Ah Montrose. Where getting a place is a total pain. You see something available and its taken before you can check it out. Places are over priced for what you get. Where is the hot water pressure? What’s up with the air conditioning? Pictures are always better than what you see… And that’s just what WE run into when trying to BUY a place.
What we’re saying is — we feel your pain.
There are a few tips I can offer that may run counter intuitive to what most people think of when looking to rent. Keep in mind that these tips are more for the older vintage properties. Larger properties or newer “Class A” properties have a different set of rules.
1) Look far in advance: Makes sense, but doesn’t work here. The reason being is most of the older places don’t list units until they are just about ready to be available. Every now and then they’ll pop up 30 days before available but it’s not normally much longer than that. Advance research is a good idea to find out where you want to be, and what the price ranges are, but the chances of finding something for a 2+ month out move in date is small.
pro tip: Many complexes, mainly those a bit larger, have several units that are all similar. A property might be full, or a unit you like might not be able to be held till your move in date, however if all units are the same, it might be worth the risk of securing an upcoming unit ‘sight unseen’ (since you know what they look like). There is risk here as the unit that you get that should be “the same” may not be, but it’s an option. We offer this on our properties where the units are the same, and we do our best to make sure ever element of each unit is the same to allow that option.
2) Sleep on it: Makes sense, but doesn’t work here. Our typical availability period for a listed apartment is just under 2 days (we took the time to figure this out. It came to 41 hours on average). This isn’t because our places are awesome, or our agents are super stars, its just a high demand area. We tell people that plan to come by that if they see something before coming to see ours that they like, to take it. Because if they wait till they see ours, and then like the other more, it could be taken. On the same token, we have people that will come by ours, then say “we have a few more places to view”, then call us the next day wanting to take our place. We have to tell them it’s been taken.
Pro tip: this isn’t to say jump on the first thing you see. But rather try to see properties in groups, and if you find one you DO like, take it. Once you’ve settled on something, waiting will only cause it to likely get taken from you.
3) Don’t bother to apply till you find a place. This makes sense, but doesn’t work here. We address applying in advance elsewhere in this FAQ. The reason we suggest this (for places other than ours as well) is it lets the owners know you’re qualified, serious, and ready to make a decision. In some cases (like ours) owners won’t charge unless you’re approved. This also has the benefit of allowing you to snatch up a place that you like on the spot vs. filling out an app later on, only to find the property was taken.
4) It’s a small world afterall. Keep in mind that, as big as Houston is, some of our neighborhoods are quite small. Most of the property owners know eachother. I’d be lying if I said they never talk shop and trade horror stories. While tenants love to share slumlord horror stories, us good property owners have tenant horror stories of our own. While getting stood up by a prospective tenant doesn’t rank high on our troubles list, it is annoying (and one of the reasons a lot of people require an application in advance). So if you make an appointment to view, please show up. If you do setup an appotiment, make sure it’s for a property that fits your requiremnts based on the lsiting (i.e., if the listing says “Carpet flooring and window units” then don’t bother to view if you require hardwood floors and central air). We listed a 1 bedroom and a nice couple really wanted to see it on Saturday morning. So our of our property managers went to show them. They liked it, but stated that they wanted a 2 bedroom (our listing clearly states its a 1 bedroom. If we insisted they apply first, our guess is they would have made sure it was more likely to be a fit.
As hard as it is to find a good place to rent, the last thing you want to do is tick off some owner who’s going to tell all his buddies about the person who stood them up at a few showings. It won’t help find a place if the next unit you want to view is owned by one of those other people.
Pro tip: If I can end on one more counterintuitive point: If you don’t like the place, just tell the person. The worst thing you could say is “I love it, I can’t wait to get home and apply and put in a deposit!” if you don’t really like it. We’re big boys and girls. If our place isn’t a fit, that’s fine. Just let us know. If you let us know what you don’t like about a place (vs. saying you like it when you really don’t), we can often direct you to someone we know that has something that IS a fit for you. We showed a unit to a couple recently who loved it, but they REALLY wanted a washer/dery in the unit. Since they let us know that, I was able to point them to a friend that I knew had a unit coming up. Everyone wins.
Have any more tips on how to find that perfect property? Feel free to share.