Kathryn29

Hello!
Me and my husband are moving to Boston in March time and are looking for apartment/apartment-share opportunities for 6 months or less... I have signed up to the sites online that can help me, but wondered if anyone here could provide some good local knowledge to help us out?
Because I have only recently moved to the States (June), I am in the process of establishing my credit... but hopeful that an apartment-share might be the best way forward for now
Thank you!
Kathryn

Bob

March is a bit of a iffy time, tend to find more in April/May because it gives landlords time to sort places out because they can't evict people during winter months till March.

padmapper is a good app/site to check out.

Also, finding 6 months will be hard unless it's a sublet unless you've got a hefty deposit to put down.

Guess it all depends if you want/need to be in downtown Boston or not...really, where will you be working, what kind of commute you happy with and what's the budget would probably help folks with recommendations.

Speedwell

Call some individual apartment complexes, fairly large ones. I do not live in Boston, but I know that my complex in Houston offers a range of leases that include a 3 and a 6 month term. It is sometimes easier to negotiate a short term lease directly with a commercial apartment property, especially if you can provide a copy of a clean criminal background check and prove you will have a gross income when you arrive that is roughly 4 times your monthly rent (in Houston at least). When you call, don't ask "is it possible for me to rent here for a short term", ask, "what would you require to be able to lease to me for a short term while we're establishing credit in the US [for a mortgage]" (use the inserted words if the mortgage situation applies to you).

Bob

In Boston that'll be tough on the end of winter. It's easier going into winter so they can have a place covered during the winter months but they don't need short term lets past March, so it'll be sublets or nothing unless very lucky.

And a lot of those complexes downtown will want anything from 1-3 months worth of rent for a deposit, plus first and last months rent up front and possibly anything from 1-3 months worth of rent for realtor fees. Possibly more with no US credit history. Which is why going private might be cheaper and easier to negotiate as they complexes just don't need to bother.

Of course, if you're looking out of downtown and further out into the burbs, those requirements drop, but it's still hard finding a rental in and around Boston, with decent parking.

Kathryn29

Thank you both for your advice.

We're going to go down the sublet route for now I think, because it will be the easiest for us to get going - then we can look into something more permanent when we are settled.

Parking isn't an issue for now - our legs and the public transport system will be well used!

I have found a couple more places online to look into - but thank you for the advice on the best time of year to try to start up a new short-term lease.

The housing laws seem to be so different in the US than what I am used to

Positivity is the key

DexterBerkeley

When we were looking for accommodation when we came over in August we did find a couple of places in Boston which offered a serviced apparent type of affair. These can be rented month by month and don't actually seem to cost a whole lot more than a normal place, although I don't think you get a whole lot of space. I'm not sure if they have credit rating requirement, we didn't use that option in the end but could be something worth looking into, especially if you aren't going to need parking.

nun

Check out Craigslist and zillow.com. There are plenty of rentals available and if you rent directly from an owner in say a two family you can often get good deals and not require so much documenation.

Mummified su

Hi we are just leaving Boston for Michigan but had a bit of a job finding a rental in winter. Our land lord then would only give us a lease till summer the he wanted us to renew it for a year so he could find tenants easier ( luckily he never renewed it so we an leave )
Anyway we have learnt that the states never to less than a year lease and the tie ins are expensive. Where you might loss just your months deposit in the uk, we have had to put up $20,000 for this new house in michigan !!!! If you do manage to find a 3 or 6 month lease the rates will be almost double a months normal rate hence why all these hotels have suites with kitchens as they are cheaper and you get a maid service !

Good luck with your move

Su

Kathryn29

Thank you all

This is proving to be quite difficult, but I think I have cracked it with a room-mate situation, that should get us sorted until we are settled and can look for something for permanent, and my credit should be improving by then!