<p>D will likely relocate to Columbus Ohio with a girlfriend. There are a MILLION apts. out there! Where to begin!!!?</p>
<p>We know a price range. We know a couple of suburb areas (outside of the downtown area). It it worthwhile to call a realtor/apt. finder? How much do they charge? How do you find one???</p>
<p>Any questions we should be considering beyond the usual: rent, deposit, lease, parking, utilities, laundry, amenities, etc.???</p>
<p>Of course, doesn’t help that we have only about a month (that is filled with lots of other things!) to complete this !!!</p>
<p>I went through this last summer with a kid. We looked on craigslist to get an idea of what was out there. We first narrowed it down to certain parts of town (accessible to the job, near the light rail/bus/etc, near some retail/restaurants, can get to the airport…) and then looked at the websites for some of the complexes. We did not use an apartment finder, but did take a trip to look at apartments.<br>
It sort of depends whether you want a large complex (usually means better chance of having good maintenance, pool etc) or part of a duplex or smaller complex.<br>
It isn’t easy, but we did pretty well.</p>
<p>I started a thread here on CC & got a lot of good suggestions & posts about our S relocating to DC/VA area. We will be going out there in less than a month to view a few places & help him finalize where he will be living. That will be a month before his new job there starts.</p>
<p>There are review sites that talk about different areas & apartments (I just entered columbus apartment finders & got quite a few sites). S was planning to stay in a residence inn or similar while he searched for a place to live, but since we were going to be on a trip anyway & it didn’t cost much more to stop in DC/VA, we decided it made more sense to do things this way and be confident he’d be well settled for his new life in his new city & job.</p>
<p>Some folks prefer places that manage many apartment buildings while others prefer smaller units that are managed by the owners but reading RECENT reviews of folks who life or have lived in the area can be useful. Another potential great source for info is the firm where your S and/or GF will be working. They generally have some experience in this & can make suggestions/recommendations of where others in the firm may be living.</p>
<p>Speaking as a kid who went through this about a year back, why not just let her handle it herself?</p>
<p>The consequences of picking the “wrong” place are probably not disastrous. It just means 12 months of living in a place that’s not ideal in whatever way (or 9 months, or however long the lease will be.) It’ll also be an excellent lesson learned, and she will have gained valuable experience.</p>
<p>If she picks out a great place, then she’ll have confidence that she can be successful at an important aspect of adult life.</p>
<p>Sounds like your D is about to start out on the first truly independent stage of life. Figuring out where to live and how to deal with these situations is a part of that independence, and it’s something she should learn to deal with on her own.</p>
<p>Okay, we’ve been through this. Not saying this is the only way, but here are some things we did:</p>
<ol>
<li>DS sent me some that he’d seen online (craigslist mostly), so we could talk over.</li>
<li>Gave him ideas of what to be thinking about in choosing.</li>
<li>Also gave him some of that “voice of experience” background - eg, things that look great in photos might not be so great irl (you can’t photograph bad odors or noise, for example; or see paper thin walls). Also told him not to be discouraged if he went to several places and they were all horrible. This is not unusual and he should just re-group.</li>
<li>Helped him think about hidden costs - there’s the usual - some rents include utilities, some don’t; ways to find out what utilities will typically cost for different places; do some towns have their own income taxes over and above state taxes…?</li>
<li>He did find an agent (not even sure he ever met her irl, but she had listed at least a couple of the units he found online). This was very helpful. She then sent him additional targeted listings based on his criteria. She set up appts for him to see - 4 or 5 (I think) on his first trip to the area (was about a 3 hour drive from his U). There was no charge to him, and I don’t think there should ever be. Her fee is covered by the landlords.</li>
<li>When DS was hunting (May 2009), there were lots of incentives to be had. Since the market is still poor in a lot of places, this could still be the case. Some places were advertising “first month’s rent free” - so <em>always</em> ask. The building he chose was not advertising that and I figured with the agent involved, he might not get it (after all, they had to pay her a fee), but he asked and received first month rent free.</li>
</ol>
<p>I think an agent is a good idea when everyone is out of the area. Easiest way to find one is to email/call a few listings you like. Talk to the agents. She’ll find one that <em>clicks</em> - eg, seems knowledgeable, accessible, understanding of her wants and needs. Gets back to her on time.
