looking for an apartment

[so828.livejournal.com]

I, along with some friends, am looking for a 3-4 bedroom apartment near Davis Sq.  We are all grad students and are looking for a place under $1800 if 3 bedroom and or under $2400 if 4 bedroom.  One of us lives in Somerville currently and is available to look at places this weekend.  The rest of us are moving up from Asheville, North Carolina.  Thanks for your help!

Comments

I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

1) Craigslist.

2) $1800 will get you a 2BR if it's actually near Davis. Get ready to walk, take the bus, or increase your budget.

Re: I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

The 3-bdrm below me is $1850 (but occupied). They can be found in that range, but yeah, off-T increases the chances.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

We're about 7 minutes from the T on Lowden and pay $2000 for a 3- or 4-bedroom (it can go either way -- it would have been $1900 if there were only 3 of us). And we have 2 bathrooms!

Re: I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I consider a 10-15 minute walk "near the T", and I'd be surprised if you couldn't do that.

Re: I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

I'm a 7-minute walk from Davis, and the 2BR I'm in is $1350.

Re: I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

*jealous*

Re: I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Not with my landlord, you're not. I can't wait to get out.

Re: I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[pushupstairs.livejournal.com]

sometimes there's a reason the rent is cheap -- it's because your landlord is a douche.

worst apartment I ever lived in. thankfully I was able to withhold rent almost the entire time I lived there because of faulty/leaking/broken everything.

Re: I think I speak for everyone in the greater boston area when I say

[kidsmokes.livejournal.com]

i live on winslow AKA 2 minutes from the T and its 2200 for a 4 bedroom.

[secretlyironic.livejournal.com]

Another item that shocks some people who are new to town: You'll need 3-4x the monthly rent up front. First/last/security and of course a month's rent for the broker if you're using one.

Of course, I'm probably just bitter and angry.

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

Sometimes 1/2 rent for securtiy an/1/2 rent for fee, or any combinatitons of 1/2's, wholes or no's for security and/or security. Depends on landlord and broker and apartment.

[fumblerette1.livejournal.com]

that's the worst I've seen. And it did surprise me when I moved here. At best, you'll get first and last, or first and security, or first and fee. I think for my current place it was first, security, and 1/2 fee, which still sucked, but seemed fairly reasonable considering it could've been worse.

[ifotismeni]

i actually lucked and got last + cleaning fee ($100).

[unferth.livejournal.com]

First, last, security and full fee is the most allowed by law. Still, good to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

You should be able to do that, especially if you're willing to walk a little further to the T. Check Craigslist. When is your move-in date?

moving date

[so828.livejournal.com]

We are looking for a place starting August 1

Re: moving date

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I just poked around on Craig's List, and there was a bunch of stuff in your range (most including realtor fees). It wasn't all RIGHT next to the T, but some stuff was a reasonable walk.

I would start emailing people now if you want to look this weekend.

PS, if you're moving in August 1, listings will really heat up over the next 3 or 4 weeks.

Re: moving date

[so828.livejournal.com]

Thanks- thats helpful- just so I have this right- brokers fees are usually 1 months rent right. Seems like most postings are for places available June 1st right now

Re: moving date

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Yeah, many places will ask you for (up front):

first month's rent
last month' rent
broker's fee (up to one month's rent)
security deposit (up to one month's rent)

Not EVERY place will need all of this, but they are legally able to ask for that much money.

And Somerville is a little less nutso than many parts of Boston on the you-need-to-find-a-place-18,000-years-early, so for an August 1 lease, starting to look now and looking for a month or two is totally reasonable.

PS, consider being a little flexible with your moving date if possible (i.e., look at July 15, Aug 15, Sept 1, etc). This may up your changes of finding places. Sept. 1 is the BIG move-in date around here.

PPS, if you use a broker, don't be afraid to negotiate with him/her. 2 years ago, we got our broker to come WAY down on the security fee and monthly rate.

distance from the T

[so828.livejournal.com]

We are certainly willing to be 5-10 minutes walk if we find a great place

Re: distance from the T

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Most things that are big enough to be 3 or 4 bedrooms will be on the 10 minute side, but will still be in the greater-davis-square-area.

