Rental advice

[hope11]

I will be moving to the Newcastle area in Maine around Sept/October. I am finding it difficult to find property to rent. Does anyone know this area and can suggest how I can go about finding a house or apartment. I would really appreciate any suggestions, I will be relocating from England.

[Davis1]

Your going to die of the cold in Maine ..

have you tried Real Estate Listings, Homes for Sale and Rental Property Listings ? REALTOR.com

[Fatbrit]

Originally Posted by hope11

I will be moving to the Newcastle area in Maine around Sept/October. I am finding it difficult to find property to rent. Does anyone know this area and can suggest how I can go about finding a house or apartment. I would really appreciate any suggestions, I will be relocating from England.

craigslist: maine classifieds for jobs, apartments, personals, for sale, services, community, and events

[reals007]

I also noticed that we never find good place for rent in this area. You could try in England or any other good place.

[jsflynn603]

In America almost all rentals are rented via the local newspaper under classified ads. Yes Craiglist can be useful or other sites but they probably represent less than 2% of rentals in the smaller towns (I don't know about cities).

There are tricks. These may or may not be useful to a reader. The prime time to look for an apartment is the 2nd or 3rd week of the preceding month. Often the final weekend is too late and the "good ones" are gone.

Assuming that you are in the vicinity. Call the local newspaper and find where you can find the earliest paper. For instance it might be available at 8AM at the news office, but only at 3pm at the supermarket.

Each day, get the earliest copy that you can. Make a scrapbook or indexing system and see what is available. Call and start looking. Make appointments, and keep them precisely. If you reach an answering machine, leave your number TWICE! (I cannot tell you the number of times I've been unable to call 603-863-xx21 back).

Define what you want. Pets? No pets? Smoking, no smoking? References requried? Security deposit (usually controlled by the state, for instance in Massachusetts one can charge first month/last month and security deposit, so for an $800 unit, you must come up with $2400. Some people can be flexible. If you are coming from a foreign country bring a letter or two of reference, ideally from two people you have rented from, with phone numbers, and possibly a letter of reference from a former employer. If you are moving to a new job, get a letter indicating hire from the employer. (This may seem like a lot to do, but these items make a huge impression upon a landlord).

Parking? One car, two cars? Snow removal (you or them). Heat provided? If yes, do you have your own control--if not watch out. What kind of heat. Most years oil is cheapest, gas next then electricity. Oil must exceed about $4.50/gallon to equal electric. How about hot water? Separate or communal (one heater for more than one apartment--good luck taking a shower at 7:30AM)

People above you? (clunk, clunk) People below you--are you a clunker? If you like to do yoga at home and play loud music find an end unit.

Then pound tar! Meaning go and see apartments. Don't worry about perfection at start, if it might work, go and see; try to set up sequential appointments 10, 11, noon.... Do a quick walkthrough.

The purpose is to see what is available and to get a feel for the landlord and the property. Try to see as many as possible until you feel that you have an idea of what is junky and what is sweet, for often the price will be the same.

Ask locals, is this a rentors market, or a landlords market? A rentors market has loads of ads that hang around. A Landlords market has tons of renters and few good apartments. This is important to know. If it is a landlords market, you need to be on the spot first, and "grab it," without hesitation. I cannot count the number of times I have heard: "Oh, this is really nice, but we want to see what's available." My response (my units are in a perpetual landlords market) is: "ok, just don't get angry if you call back and it is rented." Many, many times I have had to say: "I'm sorry, it is rented and yes I realize it is only four hours later, but I showed it to three people and the last took it."

Now, if it is a renters market, things are different. Here you have a fair amount of leeway but again, even in a renters market a prime apartment will disappear fast. In a renters market you can often say: "We really like it, but we had hoped we could find one for $850, not $950. In a renter's market you might hear: "Well, I can rent it to you for $900."

After seeing 4-8 units you will have an idea of what is good. If you have time eventually you will find a new listing when you pick up your early paper, call immediately.... if it sounds nice (you also know what to ask about on the phone) try to see it immediately. If it fits, you can do a few things. Run over, look at it... if it is sweet, grab it. Or, "can we have a two hours to decide, will you hold it please?" Then leave, double back, and knock on your neighbors doors and ask them... If you hear, great place except for the seven dogs downstairs... uh oh. If you hear, "yeah, great landlord, nice place... you look like nice people." Call and lock it in with a deposit.

If it's a really great place at a good price in a landlords market, lock it in ASAP with deposit plus a minimum of one month's rent. Don't give a $100 deposit. For another potential tenant might come along and say: "I'd be happy to pay the full $950..." And you will hear: "I'm sorry, turns out it was rented already, here's your $100. (Note: In most states if you go to small claims court the court will give you double what you deposited. Landlords know this. If worse comes to worse, giving you an extra $100 is fine...but if you paid deposit plus one month's rent, now the potential is (assuming $900) and you put down $1800, the court will likely award you an extra $1800. So the landlord will not renege on the deal.

If you have several weeks, it is amazing that you will find 20 awful units and then come across one at the same price that is gorgeous. It is worth the chase.