7. There are helpful discussion boards online, if you don’t know the area well enough (I think the best one is called citydata.com or something like that).</p>
<p>Having only a month is not really a disadvantage. Apartments that will actually be available don’t usually come up more than one month in advance.</p>
<p>DS found his on one visit (maybe he’s easy to please, lol). The one he liked best online turned out to be awful in person (I forget why), but he was happy with one of the other few he saw. He’s still there.</p>
<p>Is she relocating because she has a job? Or because freind has found employment? Or, for what reason?</p>
<p>If it’s job-related, then somebody where she is going to be employed ought to be able to help out with this, in terms of pointing her in the “right” direction; same with if the friend has employment. If it is education based, then the school will be able to assist her.</p>
<p>If it is just for the heck of it, then I do not have any suggestions.</p>
<p>It’s handy to view the apartment complex and the area it’s in with a combo of Google Street View and Bing Map’s Aerial view to get a sense of what it and the area around it looks like from the outside.</p>
<p>abasket, does either one have a job? If so, call the HR person for referral for areas, a realtor.</p>
<p>Apt finders, rent . com, and craigs list were helpful. The middle one listed reimbursed for using their site. Suggestions above are very good. I’ll add that one realtor (apt finders are often very young) said that the worm could move within their complexes. If he found a roommie, that would have been great.</p>
<p>D is in a similar situation, only she is moving to Sardis Mississippi. She does have some experience doing long-distance apt. hunting as she found one in Chapel Hill for an internship two years ago. She did the craigslist thing, talked on the phone to several landlords, and made a decision. The place she chose was adequate, but she learned some things from this experience. I know she would ask more follow-up questions - like just how wooded is the area?? Will I wake up with a deer on my porch?</p>
<p>This time she will be asking people who are working for the same organization for tips and ideas - that is once she finishes papers and exams. It will all work out.</p>
<p>Just one small tip, I have been trying to do online research about some apartment complexes I’ve been considering, and the first site I found for apartment reviews was apartmentratings.com. All of their postings for the affordable-within-reason apartments in my area were uniformly awful and described the places as crime infested hell holes, but upon further research including a trip to the police department to ask about crime in the area, many of them were great places to live for even the most sheltered youngster (me :P). And a lot of the apartments that had good reviews were apparently posted by management and not by real residents, and they DID have awful problems there. So I would be wary of relying on those kinds of websites for info if it can be avoided.</p>
<p>Correction, she has a month. It seems that if she is old enough and responsibly enough to move to Columbus, she can certainly find her own apartment. </p>
<p>TetrahedrON is right, she should handle it herself.</p>
<p>DS has moved distances away twice. For one move, he was actually not able to even go and look at apartments as he was at a summer long program. BUT before he left, HE made contacts with a number of people via Craigslist. There were four apartments he wanted to see. Luckily, I found a friend of a friend who was able to tell me about the neighborhoods, and what to look for. This was a HUGE help. Then I flew down to the new place and looked at the places…and put the deposit down on one (after some cell phone back and forth with DS). </p>
<p>The second move…we helped him pack his car here…he drove 2500 miles away. He did have a temporary place to stay with friends, but quickly found his own place (with another friend)…no help from us at all. It seemed like the better way!</p>
<p>Is there any chance your daughter knows someone IN Columbus where she could stay for a few weeks while she looks for a place of her own?</p>
<p>Sure she can. But she has asked for HELP, not for me to FIND it - and that’s what I’m trying to do - help! </p>
<p>She is in school with final papers, projects, exams and an honors capstone to finish in the next three weeks - not like she has tons of extra time. </p>
<p>So…putting all that aside, she has a post-grad internship and her friend has a job - this is the city she hoped to land in. Internship has good chance of turning into a permanent position. Friend has permanent (well, as permanent as jobs are) position. </p>
<p>Some good suggestions above. Will def tell her to ask for input from her intern agency.</p>
<p>I agree-- you should not be finding her apartment for her-- but perhaps give your two cents after she narrows things down herself.</p>
<p>Someone else suggested HR in her new job-- excellent idea.</p>
<p>Also, alumni associations in Columbus from her alma m, and any associations - was she in a sorority?<br>
For goodness sakes-- FB profile update: “Hi, I’m moving to Columbus-- anyone have a friend in Columbus I can touch base with for advise on neighborhoods, place to live”</p>
<p>Ohio U is there-- check their website for info that is likely advertised to faculty, staff and grad students–.</p>
<p>Yes, the forum fireandrain linked is the one DS used for a little background re towns. He had a general area, but didn’t know which towns he should consider or rule out. Very helpful people on that forum, as I recall. Almost as good as cc :).</p>
<p>Also to those almost jumping down the OP’s throat - she is NOT helicoptering in and taking over for her D. She’s wanting to help. We’re families; we help each other. We want to. No different than I would do for my sister, my cousin, my friend. Sheesh.</p>
<p>Helping a child, a sibling, a friend - offering advice and information from prior experience, when you’ve “been there, done that” and they haven’t - is not smothering them. </p>
<p>If there’s something wrong with it, why are you even on this forum, lol?</p>
<p>JMMom - I agree! Hey, it wasn’t too long ago that I coached my folks on what to ask when they were looking into retirement communities! </p>
<p>When my d went to chapel hill, since she was going to be living in a small subterranean space below the landlord (I am making it sound worse than it was), I googled the woman to get some info on her. I didn’t want her to be some wacko. She sounded pretty benign & turned out to be quite lovely.</p>