Hi - and Thanks...
 

First post, but a viewer for a few months. I thought I'd say thanks to all on here that take the time to post replies to the many questions (new and often repeated) that those new to all of this post on a regular basis.

My story is that I have been granted a 3 year L-1 Visa (starting next month) and am in the process of attempting to move my life (and my families life - which is all the more terrifying) over to Boston by the end of August.

The information on this site has been invaluable, the Wiki's have helped us with information on shipping and credit and cars and a plethora of other matters that seem to be stretched out in front of us before we board the plane.

Currently dealing with the nightmare of trying to find a rental property that meets our expectations - needs to be bigger than our current home (family are visiting) but within budget. We managed to find the perfect place last week (after looking at 25!) but we were stunned to find out the owner had decided to rent to someone else (despite sending us an initial version of the lease!)

So now we start again! :(

Looking at Sudbury as a favourite location so hopefully we'll find something there.

Anyway - just thought I'd say hi....

:thumbsup:

Re: Hi - and Thanks...
 

I can't help with any advice on Boston. But :welcome: and hello anyway!! :thumbsup:

Re: Hi - and Thanks...
 

Hi and welcome. I've only visited Boston on vacation and really loved the place.

Finding rentals can be very difficult, especially with no credit here. It's often easier to find somewhere once you are on the ground. Maybe you could stay in a furnished apartment for a month or two while you find something?

Remember to go to view a property fully prepared. Have your application filled out. Take your credit report, I took our UK Experian credit reports, people didn't seem to care that it was from the UK as it is a recognized company, but they aren't prepared to run a UK version themselves. 6 months bank statements and a letter from your employer stating your salary.

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Excellent advice - thank you!

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:welcome: to BE.

We have quite a few members living in and around Boston...they'll probably be able to help you. No doubt Bob will be around before long...he was looking at rentals a while ago. Good luck.

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Welcome to BE also! I've no experience of Boston, but wish you all the best of luck. :)

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Hi and welcome :)

Sorry no help for Boston, but definitely make sure you see the property first ;) We had found what we thought was the perfect home to rent before we moved over, so glad we didn't sign up for it as when we got here it didn't feel right, not sure why exactly it just didn't have any vibe (starting to sound like a nutcase now lol ). We actually found a much better one for slightly cheaper too ;)

Vicki

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Hi. Just over a year ago i had to go through the same experience. Finding something in Boston is easy, getting them to rent to you is not so.

Hurdles

Lack of Credit History
Lack of references from within the states from other landlords

That said it is not impossible

You have several options and i used both, and have found that although once i made a bad choice, i have never been homeless since moving over so can not be doing everything wrong lol

Craigslist has a variety of options, but with that there are a lot of scammers out there.

One thing i advise is DO NOT send any money for anything until such time as you have seen both the landlord and the property.

Another is to look up realty companies in and around Boston. Try to work out what type of area you would like to live in and how close to your office you would like to be. Also work out how much you would like to spend on rent. The closer to Boston you are the more outrageous the price can be. Agents can take this information and find you the choices that meet your requirements.

When i first moved to Boston i used Craigslist. I found a private rent and went to see the property a few weeks before the move date. It was awesome and felt like i had accomplished everything, however the truth was far from it. Landlord lived above property and was the nosiest family of drunks. Thankfully our agreement was Tenant at WILL, so after a month we were gone. This time i found a property company Westgate properties and talked with them about my circumstances. I am in my second term now and glad that I found them.

Your biggest hurdles are that most people want to get references and also perform a credit check on you prior to renting. It is impossible to do this for someone that does not have a history in the US, so I had to be inventive. This meant i went to see them sit and talk and explain the situation. They spoke with my employers and after proof of income and references were obtained they overlooked the credit check. Other ways around this are to get a guarantor, but in my case the company were not prepared to do this.

Talking directly with property companies that deal with letting out rentals is the way to go (in my opinion). There are plenty around. Check out www.trulia.com. Easy to use and very reliable information on there, not just about properties available to rent but also the area including schools,crime and conveniences.

I now live 35 miles outside of Boston and ride a scoot in everyday. Much cheaper than the commuter rail (British Rail equivalent). However the commuter rail is handy for reaching out to the burbs for cheaper rent, but accessible to the city.

Commuting is not overly expensive. Zone 1 is around $60 a month and covers all the methods of transportation, buses, tubes and trains. Heck it even gets you on the Tram. However property in Zone 1 is around $2000/$3000+ a month (you can find cheaper deals but looking is key)
Im in zone 7 where commute prior to scooting was $250 a month, but my rent for a spacious 2 bed apartment in the country with lovely coastal scenery on my doorstep and utilities included is $1000. That same property would be double if not more in the city.

Goog Luck and if you need any pointers just send me a PM.

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Just on a side note.
How big are you looking for?
What is the budget that you need to stay within?
Why Sudbury? is this local to the position you are taking?

I ask because commute from Sudbury to Boston itself is not easy. Although it is about 23 miles away, transportation outside of the city is in want of a better word...SHITE... (unless you have the luxury of living near a commuter rail station or bus stop) and the journey would take you approx 2 hours. That said there is no public transportation in Sudbury itself, leaving you a 15 minute taxi or car ride to the nearest bus stop or train station (that i can make out).

If you are working in or around that area then that makes sense as to why you chose it :)

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Thanks everyone. Your replies are most appreciated.

