Apartment hunting

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Like many people...I'm looking for an apartment. I live in Chestnut Hill (newton) right now, and while my apartment is great, I'm sick of not being even remotely close to the T or the bus. I want to move to Somerville (specifically Davis or Central areas). I would like to avoid using a broker if at all possible. I've been scouring craigslist daily but there's just not much there right now. If you know of anyone looking to rent their place, I'd love to hear about it! (And if you happen to know of a broker you'd actually recommend, that'd be great too, but as someone else posted here or in b0st0n today, those just don't seem to exist.)



I'm looking for:
June 1st move in. (Any time in June actually would be fine, all the way up to July 1. But I'd prefer June 1.)
1 bedroom
must allow cats
heat included
max rent 1200/month
10 min or less walk to a T stop (I'm not giving up my giant apartment out here in the burbs to be just as far from the T in a smaller apartment for the same amount of money)

Nice to have:
laundry on site
dishwasher
hardwood floors
windows, sunlight, closet space, the usual things.

(I am not opposed to living with others, but I've been living by myself for a few years, and I have a lot of stuff. I'm not interested in trying to cram my entire apartment in an already fully furnished house or putting half of my things in storage.)

Help? You can comment here or email me at: nichole (dot) burton (at) gmail (dot) com.

Comments

[ellf.livejournal.com]

10 minute walk to the T in an apartment like that for $1200? Good luck. :)

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

Aww, if you weren't committed to moving to Red Line town I'd recommend an awesome Newton no-fee realtor for you. He found me and my bf our giant 2BR, 8 minute walk from the D train (Eliot) apartment for $1250/month.

(For anyone who is looking in Newton: http://nca1.net/ -- Mike is super nice and helped us out better than any other realtor we worked with.)

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Well those are all nice to have things, lol. All I really require is heat included and cats allowed. I'm not expecting to find all of that for that price, lol. (A girl can dream though!)

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Yeah. My apartment right now is fabulous. We have a pool and tennis courts, and deeded parking, but it's still almost 2 miles from the chestnut hill D line stop, and I'd much rather be on the red line than green.

[ifotismeni]

my apartment will be going on the market for may 1 move-in, a one or two minute walk to the T (it's on chester street), and the rent will probably be about $900. that said, it's a three-bedroom, doesn't include utilities, and doesn't allow cats as far as i know. the room is huge, the apartment is gorgeous, and it comes with free off-street PRIVATE parking. it has hardwood floors, laundry, dishwasher, all that. dunno if you're willing to make concessions, but i thought i'd mention it.

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

For rent that cheap I am definitely willing to make concessions, but the cats are non-negotiable. Thanks though. :)

[ifotismeni]

i'm not sure on the cats thing -- the apartment is quite big and the landlord's other properties are cat-friendly. if you're seriously interested i can ask about that for you.

[archangelus.livejournal.com]

Actually, I was going to say good luck to finding a place reasonably close with heat included for $1200.

[ifotismeni]

i guess i should ask -- how many cats do you have? ;)

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

um, I have a 6-minute walk to the T and pay $1150, heat included, for a rather big place.

[ifotismeni]

(not sure if i made it clear -- it's $900 for one of the rooms in the three bedrooms, it's not $900 for all three rooms.)

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

You don't happen to be leaving in June or July do you? :-P

[ellf.livejournal.com]

Impressive. By way of comparison, I have a one-bedroom that's about 6 minutes from Davis, sufficiently large, with a dishwasher, garaged spot, washer-and-dryer, but no included utilities. I pay $2000.

[cutieperson]

you are perhaps a few years behind the market in what you are being charged.

[ellf.livejournal.com]

Can you point me to an objective source for determining these things? I have a well maintained, clean, quiet apartment with modern appliances and a garaged spot; if there is the ability to move to a similarly outfitted place for significantly less, I might be interested, but I'm dubious.

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Mine fits those requirements.

[cutieperson]

i'm not a realtor. what i have is personal experience. i have those same things minus the garage spot (which you can get for under $150 a month generally, though not always right next to your house), and my house total pays under $1700; it's a three bedroom, five minute walk to the T, with a large back yard.

my last place was $1400 for a two bed about an eight minute walk to the T.

i've seen many places *with* the garage parking included listed on craigslist for well under $2000.

