On Sunday we drove to Charleston to find a new home, this was not a great time, put nicely.
We were both exhausted and stressed the entire time.
Charleston is BEAUTIFUL, and we already love the city... but finding an apartment seemed impossible.
When you think of Charleston you probably think of carriage houses, and you aren't wrong.
These beautiful homes line each street.
But what you don't realize is that many of these houses have been broken into "apartments." Anywhere from 4-10 apartments can be found per house.
And they are often filled with college student who don't give a damn.
P.S. Charleston is blowing up right now - apartments are being pulled off the market within days of being listed "on the market."
Every time we would find an apartment that we liked based on photos our showing would be cancelled right before as it would get an application put in, making it unavailable.
There aren't apartment complexes, either. So, each property has a different property management company and guess what - THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU AT ALL.
"Oh you're in town for two days and want to find an apartment? Good luck." -Thankkkkkkkks
Did I mention that we absolutely loved Charleston?
Everything is within walking distance = little to no driving
Beautiful, large, clean city -with the small town charm
"Oh you're in town for two days and want to find an apartment? Good luck." -Thankkkkkkkks
Did I mention that we absolutely loved Charleston?
Everything is within walking distance = little to no driving
Beautiful, large, clean city -with the small town charm
Anyway, things always work out.
We found an apartment.
A very, very, very, very, very tiny weeny apartment. But an apartment, and it's super cute.
And it will be our home for at least the next year.
We'll love it.
I'm more or less writing this so that nobody else gets stuck in the tough situations we found ourselves in once we arrived in this beautiful city.
I've got some helpful hints that I wish I knew before we arrived:
1. Use Craigslist - but don't trust everything you see.
2. Use Hotpads but don't send messages, call immediately regarding the apartment.
3. Use the resources on hotpads (i.e. they will give a company name as to who the property management company is - type that into Google and look at more properties).
4. Expect to pay a ridiculous amount of money for rent. Look for places that include off-street parking (you have to pay for parking typically).
5. Start looking 4 days before you get to Charleston and schedule viewings (as many as you can get in your first day with top picks first).
6. Don't expect to have someone meet with you the same day you call.
6. Don't expect to have someone meet with you the same day you call.
7. Charleston has laws about how many times/week they can show properties, so know that some may not be available for showing
8. Pets aren't so welcome. In fact, if they are, you will pay a non-refundable pet deposit plus monthly pet rent. Does that not sound completely insane?
9. The only person a company/owner can discriminate against is college students.
10. If you know a realtor see if they can match you with someone in the Charleston area to meet with you and use MLS system to find apartments. Any realtor can access these places for showing as long as they aren't private.
Other weird things:
- Companies cater to college students. This means that rentals aren't usually available until June-August for the start of school. This super sucked for us since March is near the end of the semester.
- We were only looking to live in downtown Charleston. None of this applies if you're looking at the outskirts of downtown (Daniel Island, James Island or West Ashley). They have normal luxury apartments available at normal prices (:
Here is a list of a few property management companies we came across which you might find to be helpful.
10. If you know a realtor see if they can match you with someone in the Charleston area to meet with you and use MLS system to find apartments. Any realtor can access these places for showing as long as they aren't private.
Other weird things:
- Companies cater to college students. This means that rentals aren't usually available until June-August for the start of school. This super sucked for us since March is near the end of the semester.
- We were only looking to live in downtown Charleston. None of this applies if you're looking at the outskirts of downtown (Daniel Island, James Island or West Ashley). They have normal luxury apartments available at normal prices (:
Here is a list of a few property management companies we came across which you might find to be helpful.
- The Charleston Property Company
- Daniel Ravenel Real Estate Property
- The Beach Company
- Rent Charleston
- Domicile Real Estate Brokerage
- The William Olasov Co. LLC
If this applies to you at all, I hope you find it helpful.
If not, thanks for reading anyway & wish us a good journey (we need the good vibes)
Moving is definitely never funnnnnnn, but hey, it could be worse
As always
Xoxo,
B
