Advice on rentals in Chapel Hill/Carrboro (Durham, Cary: real estate, credit rating)

[findingmesomeday]

If we decide to make this move, we will look for housing in Chapel Hill. However, this time around, we've decided to rent for at least a year, for several reasons. One, it will give us some time to get to know the neighborhoods zoned to the schools that the kids are attending, and figure out where we want to eventually buy. The second is that long term unemployment here has not only decimated our finances (leaving us not as much money as we'd like for a down payment) but our credit rating as well and though it has improved drastically in the past 6 months since my husband has been back at steady work, we still have a ways to go.

Any advice on companies (real estate agents, property management, etc?) who handle rentals? I think I found one in Cary a while back, but I don't know if they do Chapel Hill. We're looking for a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house that we can call home for a bit.

[Are We There Yet?]

We had a tough time finding a rental in Chapel Hill. We found that the college students are tough competion when they get together and rent houses. Rentals in Chapel Hill go quickly, especially this time of year. I will say that we did not have a great experince with Louise Beck Properties. I'll leave it at that. We did however, stumble across an agent that was very nice, helpful and professional. Her name is Christine Khourey. She works for the Home Team in Chapel Hill. Tell her Susan from Tampa sent you.

Keep in mind that renting in Chapel Hill is so much more expensive then renting just across the border in Durham. Happy house hunting.