SWD

Hi,

My husband and I will be moving to Denver early next year and we have been looking at sites property sites like Zillow and apartment.com to gauge the rental market, both of which have been very useful. We like the idea of living in an apartment complex that has all the modern amenities as we don't have children and also don't really want the hassel of maintaining a house/yard.

I've been trying to get a feel for what a management company or estate agent might want in terms of application documentation, deposit etc in order for us to secure a rental property however, the people that I have contacted have not responded to my enquiry so I was wondering if there was anyone who could provide any guidance after having gone through the same process?

Also any guidance on setting up utilities etc would be great as we obviously won't have any credit history etc.

I'm inclined to take out a short term rental property for a couple of months while we figure out where we would really like to live.

Many thanks

Pulaski

Money, lots of money, extra deposits, tends to be the rule for the corporate run apartment complexes.

You will likely find that smaller family/owner managed properties more flexible, but that would mean fewer amenities, as mostly owner managed properties are small apartment buildings, duplexes (semis) and single family homes.

Some of the all-inclusive apartments can be quite pricy, such that you could rent a home and pay for gym membership for less than the apartment rent.

Bob

They aren't going to bother till you're in place.

To sign up, most places are going to want at the worst will be on signing:
First + Last
1-3 Month deposit
1-3 month realtor fee
$20-50 credit check
$20-100 application fee (which may or may not include above)
Not having any US credit history, you might want to offer more.

Now, that all depends on the local rental market, you might not need all that and probably won't, except the deposit.

As for utilities, well there won't be much choice. You use who ever provides them in the area, which should be easy enough to find using google of the zip code.

You can ask the utility company for the previous 12 month high and low as well as average bill if you have an address you are interested in.

You should budget anything from $50-600 as a deposit per utility and be happy if they don't ask for one.

padmapper.com might be worth a look.

Gforcewhoo

We have just moved to Lakewood in the Denver metro area and are in the process of trying to get a rental property as we are in temporary accommodation that my husband's company set us up in.

We needed ID and also all proof of immigration status, passport, visa and I94. As we have kids, we needed to give theirs as well. My husband had to give proof of employment, his salary. There were a lot of forms to fill in too. Details of how much savings we had and also what was in our checking account.

Some of the big corporate run complexes will expect you to put at least a month's rent up front as a deposit instead of what they quote on their websites as you have no credit.

We were quite shocked when we first were looking at the prices in this area as a 3 bed, 2 bath apartment in a popular rental complex can cost upwards of $1600 before you pay utilities, but 3 bedrooms are very sought after. It seems the further you go from Denver, the cheaper it is.

We want to stay in this area due to the school we got our kids into, so you will be more flexible with your needs.

Some places have really fantastic facilities but I wasn't so impressed with the actual apartments.

If we get further with our application I will keep you posted if I can, especially about utilities.

And short term rentals can be very expensive.

Gforcewhoo

Thanks for the info about the utilities, Bob!

Pulaski

And be aware that apartments are generally timber framed, even if they are 6 or more storeys high. (Some swanky condos were built near me a few years ago, super fancy inside and out with a faux French chateux style concrete facing, but built on a timber frame despite being TEN stories high! ) The most obvious effect of this is that they can be very noisy as sound carries through the framing and the walls between units are only plasterboard and 2x4s.

Bob

For a 3 bed, that's pretty cheap I'd have thought, for a decent city and location.

Pulaski

Maybe in MA, but that is top-end, verging on "off the scale" for regular apartments round here (not in CO). You could rent a downtown apartment within 3-5 blocks of the arena and the entertainment hub for that sort of money, either in low-rise buildings, or in several of the high rise towers built in the past 6 years.

Tarkak9

Rents will vary throughout the metro area and around the heart and city of Denver.

We don't typically have rental agents who focus on finding rental properties; some may take it upon themselves to manage private properties here and there or have established a larger management company, point is that their interest is that of the owners and to get it rented for them. If you've made unsuccessful inquiries, pm me and I'll see if I can shake the tree on your behalf and get answers back to you.

x2 what Gforce posted. Basically, they will want to assure themselves that rent is going to be paid and you have the reserves too. Deposits may vary; some places they'll want 1mo equivalent for deposit amount and some complexes just have a few hundred dollars. It be rare for a place to ask for last month's upfront (and I think that is dancing on grey area of statute).

Utilities. Xcel for gas and electricity. Water is typically thru the municipal city. As Bob indicated, each would be able to give hi, lo and average of the proceeding year if given an address. Cable/Internet - comcast, centurylink and Dish - pick your poison as many would argue. They'll probably will require a deposit and contact them directly to find out more.

You can also contact law enforcement to get crime stats of an area and if they've ever been called to an address; whilst out here and looking at places, you may also want to potential neighbors too to get an idea of the area etc.

yukichon

Another Brit moving to Colorado...we arrive late spring next year but further north in Fort Collins

Bob

A couple towns over and this was the listed, reserved low cost housing the town set aside....which is scary considering you had to have a house hold about $33K or less to qualify

scrubbedexpat099

Denver market is hot at the moment, I assume you mean greater Denver, Denver itself is just the downtown bit.

Renting short term the options are both limited and expensive. A year is the norm.

I know some people who are in employer provided short term accommodation, they have been here a few months, I know she does not like the ;limited kitchen facilities.

updragon

Hi,I am a Welsh expat living here in USA.
Just joined this site for all info .Thought I would post on this ,having lived in Denver myself in a rental apartment.
Be SURE to find out ALL the hidden fees and clauses in your rental contract BEFORE u sign anything.There is often a pretty hefty fee if u leave a rental property before the contract is actually up ( for example if u have to move unexpectedly due to hubbie's transfer etc).

Gforcewhoo

Just a wee update for the OP on utilities and stuff.

Xcel asked for $165 deposit for a new account for gas and electric but we're willing to waive it if you signed up to pay your bill every month like a direct debit.

Tried DirecTV and centurylink for satellite tv and phone+ internet bundle. They wanted us to pay $500 for the tv equipment before they would do anything as we have no credit. CenturyLink are supposedly getting back to us with a quote for just internet but that was a week ago and I am not impressed dealing with them tbh.
We did not want to hit the credit again by trying Comcast as we are getting a car and insurance, so I don't know what they would say.
So we got an indoor antenna and about 20 channels and that will do.
The clubhouse where we are renting has wifi so that will have to do til we get sorted which is not ideal.
The leasing company sorted the change in name for water and sewer with no deposit.

scrubbedexpat099

Seems they do not like selling just Internet, they make their money on Phones.