Various questions about apartment hunting.

[Jeff7]

First, the simple stuff:
Flat, efficiency, apartment. What's the difference?


Second, the situation:
Two places will be mentioned, Erie and Allentown, on opposite sides of Pennsylvania, a 355 mile drive between them.
I am looking for an apartment in Erie, but I won't be able to move in until August.
Problems: I will be home in Allentown during the summer, which kind of means I won't be able to check out prospective apartments.
Second problem: It's a college town, so apartments might get scarce around July and August, but I don't know that for sure. This college does have dorms and apartments on campus, which is where I'm staying now.

So how do I go about this? A few places that I've called say to check back in July, and most don't seem willing to show an apartment to someone who's not renting immediately. Two other places sound nice, and they would be willing to let me put down a deposit and rent in August - if they had any vacancies.
One other place would let me put down a deposit now and move in August, but after visiting, I'm less than impressed. It looks like the place was abused a bit, and maintenance costs don't seem to be an issue, because I don't think there are any. It's also across from 3 very busy freight train tracks, so getting to class could be a problem.

Might anyone have advice on how I can go about securing an apartment? How long does it usually take? Should I just find somewhere to stay in Erie, like a hotel, just for a few days in July while I quickly find an apartment?
I'd just really prefer to have a place secured by the time I go back home in early May after finals are done.

Hopefully any of that made sense. I'll provide clarifications as needed.
I've never gone apartment hunting, so I don't really know what I'm doing.

 

[minendo]

Take a look at rent.com

 

[Jeff7]

Well the finding of potential places isn't much problem - GoErie.com, the website of The Erie Times newspaper, has plenty of classified ads, with more listings than Rent.com has. Rent.com lists two apartments for a search in Erie, PA, and one fo the matches is in Ohio.

 

[LegendKiller]

Check Craigs List also

 

[Jeff7]

Such will mark the first time I've ever been to Craigslist.com.

Huh, wow. Most of the listings there are either really old or really expensive.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Such will mark the first time I've ever been to Craigslist.com.

Huh, wow. Most of the listings there are either really old or really expensive.

Old apartments are usually in better locations.. as in a compact urban environment vs recent concrete sprawl. Do you want to live next to a mom & pop deli or a Wal Mart?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Efficiency - one room for living/sleeping space, probably with a kitchenette tucked in a corner and a very small bathroom. Usually the cheapest option.

Flat - It seems to vary, I've seen it listed to mean the same thing as an efficiency, as well as one+ bedroom apartments, kinda like lofts. I think the term is more used by our friends across the pond as well.

Apartment - Usually seperate rooms for kitchen, bedrooms and living space.

It'll probably be worth it to drive the 355 miles and check out the area and potential apartments. Grab a local paper and check out the classifieds for listings. Are you a student? Better living situtations will probably be available further away from wherever the established "student ghetto" is. I remember where I went to school, the deposits and rent for tiny apartments were ridiculous in the student ghetto, and ALL the landlords were complete slumlords. 5-10 minutes out and it was a whole different and much better world.

Oh...and expect your slumlord (if you end up in the student ghetto) to try and rob you of your security deposit.

 

[GregGreen]

I don't know which university you are at in Erie, but check their housing office. They should have listings of student friendly landlords.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Network. I assume you are taking classes now. Do you have any friends/classmates currently living in any of the complexes you are interested in? If so - talk to them. See if they are planning on moving out, or if they know anyone who is. Perhaps you can find someone who is finishing up in a summer session and will be moving out when you need to be moving in. Anything you can do to make it easier for a property manager to see that they won't be losing money by holding a vacant apartment for you over the summer will make it easier to say yes to you. If not - talk to the complex managers that you are interested in. They should be notified of lease terminations at least 30 days prior, I would imagine. While a month's notice won't give you the security of knowing today that you have a place to live in August, it is better than rolling the dice that you will find a place the week before classes start.

Edit: And as far as how long it usually takes - assuming that there is a vacancy, it shouldn't take more than a week, typically much less. About the most they will do is run a credit check and maybe check some personal references (or prior landlords).

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Efficiency - one room for living/sleeping space, probably with a kitchenette tucked in a corner and a very small bathroom. Usually the cheapest option.

Flat - It seems to vary, I've seen it listed to mean the same thing as an efficiency, as well as one+ bedroom apartments, kinda like lofts. I think the term is more used by our friends across the pond as well.

