I’m moving with work to the US in a few months time. I’m looking at some apartments and am wondering how quickly you can move in once you’ve paid? Let’s say I book 4 nights in a hotel, will this be enough time to pre-book some viewings, sign a contract and get the keys?
I’m worried about some places I’ve been reading that say there can be up to 2 months wait. I don’t wanna pay for a hotel for 2 months!
Thanks
22 comments
They tell you when the lease begins when you’re looking at apartment listings. A month or two in advance is pretty standard but if you keep looking around I’m sure you can find something with shorter notice. I would try larger buildings with more units.
4 nights would probably be cutting it extremely close. You’ll have to luck out on finding a place that’s currently empty, cleaned from the previous tenant, etc. To make it easier I’d say stay in a hotel or even Airbnb intended for longer stays with more flexible checkout dates — you don’t want to have to extend your room only to find out it’s already reserved by someone else.
Edit: every place I’ve ever rented has wanted to run a background check, too. Those take a few days to complete and probably even longer for non-Americans.
Housing and rental markets are hot across the nation. I would not count on finding an empty place. It is very likely you’ll find a play with a tenant still in. 30-60 for them to move out, and then a week or two on top of that to renovate.
If you can find a brand new apartment building you might have some luck there.
Also look into extended stay hotels. You can get pretty decent discounts by paying for a week at a time and they’ll have more in room amenities than a standard hotel room.
Why don’t you ask? Most places give you the move in dates and tell you straight up as you’re looking up their floor plans
Depends on where you’re moving to, too. In some areas, there is a line of potential renters every time there’s an opening. In other areas, it’s easy to find a place.
Depends totally on the landlord. I would make sure you were accommodated, and any one that wouldn’t would be someone you wouldn’t want to rent from . Look for smaller landlords rather than big companies
In today’s market an apartment that is available today is going to be new, overpriced, or have some significant flaw you’re not noticing.
Apartments are available when the renter allows you to move in.
When I moved in to Chicago I paid the deposit and first month the day after I saw the place and signed the lease. So it *can* go quickly.
Usually it takes 2 – 4 weeks. This is because there is usually a tenant living there that has to move out. So landlords will start advertising a month or more in advance and indicate the date the apartment would be available.
If an apartment is sitting empty you could almost certainly rush things along because the landlord isn’t getting paid for an empty apartment and wants a tenant as soon as possible.
That said, the rental market is really tight right now. There are not a lot of vacant apartments. So expediting move in might be harder.
I’ll also say that you can coordinate with the current tenant if they will give you their contact info. We moved into one apartment two weeks early because the landlord listed it as available at the end of the month but the current tenant said “oh we are moving out middle of the month so my husband can start his new job.” We just met up with them on their move out day and got the keys (we ok’d all this with the landlord). It meant we could slowly move everything over rather than try to marathon move in one day. So it never hurts to ask.
Communicate with the leasing office beforehand, and they will tell you the date a unit is available. You can just go in and pay on the date it’s available and should receive your keys that day.
Depends if the unit is ready or not. This last time around, the management needed about 3 weeks. They initially said 2, but took them a little longer. I had about a week of overlap between my two apartments.
One of my early apartments, many years ago, was move-in ready immediately. We toured the property, gave our deposit and signed a brief lease, and we were given the keys. No credit check, employment verification, or anything. But we were a bunch of college students.
I suspect 2-4 weeks is typical.
In the USA majority of renters have 12 month lease contracts. And it is very common to have a minimum of 20 days notice to renew or give notice of vacating.
Apartment managers know 20 days in advance if an apartment is going to have a vacancy.
When we choose to move we start looking about 8 weeks before our desired move-in date
What I’ve known people to do when they’re in your situation is rent an Airbnb for a month while they look for a place to stay. Depending on where you move, it could take some time to find a good, affordable place.
Look for a sub local to the area where you’re moving. Boston is likely very different for renting than Kansas City.
That depends heavily on where you are moving. Chicago you can absolutely pull this off. Other cities are signing leases a month or two out.
If it’s empty you can usually move in the next day. Don’t forget that setting up utilities may in some cases take longer than getting into the apartment.
There are real estate agents who specialize in rentals. In my state their fee is paid by the landlord, so it wouldn’t cost the renter anything (but check on that rule for wherever you’re moving). They can pre-view some properties in advance and either FaceTime you or send videos. That might cut out some leg work so you can have it narrowed down before you arrive.
If the apartment was ready for residency then that day.
You should definitely reach out to a real estate broker. Let him or her know your situation. You want to be able to sign the lease and move in within a few days of whatever date. They’ll be able to have a few move-in ready places available to show.
Unless you happen to be moving to an area with a lot of vacant properties, it is going to be very hard to find a place on your own in a few days with no preparation.
You need to find the local subreddit for local advice. Ann Arbor’s market is very different from Los Angeles. You’ll get good help on navigating the rental market with consideration for things like proximity to your workplace and your transportation situation.
If you aren’t visiting places untill you actually get there ie no house hunting trips. I would plan to spend 7-10 days in a hotel. Especially if you are trying to work full time while looking for a place. You are going to spend 1-2 days looking for a place. Then you need to fill out the application, check references, and do a credit check. I would say that will take a minimum of 4 business days. Keep in kind that does count weekends.
Then their is the fact that your a foreigner. They can’t legally discriminate against you but since you will not have a SSN or any in country former landlords you are going to have to jump through some extra hoops. Most likely you will be required to pay a larger deposit, either in cash or as a money order. You will need to provide evidence of income, and likely need a letter from your company that they are employing you in the US.
Now what about furniture? Are you having a bed and stuff shipped there? When will it arrive? If you are looking for a furnished place that will be harder to find. If you need to buy or rent furniture you need to keep in mind that it might not be deliverable right away. Nothing sucks more then having an apartment but your stuff doesn’t come for two days…
The last time I went through that process, I started relatively early, at about 3 months before the move, but that was an extremely comfortable amount of time. 4 days will be cutting it very close and possibly force you into situations you don’t want to be in. Ideally, see if you can get the plan going about a month before the day you want to move in.