Summer Moving: The Effective Way to Move
Although I’m aware that short terms moves do come up, if it is at all possible try to give yourself about a month of planning before you are supposed to move. Unless you can afford to be renting two places at once if you look for anything to much sooner than a month you are likely to find a place that you like but that is looking to go off of the market before you are ready to move and its not very realistic to think that a place will be held for you for no cost for a month or two. Conversely if you don’t give yourself enough time to look you are very likely to feel rushed and end up picking a place that doesn’t really suit you.
With that time frame in mind the first step is to figure out what you want. Write down a list of things you are looking for such as number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, a fireplace, a washer and dryer in unit, pets allowed, etc. Next determine how much you are wanting to spend on a new place and how much you are willing/able to spend. Now that you have done this you want to start looking for a new place. Check out your local newspapers, online rental sites for your area and even Craigslist. Write down those places that you like looking primarily for places that have those things you want but also other places that stand out to you. It’s good to have a lot of choices and options. The more choices and options you have, the more likely you are to find something just right for you. For every 10 places you look at their is a good chance that only one will be appealing in some way. When you are writing down these listing make sure to list them with their address, phone number, number of bedrooms, rent, deposit and a list of the features and amenities. Also make sure these listings that you are writing down are clearly separated somehow to avoid confusion and to make things easier on you. Now that you have done that go through your list and any listing that are missing any information such as the deposit amount or address, call these places to get this information. Lastly for your list, Mapquest directions to the places and mark ones in similar areas using some kind of system. This will keep you from excessive driving when looking at these places which we all know is a perk with the rising gas prices.
With your list complete and ready it is now time to look at possible rental options. Before scheduling any walk-throughs I highly recommend driving by the properties to see them. If you don’t like the area or building you cross it off of the list so that you don’t waste your time or someone else’s by having to schedule a walk through for a property you can know you don’t like right off of the bat. For the properties you do like avoid giving stars or ratings. You want your new home to be personal so be personal as well by writing specific comments down by the listings such as the building looks amazing, the neighborhood is nice, it looks big, etc.
After you have done your drive bys and have narrowed down your list to only those properties that appeal to you it is time to schedule your walk-throughs. If you are looking to do numerous walk-throughs at a time make sure to schedule an hour in between each once and take into consideration drive time. Most walk-throughs should take about 30 minutes. This is enough time to give you a feel for the place and its layout but not enough time for you to get so attached to the rental that you consider overlooking your other listings which might even be a better fit. For rentals that you do like make sure to get a copy of the rental applications and try to avoid filling one out on the spot. For each application you get make sure to write down a copy of the listing information as well as writing down specific comments about the walk through and then paper clip this to the rental application and put it in a safe place. You should keep all of your applications together.
When you have done this will all of your listing and you have your pile of applications, go through them and order them from the one you feel you like the most to the one you feel you like the least. Since most applications charge you a fee this will save you money. Fill out and drop off only the first 2 applications but keep the rest. Next you want to repeat this entire process. A week or week and a half should have gone by at this point so there are likely to be new listings and a new listing means anew chance for you to be even happier. After you have completed this process again you need to go through your original application pile and see if their are any rentals that you want to throw out of consideration due to the new batch of rental applications you’ve acquired. After this you want to then use the left over rental applications from your first rental hunting and the applications from your new rental hunting and combine them. Do this by going through them and again ordering them from the one you like most to the ones you like least. Apply to the first 5 or so in order of appeal to you. It’s good to do this so you have back ups in case you aren’t chosen for your first pick. You should have about 2 weeks to 1.5 weeks until your move date. Most places take 3 days to process your application so if you haven’t heard from anyone in three days start making phone calls to find out your status. After you are approved for your new rental place it usually takes another day or less to sign your paperwork and then you’ll have a week or so to move your things.
As a note when packing trying to put all of your packed boxes in one area so that as your current rental becomes empty in spaces, you can start cleaning those spaces. This will be more efficient and save you time.
Enjoy your new rental.