Apartment - Usually seperate rooms for kitchen, bedrooms and living space.

It'll probably be worth it to drive the 355 miles and check out the area and potential apartments. Grab a local paper and check out the classifieds for listings. Are you a student? Better living situtations will probably be available further away from wherever the established "student ghetto" is. I remember where I went to school, the deposits and rent for tiny apartments were ridiculous in the student ghetto, and ALL the landlords were complete slumlords. 5-10 minutes out and it was a whole different and much better world.

Oh...and expect your slumlord (if you end up in the student ghetto) to try and rob you of your security deposit.

It seems that the nicer places are actually closer to the campus. The nice places I wanted are on a place called Hope Drive, and the two landlords there work together. I haven't been able to tour the apartments, probably because they're all being lived in, but I have heard from some people that have seen the apartments that they're quite nice. Each apartment even has its own washer, dryer, and dishwasher, and they've recently been renovated. I guess that explains why they are so tough to get into.
I had talked to one landlord, and he seems quite easy to get along with; a very softspoken guy who likes to be very detailed when he talks. Sometimes it takes awhile to be able to ask another question while he's answering the last one, but it's always useful information, and I do like details.

Farther away from campus, then you start to get into downtown Erie, and the prices start plummeting too, down below $300/month. Downtown seems to carry the usual stigma I hear associated with that word. The college campus is on the outskirts of the city.


So you recommend the 355 mile drive - is that feasible then, to get a hotel maybe in late July, and just hope I can find a good apartment in that time? I wouldn't want to stay more than a day or two, simply to keep down the expense of staying in the hotel. I'd call the landlords first of course to make sure I could visit the prospective apartments, as I am able to browse the local classifieds online.
That is assuming I don't find something between now and May.


Networking - not much of an option, right now anyway. First I'd have to learn names and make friends.
I will talk to the one guy in the other room in my apartment now (2-bedroom on campus place) when he gets back from wherever he is spending spring break. I think he's spending the summer here. If the apartment is otherwise unoccupied, maybe he'd let me on in so I could save on hotel costs while I find a permanent place.

Originally posted by: JDMnAR1
Anything you can do to make it easier for a property manager to see that they won't be losing money by holding a vacant apartment for you over the summer will make it easier to say yes to you.
<snip>
Edit: And as far as how long it usually takes - assuming that there is a vacancy, it shouldn't take more than a week, typically much less. About the most they will do is run a credit check and maybe check some personal references (or prior landlords).

Hm, a credit check - I don't even know if I have a credit rating.
So what might I say to get a property manager to be willing to hold a place? Offer to sign a lease and put down my first month's deposit now? In that case, they're left with either a vacant apartment for the summer months, or else the hassle of finding a short-term leaser.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
So you recommend the 355 mile drive - is that feasible then, to get a hotel maybe in late July, and just hope I can find a good apartment in that time? I wouldn't want to stay more than a day or two, simply to keep down the expense of staying in the hotel. I'd call the landlords first of course to make sure I could visit the prospective apartments, as I am able to browse the local classifieds online.
That is assuming I don't find something between now and May.

I had but one day to find a house to rent when I flew from Denver to Florida for a job interview. A local paper, a map, a rental car (for my case) and the classifieds were all my wife and I needed.

...BUT I don't live in a student area now. Where I went to school, landlords typically made the leases from the beginning June to the end of May, you had to be looking for places by February (landlords required their tenants to say yes or no to renewing their lease by then because of the constant demand from new students) otherwise everything good would be snatched up for that year...it was a wierd little market.

Anyway, I think it's always best to actually see the place you're going to be living in so there aren't any surpises. Sounds like it would be very easy for you to set things up and you've already got a good idea of what to do.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Anyway, I think it's always best to actually see the place you're going to be living in so there aren't any surpises. Sounds like it would be very easy for you to set things up and you've already got a good idea of what to do.

Definitely, especially when some of the listings either don't include a price, or they don't give a location. It's a damn classified ad, I can't imagine that it's THAT expensive to put down a few basics. Just putting "38th E" is very useful - East 38th street.

The place I did check out, the basics seem to be intact - the stove works and is clean, the refrigerator looks clean enough that it might be new, and the shower works. But the ceiling tiles are in very poor shape, with various areas of discoloration and cracks, the breaker box is ancient, some electrical boxes lack coverplates and are just empty, and it just in general looks like maintenance has been pretty minimal over the years.

