Moving into a rental apartment "sight unseen" (extended stay, apartments)

[nellissc]

My husband and I are about to move from Virginia to the East Bay. Unfortunately, we don't have the resources to make a special trip out to view apartments/homes to rent. We've been searching tirelessly on Craigslist, ApartmentList, etc. I thought that renting an apartment sight unseen would just be a risk we would have to take, and we're willing to do that. However, it seems that the fact that we are across the country and can't visit in person is being held against us. We are considering starting out in an extended stay hotel and trying to find a place once we're out there, but the housing being as competetive as it is, I'm not sure I'm comfortable moving out there without a home. Any advice?? Thanks!!

[Ruth4Truth]

Why would being out-of-state be held against you? You call, hopefully being first on the list of callers. You talk to the landlord. Offer to fax a copy of your employment offer or bank statement as proof of ability to pay. You provide a credit rating, or pay a fee so they can check your rating. They fax you a rental contract. You sign, and return it, and send a check or do a direct deposit into their bank account when they provide you their account number.

Done.

[California Vagabond]

I'd recommend the extended stay hotel, despite the expense and inconvenience. You could get lucky and book a great apartment long distance, but you could also sign on to a nightmare rental that wouldn't have passed muster with an in person, feet-on-the-ground look at the place. I'd hate to be trapped in a lease for a lemon!

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Why would being out-of-state be held against you? You call, hopefully being first on the list of callers. You talk to the landlord. Offer to fax a copy of your employment offer or bank statement as proof of ability to pay. You provide a credit rating, or pay a fee so they can check your rating. They fax you a rental contract. You sign, and return it, and send a check or do a direct deposit into their bank account when they provide you their account number.

Done.

Because in high demand areas (like the Bay Area) the landlord is probably being contacted by other qualified candidates who are local and can do all of that stuff in 15 minutes in an in-person meeting. Not saying you can't find landlords that will rent to out-of-state applicants, but I do think it is a legitimate concern.

My recommendation is to personally never rent sight unseen...but if you must, try to find something that is month-to-month. It'll be more expensive, but if it isn't good you can get out of it easily. Another good option is to live in an extended stay hotel for a couple of weeks before finding something permanent. Again you'll spend more money probably doing it that way, but you'll at least know if you like the area and place before signing something without even seeing it in person.

[nellissc]

Thanks for your responses. I think the extended stay may be the way to go, even though it's a little uncomfortable to not have a permanent residence nailed down. But like you said, the advantage will be that we can show up to a place in person and sign a lease on the spot. We're bound to be able to do that somewhere within a couple weeks of arriving and checking the area out.

[clongirl]

I honestly think it's your best course of action. My family had to do it for a couple of weeks since there were very so few rentals even available. Nowadays, you must be extra cautious with rentals advertised on the internet...sometimes they don't even exist after people have sent on a deposit to "hold" the place. So much can go wrong with the process that I personally wouldn't even take a chance on not meeting the landlord, inspecting the apartment or visiting the neighborhood.