Apartment Hunting General Discussion

[twincitizen]

Renters challenge new rules at Pleasant Avenue apartments: http://www.southwestjournal.com/news/ne ... apartments

My first apartment in Minneapolis was QT Properties. I didn't find them to be difficult to work with or anything, but they were a bit impersonal. The thing about not allowing people in the yards is true. At 2741 Grand they had the entire front/side yard fenced off so residents had no access to green space whatsoever (though I did occasionally hop the fence for a game of beanbags, etc.).

In theory I'm ok with requiring people to pay online, and of course I'm on board with charging a nominal fee for parking ($25 in this case), but doing it mid-lease is cruel and probably illegal, as the article suggests. I have little sympathy for the "unbanked". That is one of those situations where doing the liberal guilt thing and simply feeling bad for poor people is perhaps unhelpful. Instead, we need to find ways to get these people real bank accounts so they aren't doing payday loans, check cashing, etc. and getting ripped off and continuing the "poverty death spiral". Every person with a job should have a normal checking account, in theory.

[xandrex]

The mid-lease parking fee is certainly questionable. I have to wonder what the management company hoped to gain with the charge though. If almost nobody is parking there, it seems there isn't much of a parking issue. I think that's one reason my parking is bundled - it's so easy to park on the street that nobody would park in the lot. My roommate doesn't have a spot in our lot (1 permit per apartment) and doesn't even mind because he parks directly in front of our apartment.

I do feel for the unbanked, but I often wonder who these people are. As someone who worked in retail for years, even the incredibly poor folks who came through my line often had a debit card as their backup once their SNAP/EBT payments zeroed out.

With new banking regs, it seems most of the issue is convincing people that they actually can use a bank and not face steep fees (by not allowing overdraft, for example). Even if they can't, the emergence of easy-to-use, reloadable, and low-cost options like Green Dot or Amex's Bluebird program seem like a no-brainer.

It's not as big of a deal now that I'm paid on the same days every month, but I specifically opted out of my management company's online pay because of irregular pay days, which meant sometimes I didn't have rent exactly by the deadline. If you were enrolled online, you would be automatically slapped with a late fee. By dropping off a check, I could push the deadline a bit and the landlord didn't mind...

[bubzki2]

Quick question to those who know Rochester fairly well: I'm looking to move to the city soon, but would like to avoid the "suburban type" feel that much of the sprawling city brings with it. It looks like there are a few good options near the CBD (Metropolitan Marketplace above the new coop), but that building is literally full, much of it medical residents, apparently. Budget isn't really an issue. Any suggestions?

[FISHMANPET]

It's literally the opposite of what you asked for in all ways, but you could buy my mom's house in Zumbrota

[mattaudio]

I have a few friends who live in the Kutzky Park neighborhood, which is nice and walkable. I'd recommend it. But I don't know the landlords or companies that own the property there. I could find out if you really want. Otherwise if you want to live out a few miles, we have a rental for you.

[mulad]

I'm gravitating toward the Slatterly Park neighborhood a bit -- it's the densest part of town, even though there aren't many apartment buildings there, so it could be difficult to find something to rent. The density just comes from lots of houses. The Slatterly Park neighborhood probably gets the best transit service in the city along the 3rd Ave SE corridor, but it's close enough to downtown that you can just walk. It's about equidistant to Cub Foods and the Crossroads Hy-Vee.

I think you can get a reasonably urban experience anywhere within the main gridded area of the city, even though that mostly extends just about 1 to 1.5 miles from downtown. There are quite a few bike paths around town, so it's not too hard to get around on two wheels even if you can't find a nice walkable area. The city does have hills, though.

[bubzki2]

It's literally the opposite of what you asked for in all ways

[grant1simons2]

Andddd guess who's about to start hunting for a roommate this year. Me! Going to go the safest route and go to MCTC for a year and then transfer over to the UofMn. So now I start looking for a room to stay in that's reasonably affordable. I've been looking at craigslist for people searching for a roommate, any other suggestions?

[MNdible]

MCTC may have a Student Life type board or listing of other people in similar situations. I'd recommend that you try to find a roommate who is also going to school -- it can be disruptive if your roommate is on a radically different schedule / life plan than you are.

Just don't get too cool to check in with us, OK?

[xandrex]

I'm probably an odd quirk in the Craigslist universe, but several years ago I signed a lease only to have my supposed-to-be-roomie/close family member/friend suddenly back out on me. I put up an ad since I suddenly had a bedroom I needed to fill and got a flurry of responses. Ended up finding a guy who was really cool and we've been sharing a place since then. We're only just now parting ways later this month because he's getting married.

