I’m re-posting this as an Ask San Diego Blog entry on behalf of Sarah of NY who commented on an earlier real estate thread:
My husband and i are moving to san diego with our 7 month old baby this fall. We’re looking for an apt in South Bay/ Imperial Beach which is close to his work. All the sites i can find are pretty cookie cutter/ i know there are nicer places out there.
Do you have any advice for me? How does one moving to San Diego find the right place to live- via newspaper/websites (which ones?)/ local postings…?
also how far ahead to people usually look? We’re in NY now and you usually only start looking 2-3 weeks in advance. But in Toronto (Canada) where we’re from, we usually look 2 months in advance.
Thanks and hope to hear from you.
I don’t know about you guys, but this most recent place I’m living took me nearly a month to find (we had issues like 1 dog and 1 cat to accommodate) and we found it by driving around and looking for signs.
Sarah, the good news is that a lot of places are month to month rather than a lease, so if you end up someplace that isn’t perfect you’re not locked in. Good luck!
Anyone else have better /different advice for Sarah? chime in!
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.
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).
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
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!
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!
http://www.ask-Dana.com
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/
Sorry, link posted here:
San Diego Apartments
want to find a house on lansing ave and the address 3001
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.
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maxi
Apartments in Longview, Texas