Just as a heads up as to our situation. Me, wife, 2 kids. 9 and nearly 12. My office is in Newton but I'm responsible for SE territory so Logan is going to be my 2nd home.

We hired a great realtor and she did ask us LOTS of questions and, as I mentioned earlier, she managed to get us 25 viewings the week before last when we travelled over for a quick 4 day trip. We only found one that met our requirements:

Great schools
4 bed +
3000 sq ft +
Neighbourhood location

We looked in Wellesley and Needham, Hingham and Cohassett, Wayland and Dover but fell in love with Sudbury (rural enough,with sensible prices and great schools) although the commute was at my top end.

Well anyway, that 1 fell through so we're faced with the dilemma of ever-shrinking timescales (job starts 13th August and kids school starts end August) a limited rental market and the worry that it's unlikely that my company will pay for another trip out.

POSITIVES are that my company will act as a guarantor and have provided a great letter of recommendation.

It's all quite scary though!

:eek:

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Padmatter is awesome for looking for places.

Sudbury is a superb location, but if you're working in Boston, Rt 27/20 are utter cocks in the morning commute to get to I-95 and a good hour, but there are very good schools.

Shame you won't be in the area in the next week or so, as the Assabett River thing is going on, all the towns along the area are doing events and Sudbury, Concord and Lincoln have the best free family events going on.

If you've got Sudbury budget, you've also got to check out Concord and Lincoln.

Maynard on the edges is quite nice, rather than the down town, but there are a lot of rentals there and you've got Google/Monster in town and just next door is Stow, which is lovely.

They're all on Rt 27/2/117 and can nip into Cambridge easily enough on the commuter rail and avoid I-95.

Wayland and Natick aren't bad either, well Natick is a bit dull, both a bit pricey, but you'll find more houses in the area to rent, it's also on the commuter rail line.

Things you want to ask about rentals:

Who is responsible for snow clearing, it's a pain in the arse if you've a large drive and you've also got to clear the pavement in front if it is your responsibility. If someone is doing it, find out when they'd come to do it and how much snow fall before they get called out, because it's not much use having the landlord deal with the snow if you've got to wait for 4 inches of the stuff and they come after you've cleared the drive way because you had to leave for work already.

What the parking situation is like in winter - as often there are street zoned parking meaning you can't park in certain areas at certain times of the week/months so if you've got guests, it can be a nightmare. Having off street parking, especially covered parking will help with getting your rates reduced a fair bit.

Rubbish collection - Natick uses town bags, Sudbury I think is town dump and so see if private pick up is included in the rent or if you have to pay extra, it'll be about $40-50 a month if that is the case.

Heating - Avoid oil like the plague, it's shit and will cost a fortune per month, $300-600+ a month during the long winter months. Gas is cheapest option, but don't think Sudbury is mains fed, so would be tanked. Electric would be in the middle for costs.

One plus, realtors generally only charge 1-2 months worth of rent for a finders fee in the area as opposed to downtown where it might be more, but if you look further out, Stow/Maynard, it'd be half a months rent.

If you're commuting, it's zone 5/6 so a smidge under $300 a month these days with the price hike, plus cost of parking, about $4-8 a day, depending on the town, though there's practically no parking in those town commuter stops, loads in Acton mind, but more than half are reserved for town residents.

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It's only a hours drive in, in the morning, double that in the snow. It's the punt from Sudbury into Wayland on Rt 20 that will take most of it, then you can bang into downtown, or even better jump off after a couple exits to Rt2 and drive into Alewife and take the T in from the redline...even up the back roads through Rt62/27/117 onto Rt2 isn't that bad.

There is a commuter bus in the area, thought it went through Sudbury, it goes out to Framingham and the commuter rail there, but it is pretty useless. There is a fair bit of parking on the commuter stop in Framingham, but does seem a bit pointless heading further out to get back in and it's a munter of a line heading into Boston via the greenline, it would almost be easier to drive into Newton/Auburndale and take the crappy Riverside Greenline T ride in at that point and that would be a couple hours all in.

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Your budget must be phooking massive to be able to get 3K sq/ft place in Sudbury, with that budget, you could find something in Needham/Newton pretty easily tbh.

All the schools and neighbourhoods will be good too.

It's not like Maynard/Stow/Framingham where there can be some grotty areas.

What you can do is consider offering more for a deposit. Hell, I know folks with good credit histories offering to put up front 3 months rent on top of the first/last, 3 months deposit and 3 months realtors finders fee, but that was down town.

If you like the feel of Sudbury, you'd like Acton too and Lincoln/Concord all have the same feel, great schools, parks and lots of independent shops in walking places. West Acton and West Concord would be even cheaper too.

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Heck your budget must be good.

This link is not quite 3k sq ft, but not far off and is just over $3k a month

http://www.trulia.com/rental/3084530...dbury-MA-01776

After that the results are over 4k, but several out there

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Yeah, it's not really going to happen...2.5K sq/ft is about as good as it gets, then you start getting into swimming pools territory and $6-10K a month kind of range.

It's only going to get harder and harder to find a place too, closer to school starting, but school has just finished for the year, so places will be starting to come on the market in the next couple of weeks as people move on who waited out the end of school year.

That place in the link is in a nice area though, also near Wayland, and there's a great little dive of a speak easy pub on the lake there, that Babe Ruth used to hang out and the like.