A lot of the leases around here are either short term or they go by year or half year, though landlords are flexible in terms of providing leases for a full semester. It is after all a college town, so they have to be accomodating. I'm at Penn State Behrend, but other college names I hear are Gannon and Edinboro, so it's a good place to be a landlord.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
Hm, a credit check - I don't even know if I have a credit rating.
So what might I say to get a property manager to be willing to hold a place? Offer to sign a lease and put down my first month's deposit now?

Well, they'll probably ask for references (work, teachers and previous landlords, if any, help)....I've also seen some landlords ask for the whole year's rent upfront. It's a problem for students since, as is your case, they often don't have any established credit.

In that case, they're left with either a vacant apartment for the summer months, or else the hassle of finding a short-term leaser.

No, usually that's your problem. You'll need to find a sub-letter (you'll probably need the landlord's approval as well) for the empty apartment during the months you're not there, or just pay them rent anyway and leave it empty for the summer.

 

[Zolty]

flat is a floor of a house

effciency means you get a a room with a bathroom and a kitchen (no bed room)

Apartment just means there multiple units at that location.

Most lease agreements last for a year, you can negotiate differently.

If you aren't picky you can get an apartment pretty much whenever.


as far as a credit check, you will probably need your parents to sign on as a co-signer, it's fairly standard

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Anyway, I think it's always best to actually see the place you're going to be living in so there aren't any surpises. Sounds like it would be very easy for you to set things up and you've already got a good idea of what to do.

Definitely, especially when some of the listings either don't include a price, or they don't give a location. It's a damn classified ad, I can't imagine that it's THAT expensive to put down a few basics. Just putting "38th E" is very useful - East 38th street.

The place I did check out, the basics seem to be intact - the stove works and is clean, the refrigerator looks clean enough that it might be new, and the shower works. But the ceiling tiles are in very poor shape, with various areas of discoloration and cracks, the breaker box is ancient, some electrical boxes lack coverplates and are just empty, and it just in general looks like maintenance has been pretty minimal over the years.

A lot of the leases around here are either short term or they go by year or half year, though landlords are flexible in terms of providing leases for a full semester. It is after all a college town, so they have to be accomodating. I'm at Penn State Behrend, but other college names I hear are Gannon and Edinboro, so it's a good place to be a landlord.

In most cases, shorter lease terms are met with higher rents as a sort of penalty since they have to turnover the apartment sooner than usual. The place you describe sounds pretty typical of college slum housing. Collegetown slumlords don't put all that much work into their apartments because students are known to wreck things anyway. It is, however, a good place to be a landlord because they're often not putting in the maintenance to fix things but screwing the kids out of their deposits anyway.

Be very diligent about documenting the condition of everything when you first move in. Pictures and video help. I've been slammed in the past because of damages that were there prior to me moving in....most of my friends had as well.

One of my friends, though, got his deposit refunded because we asked the next tenants after him if we could check on the condition on the house, a couple months in to the new year. We documented that just about all of the damages he'd been charged hadn't been fixed, and the tenants noted that the landlords had made no effort to fix anything. Apparently, they'd been snubbed to the side when they asked about a ginormous hole in one of the walls needing repairs, and even accused of making that hole themselves (which also happened to my friend). We went to the landlord, presented them the pictures and video and gave them the option of refunding my friend's deposit (which they chose) or being taken to small claims court.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Well, they'll probably ask for references (work, teachers and previous landlords, if any, help)....I've also seen some landlords ask for the whole year's rent upfront. It's a problem for students since, as is your case, they often don't have any established credit.

That'd be a deal killer right there - I just don't have that much money anymore. I work during the school year; that, combined with savings and whatever my parents and grandparents are willing to send my way, would be able to keep me afloat. That, and my grants and student loans.

In that case, they're left with either a vacant apartment for the summer months, or else the hassle of finding a short-term leaser.

No, usually that's your problem. You'll need to find a sub-letter (you'll probably need the landlord's approval as well) for the empty apartment during the months you're not there, or just pay them rent anyway and leave it empty for the summer.

