CA-NY

So we've booked up a trip in a couple of weeks to go to NJ (where we'll be living) and wanted to line up a couple of apartment / house viewing while we're there just to start to scope things out. Emailed several management companies of apartment complexes and not one has responded in 3 days. I explained that we are a professional couple in the UK relocating with husbands work and what our needs were / budget etc. and the exact dates we'd be in the area to view properties. No response whatsoever. Is this to be expected?

Are we being ignored because they think we're spamming them as we're in the UK so not being taken seriously? Should I have kept the UK part quiet at this stage? Do we just need to pick up the phone?

MoshiMoshi

I had the same experience when trying to arrange an apartment in CA while living in Germany. Even the place I now live in didn't respond to my emails!

Just call. It's a pain -- I used to start my apartment calls at midnight in Europe -- but at least you get the chance to present yourself as a lovely, polite person who would be an excellent tenant (as opposed to an awkward foreigner who's going to leave the country without paying the electricity bill).

Kar98

No need to mention where you're coming from, and do contact some apartment finders in your area to email you a list of properties. Then call the proper managers.

Rete

Why would a landlord respond to an inquiry to an apartment viewing several weeks from now. Apartments and rental houses, especially in areas in close proximity to NYC go quickly. By the time you get here, they will be rented. We faced the same when hubby was looking for a place when he moved to Mississippi last year.

CA-NY

Fair point - but apartments in these complexes have been showing in online listings since we started looking at this process at the start of the year and are still listed so we assumed they weren't moving too quickly.

CA-NY

"Apartment finders" - you mean like a real estate agent?

GeoffM

Use the phone. Some adverts even state they don't respond to emails so it's a fair assumption that others do the same. When I was hunting I always got a better response on the phone than in emails.

As for apartments, all the ones around here you could turn up on the day for viewings anyway, no need to book in advance.

Mr Weeze

Does your husband's work provide you with any relocation assistance? They may have a person in place at location who you can use to get you meetings. I relocated with work, and we were assigned a company to help out - getting SSNs, assigning a realtor to help, etc. If you are getting this, get in contact with the company and see if they can help?

FinnDiego

Agreed with the other comments. Call, and do that a day or two in advance rather than several weeks - at least that's how things seem to work in SoCal.

"Hello, this is Mr FinnDiego. I saw you had a ten-bedroom mansion for rent at El Cajon and 40th, is that still available? When would be a good time to come see it, I could do any time today or tomorrow?"

Seems to work a treat - no need to explain you are a suspicious foreigner without a credit history until you have had a chance to make a good first impression in person. Unless you are really pressed for time I'd also drive by the houses first, at least until you start getting an idea of the streets and neighbourhoods.

CA-NY

Thanks for replies everyone, have now realised we are probably getting too ahead of ourselves trying to book viewings so far in advance. Will phone when we are over there and hopefully be able to view that day. Thanks.

Bob

If the market is busy, they're probably flooded.

Also complexes tend to be run by inept people.

Sod 'em.

Call is the best way to show them you're serious, or use a realtor...but better yet stick to private places.

denzil75

We moved to Jersey just over 5 years ago and started life here in an apartment complex. We didn't actually view it (except online) but by calling them managed to arrange a lease on one for when we arrived in the States. Call the leasing offices of the complex although if they are big complexes you can usually just walk in and ask to be shown around. Might be worth enlisting the help of a realtor as they will have knowledge about private rentals, you may find a house rental will be better for you than an apartment. I had a hard time in the apartment complex with our two (then) little kids.

Kar98

Kinda, except (I dunno how it works in the UK, I'm from Germany), instead of paying the real estate agent three months' rent commission for finding you a place, the landlord pays the apartment finder and and you pay nothing for that service.

When I graduated from college in December and my wife found a job as of "whenever she can move here", it took us two weeks to find and visit a few places, and by February 1st we had moved. Another two weeks, and I had a great job too.

But that's Dallas, and we already were kind of in the area, only a few hours out, but in the same state. I contacted one company, they sent me a list of properties and descriptions including rent. We called a few places, looked at some and picked a great one.

Anyway, to the renter, the service is free. Landlord pays. Whole 'nuther ballgame if you want to actually buy a house.

Bob

Entirely depends on the local market though and I've never found that to be the case. We've only ever paid one months fee to the landlord once, but have had friends in downtown Boston that had to pay a few months as fee.