Classic Real Estate

Times have changed for you if you are looking for rental housing. Just 15 or 20 years ago, it was a rather complex and drawn out process to find apartments for rent. When I was first out of high school, looking for apartments for rent in the Fresno California area, it was a much more laborious process to find an apartment that was right for you. Back then, you could not just go on the Internet or use Craigslist, or use some apartment search tool online to look for apartments to rent in Fresno CA. It was much more complicated than that. First, you would have to look at the classified section in your local newspaper under the apartments for rent section (which is a method that is still available today). Then, the work would begin.

Now of course, even with modern search tools for apartments for rent, you still need to call, or at least e-mail the manager. But, as the times have gotten faster, and apartment listings are done much quicker, everything is done so much quicker. When I recently moved north and had to find apartments for rent in Clovis California, I was surprised at how little time went between calling the person offering the place, seeing it, and moving in. Back in the day, when I was renting an apartment in Fresno, there was so much more. Before you could even be considered to move in to an apartment complex, the landlord would always take a week or more. He would call all of your references, your parents (if you were under 21), and even call your boss and your previous landlords to see if you are a good employee and resident.

With today’s technology, you can find an apartment for rent online in just a couple of minutes, take a video tour, and then email the manager if you like the apartment. The manager will email you back and ask when you’d like to meet with her. The next day, you meet with her and fill out the rental application. At most she’ll do a credit check and verify you have a job with your employer. That’s it. It is possible to find an apartment with today’s technology in like 15 minutes, and be moving in a couple of days later! I love this. I’m so glad that things are not like they use to be.

A statistic that I read recently that really sticks with me is that over 85% of all apartment searches begin over the Internet! That is incredible! I wonder what technology the next generation will be using to find apartments. Real 3D walk through holograms like the “holo-deck” on Star Trek perhaps?

There are also classified websites for finding apartments for rent on the Internet. Such classified websites include Tenant.com, Oodle, and Kijiji. If you are thinking about listing your vacancy on a classified site, make sure that you do not pick one that charges the prospect a fee to contact you. People will not pay to contact an apartment complex about a vacancy. These websites get very little traffic and are a waste of time to post a classified ad for an apartment rental on.