Best way to find an apartment?

12 Responses to “Best way to find an apartment?”

1. 

   Sassy said on Sunday, August 6, 2006, 12:36

   When I was renting I always did really well with Craigslist. My renting rules of thumb:
   - never rent in a large complex
   - never rent from a large property management company
   - never rent on a main street or in an apartment-dominated area

   so, as a rule of thumb:
   - rent in small complexes: 8 or fewer units
   - rent directly from owners whenever possible
   - sidestreets in residential neighborhoods are the ideal.

   As for south county, the best recommendation I have is either downtown SD (reverse commute) or east SD.
2. 

   ChrisN said on Monday, August 7, 2006, 8:34

   Good tips from Sassy.

   One thing I’ve noticed in my ‘hood (Golden Hill) – there are a lot of for rent signs, but not nearly as many listings online. It seems a lot of them still don’t bother with listings, only signs. So one of the better ways is to do a decent search on bike/foot/car of the area you want to live in.

   There seems to be a glut of rentals where I live, lots of signs. It seems to be a trend (higher rents maybe?) but it could also be due to the time of year (before school starts).
3. 

   Kirstie-San Diego Movers said on Wednesday, August 16, 2006, 18:26

   I have moved three different times in San Diego. From my experiences and those of customers that we haved moved, I have learned the following:

   1. Rent prices in San Diego can range drastically. In the same area, you will find homes/apartments that are in terrible condition and in great condition, yet they both are asking the same rent prices.

   2. More upscale areas like La Jolla, Coronado, Del Mar etc..are not that much different in rent then any other area. The difference arises when you purchase a home.

   3. Pick where you want to live first, and then look for a good apartment to live in.

   4. Seek the help of as many property management companies as you can. Property management companies (from my understanding) only get commissions when they show their listings. So if you work with multiple companies, you will have access to more listings.
   http://www.utopiamanagement.com/
   htt://www.renthomes.com

   5. Craigs List (I agree) is the best source. You can look for areas and call the owners directly.

   Check out the following web site to research what places are safe to live, cost of living, schools etc. It is an excellent source.

   http://www.bestplaces.net/city/profile.aspx?city=San_Diego_CA

   Good luck! You are moving to a wonderful place! Life here is the best!
   Kirstie
4. 

   eCoronado.com said on Friday, August 18, 2006, 0:58

   Here are some links:

   http://sandiego.craigslist.org/

   If you want to live in a charming city where you can walk everywhere, check out Coronado Island.

   http://www.eCoronado.com

   Good luck!
5. 

   ask Dana said on Wednesday, August 30, 2006, 15:09

   All above are GREAT advice! I offer Relocation Services in San Diego County. A personal Relocation Tour is a comforting way to find out about neighborhoods, see apartments and get to know the lay of the land. It is so tough to pick a place without seeing it and I strongly discourage folks from trying if there is any way around it. I also provide photo tours- meaning I will visit the properties in person for you and photograph and send feed back on which places I thought were good options. People all have their own “definitions” of clean and safe and its frightening really. Stay away from purchasing “rent lists.” This is a total scam and these companies farm the information from the same places we all get it and then they charge you for listings that arent even current. Best of luck to you- let me know if I can be of assistance. Been in business for 4 1/2 years and have lots of happily rented folks as references!
6. 

   ask Dana said on Wednesday, August 30, 2006, 15:12

   http://www.ask-Dana.com
7. 

   Sam Jenkins said on Monday, February 26, 2007, 11:28

   I used Westside Rentals and had pretty good luck. They’re the biggest rental site in San Diego and have much better listings than craigslist.

   here’s the site:
   http://www.westsiderentals.com/southerncalifornia/apartments.cfm/San-Diego-Apartments/
8. 

   Sam Jenkins said on Monday, February 26, 2007, 12:03

   Sorry, link posted here:
   San Diego Apartments
9. 

   andrea casanova said on Saturday, April 5, 2008, 18:57

   want to find a house on lansing ave and the address 3001
10. 

    maxipayne said on Friday, August 15, 2008, 21:05

    Hi
    It is so tough to pick a place without seeing it and I strongly discourage folks from trying if there is any way around it. I also provide photo tours- meaning I will visit the properties in person for you and photograph and send feed back on which places I thought were good options. People all have their own “definitions” of clean and safe and its frightening really. Stay away from purchasing “rent lists.”
    They’re the biggest rental site in San Diego and have much better listings than craigslist.
    ===================================
    maxi

    Apartments in Longview, Texas
11. 

    Sarah said on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, 21:40

    Definitely use property management firms. In San Diego the best way to work with the best is to obtain multiple quotes from allpropertymanagement san diego http://www.allpropertymanagement.com/search/california/san-diego-property-management-companies.html
12. 

    Valerie said on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 9:05

    I found this site called Rent Jungle that is a great apartment search engine. It takes results from the major apartment sites and puts them on a single convenient page. You can check out the different neighbor hoods in San Diego and nearby cities. It also lets you see if you’re paying too much in rent compared to your neighbors and also lets you check out market trends. Here’s the link if you want to check it out:

    http://www.rentjungle.com