Cameron/Holland - 1 Bedroom

[sea-aye-vee.livejournal.com]

I was accepted to Indiana University and will be leaving Davis Square. =(

My apartment is a 1 bedroom for $800. Its about 400 sq feet, hardwood, and has a huge porch. I am on the third floor. The heat is NOT included in this price. Heating/gas averaged $85 from Nov - Feb, electricty runs me about $60 (this is with 3 computers running 1/2 day). My landlords are frickin' awesome and the neighbors are very friendly.

I will be moving around July (maybe sooner but no later). If you want to send me your contact info, I will drop you a note when they are going to lease it again so you can get a jump on the other potentials.

Good luck in your search!

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Actually...maybe :)

The one drawback is it's "garden level" so the light isn't great -- it has normal sized windows at least, but there is shrubbery keeping most direct light out.

It's also between porter & harvard if that's ok.

I will let you know--I plan on talking to my landlord about possibly re-signing. I'm debating if I want to pay more for something lighter and closer to porter or davis. I'll definitely let you know, because otherwise we will be in competition for a place (grrr!) :)

(june 1)

[gookalockgeek.livejournal.com]

Whoa, that's seems like a lot! I live in Brookline now, but we pay $2000 for a lovely 3-bedroom with garage parking and 2 driveway spaces, dishwasher, washer and dryer, less than 5 minutes from the T. The place is huge - 4 of us live there - and we have both a cat and a dog. Is Davis really that much more?

This is an honest question - I'm curious.

Re: Cameron/Holland - 1 Bedroom

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

That's a little small, but uber cheap, and I'm all about the porch (and awesome landlords and friendly neighbors). I'd definitely like to look at it when I can. You can email me the info at the email in my post, and if you want my phone number I'll email that to you too. Thanks!

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Porter and Harvard is fine too. Mostly I just want to be on the red line and I love davis so I figured I'd start there. :) I'd love to look at a bunch of places to make an informed choice, so if you end up leaving, def. let me know. Thanks. :)

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

Actually, the apartment I'm in now is $950. However, I'm not sure when I'm moving out, if he won't raise the rent or if he'll let anyone else have a cat (he let me have cats but he's said he made an exception)

It's at Hancock and Summer, though, and as such, it's 5 minutes from Porter and 10-12 from Davis T stops.

It's not the greatest apartment, and heat is not included, but there is a free washer/dryer in the basement.

[ellf.livejournal.com]

I've always paid the same amount for 2 and 3 bedroom places. I think there's a point at which a very nice 1 bedroom and a nice 2-3 bedroom start to coincide in price.

Technically, I think my apartment is a "two bedroom", if the living room were a bedroom.

[cutieperson]

er, i agree, i just think that point is lower. YMMV of course.

if it's a choice between a living room and a bedroom, it's not "technically" one. and if the living room looks like a dining room (built-in china hutch, anyone?) and one of the bedrooms attached to that has bay windows and a wardrobe instead of a closet? it just means the landlord is cheap and wants to get college students in, not that you've found a great 4-bedroom or whatever.

Re: Cameron/Holland - 1 Bedroom

[spaz-i-mota.livejournal.com]

Hi. I just moved in to a building that is a 5 min. walk from the Davis Stop, and 3 minutes from the heart of the square. I am not leaving, but thought you might like to know that I have a 1 bed, incl heat, with a cat, laundry in basement for a bit less than $1200. Mind you, I'm on the 4th floor w/ no elevator, and the building is ok, but not fabulous by any means, but is a good deal from what I've heard or seen and the location is killer.

Just look a lot on Craigslist a lot. I did for 2 months before I found this. I'll ask my building manager tonite what is on the horizon. Its a 20 unit building.

Good Luck!

Re: Cameron/Holland - 1 Bedroom

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thanks! I am encouraged by the comments here that I'll definitely be able to find something, as long as I'm diligent in my search. (That actually sounds like exactly what I want! So if there's anything opening up I'd love to hear about it.)

[lissie930.livejournal.com]

Too bad you're not looking to buy, I have a fabulous 2BR condo for sale in Union Square (might be more of a hike than you want to the T).

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

nope, Davis should be about the same as Coolidge, in some cases less (but because Davis apartments are often not so great quality-wise)

[alphacygni]

Don't forget North Cambridge! Bizarrely, apartments in North Cambridge that are a ~10 minute walk to Davis seem to be nicer and/or cheaper than similarly distant apartment along the more traditional Davis spokes (Highland, Holland, College)

Don't bother looking at anything that boasts proximity to Harvard Square. Last time I looked, I was shown putrid shoeboxes near Harvard for $1800/month with nothing included. Terrifying, the mark-up in those neighborhoods. Central, Kendall (East Cambridge), Porter and Davis are much more affordable.