There are some cool people on CL for sure, but you'll definitely want to get coffee with them and see if they're people you want to share a bathroom with. There are plenty of crazies out there...

...like the guy my roommate found (before he discovered mine) for an apparent straight guy looking for another straight guy to live with him with the requirement of total nudity in the house...and reduce rent for doing chores around the house.

[grant1simons2]

Oh trust me I've already found some of the crazies out hahaha. There are some people who want some super obscure roommates.

[Chava]

Wasn't sure if this was appropriate for this thread or apartment boom thread. In any case:

"Minnesota is one of the least affordable Midwest states for renters, study finds"
http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-is ... 304281031/

I'm sure this is no surprise to anyone here. Having moved here from Chicago a bit year ago, I was fairly surprised by rental rates here. I was lead to believe by quite a few locals that the cost of living was pretty low here. Not so much, but I ain't mad at ya!

[min-chi-cbus]

It is fairly low, nationally-speaking, and it's lower if you're buying a house (relative to renting), but that's true throughout the Midwest, and moreso as you get into some of the truer Rust Belt cities, like Cleveland, Detroit and Cincy.

[xandrex]

We're definitely among the most expensive in the Midwest, though we don't exactly have a whole lot of competition.

When speaking of Minnesota's affordability, it's definitely on a national level and relative to what we consider our peer cities/states.

[alleycat]

The average rent in Chicago is around $700 higher than in Minneapolis. I'll admit that that number is skewed by the higher proportion of high end rentals in Chicago.

[Munch'n]

https://www.apartmentlist.com/mn/minnea ... ter-survey

Apartment List has released Minneapolis's results from the first annual Apartment List Renter Satisfaction Survey. The survey, which drew on responses from over 18,000 renters, provides new insights into what states and cities must do to meet the needs of the 105 million American renters nationwide.
"Minneapolis renters report an extremely high degree of satisfaction with their city, and are very confident in the local economy," says Andrew Tam, Vice President of Data Science at Apartment List. "The US renter population is at its highest level in 20 years, and Minneapolis' strong economy appeals to them."
Key findings in Minneapolis include the following:
Minneapolis renters give their city an A+ overall, ranking it 10th out of 100 cities.
Minneapolis renters give the city an A+ for the economy, with 42% saying that it is on the right track.
66% of Minneapolis renters plan to purchase a home in the future, higher than the national average of 60%.
In addition to receiving an A+for its economy, Minneapolis an A+ for access to recreational activities.
Minneapolis' lowest grade is on taxes: 59% of renters are dissatisfied with state and local taxes.
Two Minnesota cities ranked with Minneapolis earning an A+ and Saint Paul following with an A-.
The top rated cities nationwide for city satisfaction were Plano, TX; Boston, MA; Arlington, VA; Austin, TX; and Torrance, CA. The lowest rated cities were Newark, NJ; New Haven, CT; Bridgeport, CT; Hartford, CT; and Columbia, SC.
A detailed report explaining the survey's methodology, analysis, and findings is available upon request. To obtain a copy, please email Andrew Tam, Apartment List's Vice President of Data Science, at [email protected].

[LakeCharles]

Ouch Connecticut. Three of the bottom 5.

[Nick]

Wasn't sure if this was appropriate for this thread or apartment boom thread. In any case:

"Minnesota is one of the least affordable Midwest states for renters, study finds"
http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-is ... 304281031/

I'm sure this is no surprise to anyone here. Having moved here from Chicago a bit year ago, I was fairly surprised by rental rates here. I was lead to believe by quite a few locals that the cost of living was pretty low here. Not so much, but I ain't mad at ya!

A good alternate headline for this story would have been "Minnesota has Midwest's second largest urban area".

[Silophant]

That's what I thought when I read it. Milwaukee is the third largest metro in the Midwest, right? Is Wisconsin the third least affordable?

Edit: It sure is!

Well, Detroit is bigger than Milwaukee, and maybe/probably MSP, but I think that's kind of a special case.

[EOst]

Anecdata: My apartment's rent is going up almost 6% this year (though we're moving to another place with the same company). I thought when I saw it that the new rent seemed like a lot for the apartment, which is small and a bit rundown, but the place leased even before they had a chance to advertise it. The only people who came to see the apartment were two 20-something hipster-ish couples.

A couple years of rent increases like that, and we might have to start talking about people being displaced.