is it possible to find an apartent to rent in williston for 1500 (Fargo: real estate)

[justagirl27]

I mean a real apartment (any size doesn't matter how small).
Not a room in someones basement.

[f2tornado]

I recently accepted a State of North Dakota position there and I too am exploring digs before making the move across state next month. It's possible a studio apartment could exist in the $1500 range if one is available. From what I've gathered thus far, a one BR will run $1700+ and most 2BR $2100+. These are advertised rates though I have not yet looked to see if any are vacant. I took the train out there for the job fair earlier this month and grabbed the local Herald, Shopper, and any other paper available. Housing seems to exist for a price unlike last year. New units are popping up steadily these days now that developers and government leaders know the Bakken is not gonna be a quick boom and bust. Expect prices to fall a little bit more as development gradually catches up with demand.

[joeng99]

Is it easy to find an apartment at this time? What about RV lots, are the vacancy rates higher ?

[lisan23]

Call Century Apartments. I believe my friend was paying around that for her 2 bedroom there, though it was sorely outdated and not in great condition.

It's not necessarily easy to find an apartment right now, but it's not nearly as difficult as it was a couple years ago. It really depends on your budget. The bigger the budget you have the easier time you'll have finding a place.

[justagirl27]

From what I've seen looking online(craigslist google) it seems like most apartments start at 2000 a month. It also looks like most are already furnished? Is there any in town that are not furnished? Are they any cheaper? I do not want a furnished apartment.

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by justagirl27

From what I've seen looking online(craigslist google) it seems like most apartments start at 2000 a month. It also looks like most are already furnished? Is there any in town that are not furnished? Are they any cheaper? I do not want a furnished apartment.

I think you'll find a lot more listed if you contact some real estate offices. There are apartment manager organizations that handle most rentals. Any Real Estate office will either have listings, or they will know who to contact for listings.

For a couple years now, housing has been so tight that it was mostly "word of mouth" because there were so many people looking. As apartment houses were being built, people were lining up and getting on the list before the foundation was dry.

The mentality of folks up North and in the West is that Craigs list is more scam than real, although you can find real, you have to be very careful.

Some of the older posters will remember, 2 years ago a guy listed his front seat (maybe it was back seat) on Craigs list, for rent. You might find that funny, however it was real, he was renting it out 5 out of 7 nights a week. There were that many people living in cars, or trying to get by on the street, and when it started getting cold, he put the other half of his car up for rent, and started earning money.

[f2tornado]

There are apartments advertised on trulia.com but I have not inquired if those are actual vacancies or permalistings. Most are $2k+ but they key is some units appear to be available. The situation out there has seemingly gone from no housing available at all to no affordable housing available. I'm probably paying $1250 for my mortgage plus heat and city utilities which makes a 2BR unit in Williston (with heat and utilities included) about a $1000 leap. This is easily doable if I pulled some PT work on the side and/or my wife did some babysitting. The latter tends to be frowned upon by rental agencies so we will look into one of the overpriced mobile homes out there. A few are right in town with reasonable lot rental at $350/mo. The trick is they are priced double the market value if they were sitting just about anywhere else which could make taking a loan out on one tricky without substantial down payment. My gig starts Nov 12 but I bounce around between Bismarck and Fargo for training then don't report to Williston until Dec 2 and once there have paid housing for the first month so I have the benefit of some time to get it all sorted out.

On a side note, the Williston Brewing Company was featured on CNBC this morning. Looks like a nice joint even though they are not yet brewing in house. More Feast than Famine in the Bakken - Video on NBCNews.com