Apartment Rental Agencies

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be moving some time in May and I want to line something up in advance rather than deal with Craig's list at the last minute.

I'm looking for a one bedroom with parking. Somewhere between 600 - 800 a month, so obviously not in the near by areas (though if one were available I'd totally stay) But I would like to leave the possiblity open for things in the area, so I was wondering if there are any rental agencies to work with in the area and the surrounding towns? Or are they all specific town based? Really I'm interested in most of the towns in the southern district of Middlesex county.

Acton, Arlington, Ayer, Belmont, Billerica, Burlington, Cambridge, Concord, West Concord, Everett, Lexington, East Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Littleton Common, Maynard, Medford, Melrose, Natick, Newton, Auburndale, Nonantum, Somerville, Stoneham, Sudbury, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Weston, Winchester, Woburn.

Does anyone have experiences using rental agencies? I've been having a hard time finding information about them online. Does anyone have one to recommend?

Comments

[hahathor.livejournal.com]

I've used Apartment Rental Experts (http://www.apartmentrentalexperts.com/) in the past and have been very happy with them (disclaimer, I'm a landlord, not a renter, but my tenants seem to have been pleased with them as well). They don't cover all the areas you list, but checking their page today, I see the following list:

View Allston Apartments
View Arlington Apartments
View Belmont Apartments
View Cambridge Apartments
View Charlestown Apartments
View Everett Apartments
View Malden Apartments
View Medford Apartments
View Somerville Apartments
View Waltham Apartments
View Watertown Apartments


Right now, the only 1BR they have listed for under $800 ($795 including heat) is in Malden, which is not on your list, but presumably more places may show up in the next few months.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

yeah, it's not really the high season yet, but I hoped if I got my needs in early, I might be considered for the first round of the slim pickings!

[gandalfgreyhame.livejournal.com]

Generally they seem to cover pretty small areas. I liked the guy I dealt with at Red Line Real Estate (http://www.redlinerealestate.com/) but ultimately they didn't have what I was looking for; cats being non-negotiable seemed to really limit his inventory for me.

I used Apartment Rental Experts for my soon-to-be-former apartment but while I eventually got what I wanted they set of a good example of wankery in the process (e.g. forgetting to tell me about a pet deposit until a couple of days before I was supposed to sign the lease).

This time around I happened to find a really nice apartment on Craigslist that Gateway Real Estate (http://www.gatewayreg.com/) was handling and they seemed like they really had their shit together. I wasn't using them for the search though, it was just luck on CL.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll look into these!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

The one most important thing to know about rental agents is that you will very likely be paying them a fee equal to one month's rent in most cases. So be ready to have 4 months rent ready upfront (first, last, security deposit and agency fee). Occasionally you might find an agent who has been paid their fee by the landlord.

There are lots and lots of rental agencies on the greater metro-Boston area. The Yellow Pages will turn up dozens of them, and you can check the Better Business Bureau on them if you want assurance.

That said, if you really do need to stay under $800 and still want a one-bedroom (as opposed to a studio), I would pretty much cross these towns off your list: Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, Newton, Watertown. There are freak deals now and then in these inner suburbs and you'd be extremely lucky to land one, but you should do better farther out. You might consider adding Lowell, Lawrence and Lynn to your list.

Good luck!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I meant to add, if you're willing to live with a housemate or two, your $600 to $800 will surely get you a spot in a multi-bedroom apartment in any of your listed towns, even here in the Davis area. You'd still get your own bedroom for privacy. That's how many of us can afford to stay here.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

oh yeah, I've been living here for years with a roommate for 600, I just am sick of wanting to murder them. I want my own place. Even if it means I end up in a trailer park in Ayer.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I remember having one horrible roommate after another before I found my current roommate (who rocks). I once took a trip to London JUST to get away from my then-roommate and have a hotel room all to myself for 5 days.

Well, I think you'll find something better than a trailer for living solo! It sounds like you have a car, so that opens up a lot more communities to you.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

yeah, I'm not expecting to find anything in those towns other than freak deals. Though some parts of Medford have some attics and basements that fall in my price range.

I fully understand the agency fee aspect. It is worth it to me to not have to deal with scams and have someone do the leg work.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I actually landed one of those freak deals 12 years ago here in Ball Square, and I'm still here. Indeed, attics are your friend! :-)

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

LOL me too...I lived 9 years in an attic apartment between Porter and Davis (awesome location); my rent was $950 a month the entire time.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Yes, for well under $1000 you can get a nice one-bedroom in a decent neighborhood in Lowell. For around $1000 you can get a newly renovated loft in a mill building in or just outside downtown Lowell (my boyfriend's sister is moving to a building fitting this description that's a stone's throw from the train station). There are tons of restaurants and other useful businesses to walk to if you're near downtown, and Route 3, 495, and even 93 are all within a ten-minute drive. Malls and big-box stores are nearby in all directions, the local Market Baskets are much tamer than the one in Union Square, the breakfast joints are wicked cheap and not terribly crowded, and you can join a social club affiliated with just about any ethnicity under the sun. Paradise in the Merrimack Valley.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

The only problem with this is that I work in Waltham. and while it's not horribly far, the traffic on route 128/93 3 is a major consideration. I already work 7-3:30 to avoid the worst of the 128/2/16 traffic.

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would not be a fun commute unless you were able to take back roads. Oh well!

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

yeah, I'd otherwise Love to live in lowell. It's part of why Natick and Framington aren't as bad choices as they could otherwise be.

[gandalfgreyhame.livejournal.com]

On a related note, I would watch out for some management companies too - my soon-to-be-former apartment (14 days! Not that I'm counting or anything...) is managed by ActionVest and while they're very good at fulfilling exactly the terms of the lease they're completely heartless about anything else. As a couple of examples:

- Shortly after I moved in a family with three small children moved in to the apartment above me. Has the phrase "tap-dancing in combat boots" ever occurred to you before? It hadn't to me until then. They claimed they would install carpet in the apartment above mine to dampen the noise but never did.

- I have a pair of cats who like to try to escape. When I told them I'd be moving out at the end of my lease I asked them to try and schedule showings while I would be present so I could prevent them from escaping and gave them a pretty good selection of times during business hours when I'd be around. They refused, said they could and would show the apartment anytime they wanted.

- They told me they'd be coming by in a couple days to do an inspection. I let them know that I'd be working from home that day (as a matter of course, since I've got class that night) and asked them to avoid a couple of times as I'd be on phone conferences for work. Again, they refused.

[davelew.livejournal.com]

Mass General Laws chapter 186 section 15b ( http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/186-15b.htm ) is generally extremely protective of tenants, but unfortunately it seems to me that it allows landlords to come into the apartment in the last 30 days of the lease for inspections and apartment showings.

[katers5636.livejournal.com]

I used Boston Rental Exchange (http://www.bostonrentalexchange.com/) when I relocated here from the midwest, and they're amazing. I'm actually going to be using them again to find a place closer to school.

Anhar and Roy did a wonderful job and they found me a quality place in less than 24 hours. In addition, they helped me with everything that needed to be done long-distance. I can't say enough about them.

I tried several other agencies, including Apartment Rental Experts, and no one else matched up. In fact, Apartment Rental Experts were completely unprofessional. After making an appointment with them weeks in advance, they made me wait for an hour in the waiting room, and then told me they had nothing to show me. I finally got someone to show me two properties, and they were awful.