Best Strategy to Locate Your Home

If you are a tenant who is searching for a rental property then you have likely found that many homes are renting quickly.  Here are some tips to help you find your next home:

1) Research communities–the internet has considerable resources for you to evaluate the schools and crime rates which are typically very high priority items.  Driving around seeking local shopping and evaluating traffic flow will also be helpful in choosing the right neighborhood for you.  Once you have a list of communities that interest you then you will typically find listings most easily on craigslist.org, hotpads.com, and trulia.com.

2) Drive by properties–once you have a list of homes that meet your needs then promptly drive by each to determine if the location within the community is desirable to you.  Many people will try to set appointments to view each property that is on their list and subsequently waste time setting appointments to see properties that they realize they do not like once they drive to the appointment.

3) Prepare before the appointment–if there is a home that you think will meet your needs then try to have the rental application and supporting information such as contact numbers and paycheck stubs before the appointment.  Then if you like the home you can turn in your completed application at that time.  We often see people applying for properties several days after their appointment and by that time they might already be rented.

4) Be ready to decide–once approved for a property then sign the lease as quickly as you can to make it a done deal.  We also approve applicants who are not ready to make a decision and by the time they do the property is already rented.

These are just a few tips I can give for those looking–I wish you the best luck in finding a home.