rent a house

[carmen]

My nephew is stuck trying to rent a house in a new town for work so he can relocate his family. I have never rented a place w/o knowing the owner before hand and it was years ago. There are a few sites that do this as a service, putting people together, right?

[CozInCowtown]

Yeah, Craigs List and the local newspaper.
He might check in with a local realator also.
What city/town is he looking?
DC

[danny28]

I would say look in the local newspapers. People always advertise their apartments that are for rent. He could also ask around to other people he knows. I bet someone will know something.

[Marshmallow]

There are also forums around the Internet where people who live in an area discuss all sorts of things. Asking a few questions on there might at least let him know what areas of town to avoid, school districts he wants to live in and other key questions.

[limbs]

Craigslist is quickly coming the preferred medium because it is free. Some of the other rental websites that were free to list with now charge. I rent out properties and I have heard some horror stories from my tenants. I hope he can find a good landlord.

[carmen]

We are headed through the newspapers now, its kind of wonky really. He is here with a job and soon to be family (they are coming into GA pretty quick) but he will be in our area for school. It could be 1-2 years or longer if he decides to continue on. I am sure its hard to explain the situation to a possible landlord so any help I can do, I will. After all I get to see great nephews and nieces, its not hard to bribe me!

[pastywhite]

If he wants to rent a cheap (relative) place for a few months then something like Craigslist/local paper/etc would be fine. If he is interested in a long term lease I'd go through a real estate company. The realtor is going to have knowledge of places that wouldn't show up on Craigslist (higher end condos, gated community housing, etc). These places are obviously going to cost more.