Re: distance from the T

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

realize that real estate brokers lie like a rug when they "estimate" distances. get out and do the walk yourself to get a better estimate than theirs. for example: teele square is not really walking distance of davis unless you like a 3/4 mile hike in the precipitation-du-jour.

Re: distance from the T

[so828.livejournal.com]

Yup- I have definitely learned that lesson. Every listing on craigslist that says "walking distance to T" I check the address on google maps!

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

Why Davis? For that price range try Newton (Ville and West), Allston or Brighton.

[ron_newman]

If I were from Asheville, I would not want a rich suburb, so Newton is not a good match.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

There's an active rental market in Newton, which is a bit more diverse than you're giving it credit for being. For someone who's not trying to commute to Tufts, Newton could be a very good match. Newtonville, West Newton, and the other areas near the Watertown border are good places to look.

To the OP, if you have people in your household who will be commuting to both Tufts and Harvard, I'd suggest looking at Porter Square and environs. It's convenient to both campuses on foot, in the car, or on public transportation. All hail the 96 bus!

[so828.livejournal.com]

Davis because I have a brother who lives there plus I've visited and can see spending a lot of time studying at Diesel plus its close to Tufts and relatively near Harvard

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Commuting to Tufts from any of those places by public transportation is an absolute nightmare.

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

Yeah. that's why I asked "Why Davis?".

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I am a loser. A loser is me.

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

Admission id the first step to remedy. :P

Only 4 miles from Davis

[water-childe.livejournal.com]

Hey, I'm a landlord and I have a great apartment in Malden.
It's a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom with off street parking and laundry facilities on the premises. It's very much in your price range.
This would be the entire 1st floor of my house. Public transport here is pretty good. I work near Davis so I should know. This place is right on the Orange line and there are bunch of bus routes with frequent trips right into the Davis area. I've got floor plans and pictures of the space to offer you, if you are interested.

Re: Only 4 miles from Davis

[so828.livejournal.com]

Thanks- I think thats a little far from where we are looking!

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

Goddamn, where were you last year? Not only did we have to install a washer/dryer in our 4BR rental, but had to cut the rent to $2200.

Alas, we are renovating and will no longer have the huge rental, but a 2BR will be available November or December. Best of luck.

[squonk.livejournal.com]

Where's the 2BR at?

[somertricky.livejournal.com]

Near Foskett and Bay State. We don't even have contractors on board for the upstairs renovation yet, not to mention how long it may take us to move nine years of accumulata for the four of us up a flight or two of stairs. I'm secretly hopeful for November, but December 1 is more likely. Stay in touch.

lookin' for 3 roommates

[hawaiijb.livejournal.com]

Don't know if you'd be interested, but I've got a place just outside Davis Sq. that I'm renting, my friend and I are looking people to replace the people who are moving out. It's a 5BR w/1.5 Bath, kitchen, 2 porches and not too bad rent, it's 3500 among 5 people, but it's very nice w/7-10 min walk to the T. We're currently splitting rent with weights toward larger rooms.
Anywho, other people are welcome to speak up too.
Oh, and no broker fees. That made us very happy, and we're still renting directly from nice landlords downstairs.
We could also take the place with two more roommates instead, but 3500 among 4 is a bit more pricey than we're looking to go.

[mrgz.livejournal.com]

It is possible to find those rates. But maybe hard. We got extremely lucky (3-4 br/$1600... very close to the middle of the square). Not in the greatest condition, and the walls are amazingly thin. I'm not sure if the rent is low because the location is kind've loud, because the landlords are just being nice, or because they acknowledge that the best way to keep things in line is to give people a nice deal that they're scared to screw up. In any case, look around. Some realtors aren't posting everything on cl, and some that fall through the cracks offer nice things for less than you'd expect. Feel free to send me a note and I'll send you contact info for my land people.