Interesting, I'd never heard of that.
This is why I really wish I hadn't mulled so long over this decision - a few months ago there was a housing fair with various landlords. One of the guys from Hope Drive was there, and I talked with him. But I took too long to decide what to do in terms of living arrangements (over two weeks went by), and by the time I'd decided, and called the guy, the vacancies were filled. He said that two people went back with him right after the housing fair, toured the apartments, and signed leases; a few days later, someone signed the third and final one he had available.
This landlord had said that if I'd put down a deposit, he would make sure there was a vacancy when I was ready to move in. He sounded really accomodating and helpful (the softspoken guy). But my indecisiveness just took up too much time. Now I just have to wait and hope that one of his tenants might decide to move out.

Originally posted by: Zolty
as far as a credit check, you will probably need your parents to sign on as a co-signer, it's fairly standard

How would that work? There is really no way my parents could come to Erie, so how would they sign anything that I would also have to sign? Mail it to them?

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Well, they'll probably ask for references (work, teachers and previous landlords, if any, help)....I've also seen some landlords ask for the whole year's rent upfront. It's a problem for students since, as is your case, they often don't have any established credit.

That'd be a deal killer right there - I just don't have that much money anymore. I work during the school year; that, combined with savings and whatever my parents and grandparents are willing to send my way, would be able to keep me afloat. That, and my grants and student loans.

Well, as another poster mentioned, you might also be able to have your parents or grandparents co-sign the lease. This is pretty common and I forgot to mention it.

In that case, they're left with either a vacant apartment for the summer months, or else the hassle of finding a short-term leaser.

No, usually that's your problem. You'll need to find a sub-letter (you'll probably need the landlord's approval as well) for the empty apartment during the months you're not there, or just pay them rent anyway and leave it empty for the summer.

Interesting, I'd never heard of that.

From their point of view, why would they want to let an apartment sit empty and not collecting money, as a courtesy when, with all the student demand, they could probably rent it out to someone else and get their profit?

They're not going to do the the legwork of finding a 3-month renter when they're much harder to come by especially during the slow summer months in a college town. They hook you on to that responsibility because they're getting paid either way.

This landlord had said that if I'd put down a deposit, he would make sure there was a vacancy when I was ready to move in. He sounded really accomodating and helpful (the softspoken guy). But my indecisiveness just took up too much time. Now I just have to wait and hope that one of his tenants might decide to move out.

Sounds like a nice guy and possibly a good place to live. You can always ask him if any of the tenant's leases are coming to an end before the beginning of the school year, but don't hold your breath and then be stuck with the worst apartment from the shadiest landlord in town.

 

[Gooberlx2]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: Zolty
as far as a credit check, you will probably need your parents to sign on as a co-signer, it's fairly standard

How would that work? There is really no way my parents could come to Erie, so how would they sign anything that I would also have to sign? Mail it to them?

Yeah, just mail it in, and then call to verify they got it.

 

[Gooberlx2]

You know, I don't want to scare you about all this...and my experiences are only a sample size of '1'. My college town's student housing market was cutthroat and almost all the landlord's were evil POS companies. Your town may be totally different, but if not I'm just trying to point out things you should be aware of so you can prepare.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
Sounds like a nice guy and possibly a good place to live. You can always ask him if any of the tenant's leases are coming to an end before the beginning of the school year, but don't hold your breath and then be stuck with the worst apartment from the shadiest landlord in town.

The best answer he could give was to check back in May. One of his tenants has kept saying that she might be moving to some other state, but she's not sure when. I think April was the earliest he said he might know what her plans are, I guess that's the 30 day mark for the end of her current lease. The rest are Behrend students.

Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
You know, I don't want to scare you about all this...and my experiences are only a sample size of '1'. My college town's student housing market was cutthroat and almost all the landlord's were evil POS companies. Your town may be totally different, but if not I'm just trying to point out things you should be aware of so you can prepare.

Sounds like fun.
It seems that a sizable portion of the landlords here run small operations. The guy on Hope Drive just has a house that he turned into 4 apartments. It even has a place for parking which he says he gets plowed whenever there's heavy snow, which is quite often here.
I'm still just kicking myself for not doing something sooner about those places. They sound very nice, they're only about 3 miles from campus, have everything I'm looking for, and are not overly expensive.


Concerning mailing leases for signing, I guess I could e-mail it home as an attachment. Then I could either have them mail it to me, or try an equally time-consuming task: talk one of my parents through the process of scanning it and e-mailing it back.