anotherjerseygirl t1_jebmm68 wrote on March 30, 2023 at 8:50 PM

Definitely try to rent a condo rather than an apartment owned by a giant company. Individual landlords are people and they want to rent to a good human who will take care of the place. I got my place in this ultra competitive market because I wrote a letter with my application telling a little about myself and basically promising to take care of the place. My landlord loved that. I sent him cookies for Christmas and he didn’t raise my rent despite inflation! It’s the little things.

You’ll love jersey. I grew up here, left, and then decided to come back. Generally, the farther south you go the cheaper housing gets, but remember that has a serious impact on commuter traffic. The GSP northbound has tons of traffic in the morning and southbound is bad in the evenings because everyone has the same commute. If you can afford to live north of your workplace and go opposite of the trend, I encourage you to do that!

gmoor90 OP t1_jebo3ma wrote on March 30, 2023 at 9:00 PM

Thanks for the info! Would you happen to have any recommendations on how to find individual properties?

WaltO t1_jech3wu wrote on March 31, 2023 at 12:22 AM

Using A Realtor To Find A Rental

anotherjerseygirl t1_jebvg7u wrote on March 30, 2023 at 9:48 PM

I started with Zillow and a listing there caused me to reach out to a realtor. The place on Zillow went off the market fast, but I stayed in touch with that realtor and she recommended me for the apartment I got. Surprisingly, I didn’t have to pay her because the landlord paid her fees. Sometimes the renter has to pay the realtor, so don’t stay away from realtors, just be sure to ask the right questions before you get involved with one.

gmoor90 OP t1_jec1ppj wrote on March 30, 2023 at 10:31 PM

Funny you should say that. One just reached out to me on here. And that was the first question I asked. In his case, the landlord pays the fee. Interesting how that works!