Sunderland lass

oh I see. My timescale seems rather ambitious then. Thanks for the heads up weeze. now I know your timescale I can mention it when we are ironing out the final details on husbands contract. I wonder what support they will offer us after that firstmonth if we don't find anywhere. You have given me something to think about. Thanks again

Weeze

I think two months would be reasonable. We were particularly unlucky in that the first 2 rentals fell through. We were looking in Sept/Oct which was a bad time to rent as the market had cleared for school starting in Aug.

Michael

The biggest issue is that houses come on the market at different times and if you quickly like a house, fill out an application, and it is accepted, then everything is fine.

However you may see a home that you really like but someone else got it and now your expectations are high making it more difficult to find a home you like. The good ones go very fast.

Weeze

Were your company not offering to pay for shipping? We got sea freight plus airfreight. It is surprising how much it costs to buy everything again. We brought everything as it was paid for. Then we upgraded some furniture when we saw the house.

We also got a cash amount to buy things, like electricals.

Bob

padmapper.com is another good one.

Definitely don't sign an exclusive contract with the realtor.

Lbjen

If you are getting a relocation package there is likely a realtor included in that, check with your relo company. The agent you're speaking to will probably ask about that at some point as well. Don't sign or agree to anything until you know more about what your package includes.

Because of the revolving door of people coming and going in Houston, there are always properties available to rent. There was a buying boom this spring/summer when rates were low but those people are still being sent elsewhere by their employers. A realtor who works mostly with relo clients is more likely to know of upcoming availability because their clients come back to them when they need to move.

Sunderland lass

We are given two options Weeze: $5k for freight to take our existing furniture or given $12k and no freight. As we are renting our home out in the Uk we wont have a great deal of furniture to bring so are opting for buying new. I know $12k seems a lot but I know it wont go that far. The plan is well get the basics and buy more as we go....but you know what they say about plans

Suexpat

The rental market in Houston is really fast so you should find a property very quickly. Please remember that the Texas lease is not in the tenant interests so make sure you have everything in writing. Even then it doesnt mean the Landlord has to comply. I have found that out from experience and there is nobody to help you so be careful.

MsElui

when we came over in 2007, we found a house to rent within a week and moved in by the third week. We used a realtor to find the property and he did all the negotiations. We then used that same realtor when we bought a property later on too (and he would have been paid commission by the seller then) - so if they know you are a prospective client its not 'worthless' to help you know as it could lead to some commission from the landlord and hopefully repeat business at a later date from you. They may not reply if they are too busy - or know you are not there and ready to go (ie not worth searching out places to rent too far in advance as they can go off the market really quickly).

Mr Weeze

We got 2 months in furnished accommodation, and we would have had the option to extend it if we needed, just at our expense. My company provided a relocation service, which included someone to take us to the Social Security office, set us up with a realtor who worked rentals and with expats, etc. etc.

In our case, the landlord paid our realtor 1 months rent for his work. We went for an 18 month lease, and our realtor negotiated the price and services (yard, pool maintenance) we wanted with their realtor. There was about a 40 page contract, but this was pretty much the standard Texas contract. Our contract included what I believe is called a "diplomacy clause" (I may have the name wrong) such that if we were to be relocated for work there was only two months rent due, even during the 18 month lease.

Once all the paperwork was done (and there was a lot) we paid our landlord once a month - there was no property management company involved. I had a question maybe a week afterwards and I e-mailed our realtor a question and I got a slightly more polite version of "bugger off, I've been paid so I don't deal with you any more".

durham_lad

When we moved to the Clear Lake area we found a house to rent during our "look see" visit, then the company provided up to a month's hotel costs while we furnished it and moved in. We were only in the hotel about 7 days before we had beds and furniture in place enough to move in.

We used a Realtor to find a house to rent and never paid anything to the realtor. I assume the landlord paid the realtor a finder's fee as all our rent went directly to the landlord.

Yorkieabroad

As a landlord here, I can confirm that if I use a realtor to find a tenant, I usually pay them 1 months rent. On the very rare occasion that 2 realtors have been involved, (eg because an incoming expats' company has employed a realtor to assist with their relocation) the contract has been written such that the realtors split the 1 month commission. I don't know whether the expat/tenants realtor gets any other compensation from the company or not.