New to town?

If you’re new to the Washington DC area — perhaps among the people coming with the new administration — this is a great time to rent. With houses lingering on the market, you have some choice about where to rent. You might even go ahead and call people who are trying to sell a vacant home but with no luck, and asking them if they’d be interested in renting. This could work especially well if you’re looking for a short-term rental, allowing the seller to pull their house off the market over the holidays and prepare for the Spring market.

But…. the disadvantage is you may not know exactly what the neighborhoods are like, maybe you’ve heard about the Orange Line and Clarendon, and probably you haven’t heard that rents here can be just as exorbitant as the sales prices.

Among real estate agents, the common “wisdom” is that working a rental is more difficult that helping someone buy. Why? Twofold: because the agent don’t really make any money from the deal, and because a rental client often requires more education about the territory and often has pets to include, which makes a securing a rental that much tougher.

Of course you should know about Craigslist, right? Perfect place to look for rentals.  You don’t need an agent, and you can negotiate directly with your possible new landlord.  Or you could visit this appropriately named site.

Don’t want to do that?  Ok, go to any brokers website and do the search.  Submit an inquiry and you will be answered by an agent.  Pretty simple.  That agent should work with you to find you a suitable rental.  And, just like buying, you do NOT, never ever, pay a fee to the agent.  And this agent should be able to give you some background on the lay of the land, get you into a few places to see, and help you negotiate the terms of the lease.  Not bad service, for something you don’t pay.

Bring your checkbook along, because when you find the place you wish to rent, you’ll need to pay for three things:

1. the application fee (usually $40)
2. the first month’s rent
3. a security deposit (usually equal to one month’s rent)

Like with most things, it will take some time and effort, but a good rental is one where people respect each other and are honest.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to know ahead of time.  But at least it’s a relatively short term commitment, with an optional renewal.

For more thoughts on whether to rent or buy, check this out.