Renting out-of-state?

[E B]

FH and I are going to be moving to Portland from Los Angeles, and we plan to make the big move in late July.

The only problem is, most of the listings I'm finding on craigslist, etc. are for NOW. I'm not surprised, but this makes me nervous. FH and I are pretty meticulous planners, and I for one would feel much better knowing we had a place secured sooner rather than later.

I've put several ads on craigslist letting landlords know a bit about us, and what we're looking for, but I haven't gotten many responses.

To add to our problem, places are being snatched up by locals before we can even call. We called about a place just listed YESTERDAY available in June, and the landlord informed us that two potential renters had already seen the place and put applications in. Since yesterday!

Living in Los Angeles does pose a problem because we can't just, oh, make the multi-hour trip up to see a place whenever. We're planning a trip in mid-June, but what if we don't find anything during that weekend?

Does anyone have any advice?

 

[sarahthewarrior]

I''m going through this process as well right now. I''m starting grad school several states away in the fall, and most leases around the school run August-August, so I''m trying to find a place before all the summer sublets end and people just extend their lease for another year.

I''m afraid the best way to do this is to do what I plan to do--go there. I''m heading up as soon as school lets out, and I''m not leaving until I''ve signed a lease that begins in August. It''s pretty much a landlord''s market right now, so don''t expect any landlords to call you up and beg you to sign. If you don''t take the place, they know someone else will.

Will it be at all possible to go there for more than that weekend if you don''t find a place? I really think that''s the only way you can do this successfully. You can go ahead and start calling landlords and letting them know you''re interested, but most of the weight will be on you, not them. I''d try to set up as many viewings as possible for the weekend that you''re there, and check back regularly to see if someone else has already signed. You certainly don''t want to agree to a lease without seeing the place, so this is just going to require some major face-to-face time.

Since you''re not going down too soon, you may even want to hold off on looking just yet--no point in getting your hopes up about a place that might be gone by the time you get down there. But again, just let people know you''re interested, and I''ll keep my fingers crossed for you. But remember, it''s L.A.--you''re not going to be left out on the streets for lack of housing.

 

[cara]

OK, one is to sign up for DING on Southwest - last week there was a special on West Coast flights for $25 one way. No kidding. Then maybe you could afford to go more than one weekend for house shopping! if you can make the time off.

Second is that if the market is similiar to Bay Area rentals, that you will need to be a bit closer time wise and actually available to go see the place promptly. Waiting until the week before your June trip sounds perfect but do have a backup weekend in place in case you don''t find something great on your first try. It will at least allow not to take someplace crummy just cause it is the only thing still available on try #1.

Rents here are going up, and only certain kinds of places are going to be advertising this far in advance - many places are more casual, only advertising once their current tenant gives notice and looking to fill the place up promptly afterwards. Maybe a little bit of a gap for fixing up.

 

[E B]

Thank you both for your advice! I guess we''ll just have to go out there when we can and hope we find something. We were planning to drive the first time but if we aren''t lucky, maybe we''ll take advantage of those deals on Southwest right around the time we''re planning to move.

If anyone else has been in a similar situation, please share your tips!

 

[scarleta]

You will find something that is for sure.Perhaps not what you want exactly, but something will come up.You can always move again ( I know you don''t want to hear this) when you get there you can just find temporary accomodation ( worse case scenario) and then look when you are already there.this will give you an idea what area you want to be in etc.

 

[Kaleigh]

How about working with a realtor in the area. One that specializes in rentals, and could email you pics?? Have no idea about how it works on the West coast, but around here, they can be really helpful.. Just a thought. Getting a cheap flight and seeing things for yourself is probably best. Good luck!!

 

[neatfreak]

Don''t worry, it''ll be fine.

When I moved to Madison, WI from MA for graduate school, I just flew out about 2 months before to check out apartments. I spent the week prior/days before making appointments with landlords to see the places. I also made sure that they knew we were graduate students, etc. (Makes you sound more responsible in a college town). I found a place that weekend with no problem and did all the paperwork once I was back in MA through the mail.

It''ll work out don''t worry!!! If you do have some spare cash, working with a rental realty company works well too. Just expect to cough up between 1/2-full months rent for the service.

 

[AlyceC]

EBree--

Do you know what part(s) of Portland you''re looking at? There are a lot of large apartment complexes, particularly in the Portland suburbs like Clackamas, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, etc. Often times large complexes know when a specific floor plan will be available and can reserve one months in advance. I''ve had luck with that when I''ve moved. Another time, we were fortunate enough to find a building in May that was undergoing renovations and wasn''t actually ready until we needed a place in August. Long distance housing searches are a real pain. You have my sympathy.

Enjoy Portland. Compared to LA, you''ll be able to save so much money on rent, car insurance, car registration, and sales tax.

 

[Gypsy]

We just did this. And it was fine. I was out here for 3 months before and looked around when I had time-- which wasn''t much as I was working serious hours and mainly web searched and called to follow up. But DF came out for a week... and found something the second day that was just right for us.

What helped us most was my boss who knew the areas around here really well and basically took a map and circled the areas we should focus on and DF drove around all day looking at anything that looked good. BAM. He found one I hadn''t even looked into via internet and rental publications.

When we were looking for places in MD we did the same thing-- only took four days.

If you know someone who is really familiar with the neighborhoods in the area ask them for specific areas to focus on. Then go there for a week if you can and stomp around.

I''m a planner so it was REALLY stressful both times b/c we found the places less than a month before moving in each time (despite starting the search months out both times). But it all works itself out.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[kcoursolle]

Are you willing to pay a couple of month''s rent without living there? If so, i''d take a cheap flight and look at look at as many places as possible and sign a lease. Ditto about the locals snatching places, I was one of them LOL.

Also, you might want to get a membership to westsiderentals.com

I think it''s about $65, but it''s the best!