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Thanks! That's the main reason I've been avoiding Cambridge. Either everything on Craigslist that says Harvard Square is actually in Allston, or just way out of my price range, or super super small and crappy looking.

[elements.livejournal.com]

A good realtor who specializes in Somerville/Cambridge/Arlington: http://redlinerealestate.com/ John Lowenstein.

You might consider looking in Ball or Teele squares. Technically my Ball Square apartment might be more like 12 or 13 minutes from the T, more if I'm carrying a heavy grocery bag, but there's a lot of great stuff right around the corner, and several nearby bus routes that are good for commuting to downtown if that's your thing. We're not as far away from conveniences here in Ball as a place in Chestnut Hill where everyone is expected to drive everywhere.

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I've seen him recommended elsewhere (from you maybe?). And you hit the nail on the head. I'm sick of driving everywhere. I'd at least like to have an option!

[elements.livejournal.com]

Here is something that I think is probably reasonably typical of stuff available in my neighborhood: http://www.bostonapartments.com/homepage.php?cli=205&ad=558982

You might find something slightly snazzier for the bit more you're willing to go in rent. Also, for your price range, you might consider looking at someplace like Arlington Center if you're not tied to Davis. I have a good friend who lives in a nice, very well maintained and quiet building in Arlington Center. She pays 1050 for a garden-level but the upper floors are 1100, she's 2 minutes from the 77 bus, and 4 minutes from all the nice stuff in the center. If I weren't so attached to my community and neighborhood in Somerville, I'd likely have moved there myself.

I also know aquaflame16 and her husband found their apartment through John L - she may have been the one you saw recommending him here, cos I know she's done so a lot. He's pretty well regarded by folks who found places through him though, so it could be many folks :). He has an amazing intake process and actually cares about finding a place that fits you well - because he know that means happy customers refer their friends.

I had been considering moving out on my own for a while, so I spent aaages scouring Craigslist before I decided I really am happier living with people than by myself for now. I was looking for 1000 and under, but I often widened my search just to see what was out there. You should be able to find something. It may not be til April or so though. A lot of places won't officially open up for June til then. If you can get a place in June or July or August you'll likely pay less in monthly rent, or only have to pay a half-fee, compared to looking for September, so you're actually doing all the right things to best position you to find someplace good around here.

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

Thanks. That's all great info to have. I only moved to Boston last July so while I know the difference finally between Davis and Central and Coply and Coolidge, I still sometimes don't know intricacies of different neighborhoods in the same area.

[aquaflame16.livejournal.com]

Yup, probably was me. I recommended John L. recently in a thread on boston.
I was amused to see that elements got here and mentioned him before me so I didn't have to ;)

One of the things I really liked about working with him is that he's really good at helping you figure out what your priorities are and how they affect what's going to be available to you and helping work out how to find the best combination of the most of the things you're looking for.
Also, you should know that you won't always have to pay a fee working with a realtor: sometimes the landlord pays it, or half. However, if you have the money available it can sometimes be a better deal, especially if you plan on staying more than a year (i.e. sometimes paying a fee means you get a place that's cheaper or better than you would get otherwise).

One other thing to keep in mind is that the type of building you're interested in will affect the heat included or not question: much of what's available in this area are parts of old-ish houses; these kinds of apartments almost never have heat included. Heat included tends to show up more in large apartment buildings.

I really think you should be able to find something. It may take a little looking to find one that allows cats, but $1200 or $1100+heat should be able to get you something decent. (also keep in mind that if you're willing to be more like 15 minutes walk from the T than 10 there may be more available, and especially if you go in the direction of either Ball Sq. or Teele Sq. you'll have useful stuff available in those areas as well.) I would definitely recommend going and meeting with John, the worst that can happen is he won't have anything you like, right?

[aquaflame16.livejournal.com]

"(also keep in mind that if you're willing to be more like 15 minutes walk from the T than 10 there may be more available, and especially if you go in the direction of either Ball Sq. or Teele Sq. you'll have useful stuff available in those areas as well.)"
um, yeah. elements kinda said that already. oops.

oh, and yay Nields! I need to get the new album!