were in the same spot as you 14 years ago, worried about finding apartments that allowed dogs. You'll be pleasantly surprised the area is VERY dog-friendly. Search for the apartment you want and chances are it will allow dogs. Some have a monthly pet fees, but many (most?) don't. Some of the apartments have their own dog play areas as well.

We lived in a 3rd floor apartment for 9 months until we bought a house, then we passed on our apartment to a friend who also had a dog (shepherd mix).

Good luck!

(ps We also looked at rent houses but settled on an apartment. After our first visit to the area we stopped considering houses and focused on apartments)

[nrmanby]

I'll respectfully disagree with MrRational. Times may have changed in 10+ years, but renting with a dog was almost a non-issue. And we've had a number of friends with dogs in apartments, so I don't think it's changed that much. (Most of our experience has been in Cary & Morrisville). The bigger challenge will probably be the short term lease.

[Vinny536]

Thanks nrmanby!

So far I've located 2 next to each other that look pretty good from reviews, satellite and street view.

Bexley at Brier Creek does accept GSDs
Bexley at Brier Creek Apartments in Raleigh, NC | Apartments.com


the preserve at brier creek.
Apartments in Raleigh NC - The Preserve at Brier Creek

[don6170]

Originally Posted by nrmanby

We were in the same spot as you 14 years ago, worried about finding apartments that allowed dogs. You'll be pleasantly surprised the area is VERY dog-friendly. Search for the apartment you want and chances are it will allow dogs. Some have a monthly pet fees, but many (most?) don't. Some of the apartments have their own dog play areas as well.

Some apartments that allow dogs restrict them to a certain size or do not allow "bully breeds" (pits, dobies, rotties, German Shepherds, etc).

[ajnucch]

We had the same problem when we had our loveable Rottweiler, we searched forever, even calling places that said we accept dogs over 100 lbs. (though our dog was only 80lbs.) the minute they asked her breed the answer was No, sorry... along goes for German Shepards, they obviously get a bad rap... So we had to settle in North Raleigh, even though I too worked near the PNC arena (formly RBC) the apt. complex was not my first choice, kind of old etc. it was called Six Forks Station, its in a convienant area to walk to stores etc. but as far as the Building we choose we had many typical problems a renter may have, flood from above apt. due to 20 plus year appliciances (dishwasher) breakdown, caused a huge flood in out apt. we had mold before and after the entire kitchen had to be gutted, the above tennants were trash people had numerous arguements, all documented (police called) I can go on and on... (also like to mention their idea of changing a broken appliance is giving you a "NEWER" reused one from their storage) the best part about it was when our house was finally built even with all the documented problems with the mold etc. the mgt. company REFUSED to let us break the couple of months we had left on our lease!!! We should have sued them for all the greif it caused us having taken weeks to refinish the kitchen due to the mold, which by the way was just one of the places we spotted mold, it was under the "OLD" carpet in other rooms! We just wanted to put it all behind us... It was a nightmare that didn't have to happen had they managed the place professionally, I can go on and on... Should I tell you about the apt they offered to move us to when the kitchen thing happened? I went to look at the empty apt. and took pics with my phone of mouse traps, YES !
Good luck ! With your apt. hunt and your dog, its not easy, at least it wasn't for us, hence we had to settle, unless you want to rent a house that allows dogs ???

[Vinny536]

Originally Posted by nrmanby

The bigger challenge will probably be the short term lease.

that's not been a challenge at all, I'm finding terms as short as 3 months. Perhaps I misused the phrase "short term lease", I intend to sign a lease no longer than 6 months.