How to rent a house from across the country? (August: extended stay, apartment)

[butercup]

I could also use some general advice on how to even find a house to rent. Our family of 5 is relocating from FL at the end of March. I have been checking CL daily for a house that meets our criteria (ideally 4 bedrooms, in Willow Glen, bonus of allowing pets) for the past few months, and I've seen approximately two that would work. Our budget is appropriate for what we want, it's just a lack of inventory.

If we were so lucky as to find a listing that is a possibility, can anyone give me any tips on how to get it? My husband is out there frequently so if it's a week he's in CA we've at least got a shot, but if not, do they ever rent to long-distancers? We have great credit, good job, plenty of income blah blah blah. Do realtors provide that service, acting as a middleman? Anyone been through this that can tell me a personal success story? Our relo company is supposed to put us in touch with a corporate housing person, but I think they are mostly representing the Archstone-type complexes.

Worst case, we will move into an extended stay or corporate housing while looking, but I anticipate many sweaty weeks trapped in a small apartment with 3 children. I figure once we're 4 weeks out I will post a housing wanted ad on CL in case that ever succeeds, but beyond that I am clueless.

[ccm123]

You can use a realtor, or come out here for a few weeks and look at advertisements and make appointments at places you find, to inspect them. If you like it, grab it, as rentals move quick here.

[Nell Plotts]

It is very difficult to rent from a distance in markets where rentals are tight. Find someone to watch the kids in your current community and fly out for a look. You really need to be prepared to sign a lease immediately when you find something you want. Why would a landlord rent to someone sight unseen when there are great renters you can meet in person?

[Wintermomma]

I strongly recommend taking the corporate housing and looking while you are here. I know it seems like a pain, but it's not as bad as being stuck in a horrible situation that you got into hastily, for a year. I did that. I went with the only thing I thought would work during a 4 day search, and a HORRIBLE NIGHTMARE-inducing property manager (be happy to share their info via PM; but let's just say check Yelp for their reputation before signing anything). I deeply regret we didn't just take the corporate housing and find something after we were here.

And I never found any realtor willing to be an agent for us in this situation, which just baffles my mind. The one our relo-company set us up with was totally useless, nearly everything is done via craigslist here and you have to be quick. Apparently they cannot charge for this service, here, so almost no one does it and if they do they give it not much attention (correct me if I'm wrong, realtors). With this rental market I would think there would be a huge call for people who seek rentals for out of area clients. I know I would have paid a pretty penny for the service, even after that miserable year when we were local and trying to find something. The hours spent on craigslist, emailing, calling, going to the cattle call-style of viewings. blech.

[easybay]

Do NOT rent something without seeing it. When we moved here 3 years ago, the rental market was insane (and it's only worse now). What appeared to be nice homes on line were horrible. I learned new definitions for "updated" and "immaculate".....seriously. Houses that appeared decent, were in horrible locations. I spent 4 full days looking at houses - finally finding our townhome, last house, last day, and only got it because the landlord required 2 months security, and 1st months rent - so about $10,000, which we were able to write a check for.

Find a baby sitter for your kids, take a weekend and fly out here to look for a place. Be prepared to sign a lease and rent it immediately - if you don't snap something up, the guy looking at it next will. It was nearly impossible to find corporate housing too, so thats great if you have that already. Good luck!

[gemstone1]

You could try Corporate Relocation companies..... We've used them to find suitable housing several times from across the country...it may be 3 bdrm apt, not a house, but it gets you out of an extended stay hotel....and they won't suggest sub-standard housing. Also try VRBO.com, for a rental home....we've done that successfully too.

Good Luck
Gemstone1

[butercup]

Thank you all for your replies and thank you Wintermomma and easybay for the first-hand advice and wisdom! My husband's been out there working the past 2 weeks, and there's literally been not one single house that fits our criteria (and these are not stringent criteria!) to even look at. He did look at one that has been languishing on the rental market for weeks, and now we know why

The flying out for a weekend and looking would only work if there's something to look at - we're broadening the search area about 15 minutes in many directions, and hoping something pops up in the outlying areas. We have a realtor, but he's not doing much of anything as appears is the norm. Hope that changes when we start trying to buy.

We'll do the corporate apartment (or worst case I have a reservation for a 2-bedroom hotel suite) and look once we get there.

Final question - when we start trying to buy, with the housing market the way it is, do rental houses let you extend month to month, or do you just bite your nails a lot with trying to time it right?

[easybay]

The flying out for a weekend and looking would only work if there's something to look at

And here is the problem with renting in Silicon Valley. The rental market is so hot that landlords wait for tenants to move out, then hold an open house for immediate occupancy. We did stumble upon a few that the tenants were LITERALLY moving out (visibly PO'd that I was there looking, while they were in the process of moving), and some had occupants (SURPRISE!!! I'm looking in a bedroom and the tenant is in there sleeping), but most were vacant.

We signed a one year lease, and purchased 9 months into it. Our landlord allowed us to leave early because she found a tenant (we had no penalty and received our security deposit back). It worked out REALLY well, because we had a month to renovate our new house and move in. I can't speak for other landlords/rental situations. We had a great landlord. It was win/win for her - she ended up renting the place for $200/mo more than we were paying, AND she didn't have it empty for a month, after we left.

If you can manage a corporate housing situation for a couple of months, that will be your best bet - moving here and finding a place.....Good luck!

[Wintermomma]

Oh yes, we saw rentals like that, too. I remember calling a guy who said he'd like to have something rented by the next weekend!

To answer your question about buying, our leases stated we could go month to month after the year - just make sure to ask for it and read the fine print. We ended up breaking our lease (I thought by signing a two year it would force us to actually stay put somewhere - LOL), and having to pay one extra month's rent while the landlord found someone else, but it didn't take too long. And I think it only took that long b/c it wasn't a great area for commuters (thus us leaving early!).

[Munichmom]

So, I figured I'd revive this thread since it is similar to our current situation, and I had some related questions. We will likely be moving either the end of September or end of October. Based on what I have read here and on Craigslist (everything seems to be available now or in a week), we will have the best success of finding a rental if we just look while we're in corporate housing and I shouldn't bother looking now.

That being said, does the market slow down a bit (either in inventory or in demand) after school starts in late August? There is just no way for us to move before school starts, so I am hoping the market gets "better" (from the perspective of the renter...better inventory, less demand) after the mad rush to move before the school year starts.

Thank you for your input!