For those of you looking for apartments online, the Internet makes it easy to find out more about the available apartments with the help of detailed entries, interactive maps, photos, even 360 degree apartment tours. There will be contact information, price range, and usually an application form to fill out.
The housing market is changing drastically as a result of the housing slump and foreclosure of many properties, which is driving up the demand for apartments. An apartment guide is great for the high end types of apartments, but what about a more ordinary flat?
Websites like Craig’s List in large cities are often used to find cheap apartments or rooms, but buyer beware. Many listings, especially the really cheap ones, are just a scam.
Especially if you are not sure that you want to get locked into a lease, you might consider sublettting first, and then looking around a bit more, especially if you find yourself suddenly having to relocate to a new city. Sublet.com has a range of listings, both short and longer term. There are rules with regard to subletting in certain cities, so know before you rent.
A sublet has a lot of advantages, in that it usually comes furnished and so you will not have to get a lot of things for the place to start with as you might if this were your first apartment, or you tended to share with other people or were still living with your family and do not have a lot of household items.
A sublet is also great because you can get to know the city and the area. If you like it, you can stay for a while and use it as a base of operations for being able to explore your other options and find a rental of your own eventually.
It can also be handy to have a place to move into with your family if you need to relocate, or if you are between houses, which can sometimes happen if you sell one property, buy another, and the sales falls through or the new house is not quite ready yet.
In the next section of this article, we will discuss apartment hunting online in more detail.
