Bloomington: Property managers? General rental advice? (cul-de-sac, real estate, sublet)

[coatimundi]

Thanks for reading.

We're looking to move to Bloomington within about the next month. We'll need a detached house (2 or 3br, doesn't matter) in decent shape with a washer/dryer (hookup at least) within five miles of IU and around $1000.

Looking at Craig's List, this doesn't seem to be a tall order. However, when we were out there, I noticed that there were a lot of "For Rent" signs on houses that didn't seem to have corresponding ads anywhere. Is that the case, generally? Or am I completely missing something?

Any recommendations on property management companies or general tips on finding something?
I may end up hauling back out there next week just to find a place. We get a relocation stipend anyway, and neither of us are eager to rent a place sight unseen.

Thanks!

[red-turtleneck]

Do not rent an apartment with Milennium Property Management, Bloom, or what is called Campus Advantage. I've not heard anyone talk about renting homes, however, but I have heard that people and real estate agencies charge way too much for renting apartments and renting homes. One thing I know is property managers are particular in this town and are quick to take you to court if anything goes wrong. I've found it to be extremely stressfull living in this town.

Call the number on the "For Rent" signs is what I did. You'll learn by simply talking to the person on the other end of the phone and also request a tour of the place your interested in renting.

Usually, places to rent are from August to August. I'm shocked to find out that you are finding "For Rent" signs in yards to rent now, which is completely unusual. Be careful about renting a place now because once you move out and want to rent elsewhere, you might have to be homeless for the summer until August. This is what is happening to me right now. I couldn't get another apartment to rent until August and my apartment I'm living in now terminates by the end of this month.

If you're looking to rent an apartment, I might not want the one I signed the lease for at Summit Pointe, which starts on August 10, 2011. Rent if $675.00 per month. You'll have to pay electric, gas, phone, cable, and Internet. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, washer and dryer hookup, small kitchen, dining room, living room, and a deck that faces south.

Good luck! I hope I helped.

[coatimundi]

Thanks for the response.
I ended up in Bloomington to look at some places and found only a few available immediately. I saw a ton of houses and can't even estimate how much time I spent researching all of it. Most wanted August rental, but we were prepared to do that if we found the perfect place and just sublet for the difference. There were actually quite a few sublet options as there are a lot of students who want to leave town before their lease ends at the end of July, or faculty who are gone for the summer, or property managers who have a gap between someone moving in May and someone coming in in August. But we weren't excited about moving twice, so the immediate availability with a huge plus.
And, luckily, I found something that seems really nice with just that. 1/3 more than what we're paying here, but it's not too far from campus, about the same size as where we are now, on a cul-de-sac, has a great yard (that they maintain), has a garage and is a detached home (we have a townhouse here with one shared wall). So I figure it's somewhat justified. And the lease goes until July 31, so we won't have to worry about being homeless, but I guess we are supposed to notify them around March if we're moving out or not, and then re-sign the lease. I wasn't surprised by this though, because it kind of went with what I had heard from other people about the market while there. Very foreign to me, but people there seemed to think it totally normal.
From what I saw though, I agree with you in that property managers there overprice places. There was one, specifically, I probably would have rented if it were $150-200 cheaper, which I thought was the more fair price. They're making up their fee, I guess.

Looking forward to it though, and I'm glad that we found something that looks good and that we'll very likely be happy with.

[red-turtleneck]

Good luck to you and I'm glad you found something! Enjoy your stay in Bloomington, Indiana!