Boston Apartment Realtors?

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

So, we're moving to Boston and we only have a couple of weeks. I'm in charge of finding our new apartment since Mike is busy with training and will be working long hours come his start date (October 6th). We're already going to be living in a hotel for at least a week while we iron out the living situation.

Because we have 3 animals and we have certain 'requirements' (close to a t-train, close to a dog park, a balcony), I'm considering using an apartment realtor. I'm just not entirely sure if it's necessary or if it would be a waste of our time/money. While we have gone through a few moves in the past, I figure since we have some pretty specific needs and we're not familiar with Boston it could be helpful and maybe even find some options that I haven't been able to.

Is there anyone living in a city (bonus points if that city is Boston) or did live in a city and used an apartment realtor that could weigh in on the pros and cons? Was it ultimately beneficial, if you could do it over would you still have used the realtor, and so forth?

Also, if you didn't use a realtor but moved to a new city and had good results, was there anything you did specifically that you think helped and would recommend?

[ElvenFury]

My friend recently moved into a Cambridge apartment. I'm not sure, but I think he used a realtor. I'll ask the next chance I get.

[kookiegod]

apartments.com

forrent.com

Don't waste your time with a broker. Can get virtual tours on their sites and for some, even apply and get your background check online.

~Paul

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Thanks for suggesting forrent. Apartments.com has helped somewhat but they're lacking coverage for a lot of the neighborhoods we're interested in.

My only gripe is that information for if pets are allowed, what kind of parking, etc is not so easy to find.

[Parkbandit]

Do you know anyone in the greater Boston area that could point you in the right direction? We just had friends of ours move here.. they gave us their stipulations and we found them a nice apartment that fit everything they required. We emailed pictures/info back and forth.

[Xanator]

If I remember right, we found our place on Craigslist. Tons of places posted up there, by realtors and landlords. If you're pressed for time, I'd probably say go with the realtor and not waste your time playing phone tag with people, etc. Otherwise you obviously save money avoiding a realtor. You've moved before, so you obviously know you're best served by really scoping the place/neighborhood out.

Are you looking to move to town, or are you also considering nearby cities/towns? You're going to save a lot of money if you don't necessarily look to live in the city. If you're not a big fan of crime and filth, stay away from Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, Malden, Chelsea, Everett, a lot of Revere, and most of Quincy.

Never personally looked, but this site looks pretty fancy:
http://www.onmarketboston.com

And if you need any help navigating town or the T, figuring out how close you are in proximity to stuff, whatever, feel free to ask.

[Xanator]

Thanks for suggesting forrent. Apartments.com has helped somewhat but they're lacking coverage for a lot of the neighborhoods we're interested in.

My only gripe is that information for if pets are allowed, what kind of parking, etc is not so easy to find.

If you're living in town, parking is going to suck. Period. Doesn't really matter which website you use. No matter where you go. It's part of life and plays a large role in the makeup of the sourpuss Boston mystique.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Do you know anyone in the greater Boston area that could point you in the right direction? We just had friends of ours move here.. they gave us their stipulations and we found them a nice apartment that fit everything they required. We emailed pictures/info back and forth.

Yeah, we have a couple friend that recently moved from here back to Boston (they lived there before) and they gave us a list of good neighborhoods and their apartment list they had before they ended up buying a house.

[Some Rogue]

There are good neighborhoods?

:whistle:

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

If I remember right, we found our place on Craigslist. Tons of places posted up there, by realtors and landlords. If you're pressed for time, I'd probably say go with the realtor and not waste your time playing phone tag with people, etc. Otherwise you obviously save money avoiding a realtor. You've moved before, so you obviously know you're best served by really scoping the place/neighborhood out.

Are you looking to move to town, or are you also considering nearby cities/towns? You're going to save a lot of money if you don't necessarily look to live in the city. If you're not a big fan of crime and filth, stay away from Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, Malden, Chelsea, Everett, a lot of Revere, and most of Quincy.

Never personally looked, but this site looks pretty fancy:
http://www.onmarketboston.com

And if you need any help navigating town or the T, figuring out how close you are in proximity to stuff, whatever, feel free to ask.

We're going to stay in the city. Top choice would be somewhere in Cambridge (closer to MIT the better) but I'm okay with anything along the river or downtown, and I'd consider Somerville too. Definitely avoiding crime and filth, though I know to a certain extent it's unavoidable in a city.


If you're living in town, parking is going to suck. Period. Doesn't really matter which website you use. No matter where you go. It's part of life and plays a large role in the makeup of the sourpuss Boston mystique.

We know we're gonna have to pay for parking and all that but I do need to get an idea how much the monthly fee for various places is and how much per month per pet will be, because Mike's company will pay up to 5k a month for our renting expenses and that other stuff is included, but obviously it lowers our maximum limit for the apartment itself.

[Numbers]

I live in Cambridge in the Kendall Square area (MIT). You're going to have a really hard time finding an apartment that allows dogs. A lot of places don't even allow cats. I also think you'll have a tough time finding a place with a balcony. Prices in Cambridge (and pretty much everywhere in Boston) are pretty high, also.

Although a new apartment complex just recently finished construction across the street from me, and I've seen people with dogs coming in and out. It's called 3rd Street Apartments, or something.

I did use a realtor because I knew the type of apartment that I was looking for, but didn't have the time to go apartment shopping.

[TheEschaton]

If you want Cambridge, Davis Square is popular, so is Porter Square, I forget which one is closer to town (IE, closer to MIT, in red line terms). I never really hung out in Cambridge. If you must be near the T, the red line is pretty much the only line in Cambridge.

One of those squares is more residential, and you would have better luck with parking/dog parks, but I can't remember which one.

[Tsa`ah]

Not in Cambridge, but maybe 2-3 miles east on the other side of I-93 (I don't know Boston). Charlestown ...

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000052887.php?origref=http%3A//www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dapartment+for+rent+cambridge+ma+dog+p ark+balcony+pets%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft%3Aen-us%3AIE-SearchBox%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sourceid%3Die7%26rlz%3D&alias=http%3A//www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000052887.php

Somerville

http://www.bostonapartments.com ... search by area. The Cambridge search pulled up two that are dog/cat friendly.

[Xanator]

We're going to stay in the city. Top choice would be somewhere in Cambridge (closer to MIT the better) but I'm okay with anything along the river or downtown, and I'd consider Somerville too. Definitely avoiding crime and filth, though I know to a certain extent it's unavoidable in a city.

Proximity to MIT is basically Kendall and Central Sqs., more or less equidistant. Ditto Harvard and Inman Squares, Porter Square, Davis Square. Davis is right on the Cambridge/Somerville line.

Somerville is definitely cheaper, and there are a few decent parts of town. Lots of students and small apartments around Tufts. Wouldn't know about pets, though. Arlington is nearby and very nice, and there's like one half-mile stretch of nice in Medford. The rest of it is full of people who call it "Meffuh."

Could also check out Allston, specifically Lower Allston, as far as being close to Cambridge goes. I'm not very familiar with the area, though.

EDIT: The listing of the Squares in Cambridge was starting with the closest to MIT.


We know we're gonna have to pay for parking and all that but I do need to get an idea how much the monthly fee for various places is and how much per month per pet will be, because Mike's company will pay up to 5k a month for our renting expenses and that other stuff is included, but obviously it lowers our maximum limit for the apartment itself.

^^ But damn, this? Live in the Back Bay. It's fancy pants. There are Boston Resident Parking Permits in most areas for on-street parking if you're lucky. I wouldn't know anything about parking lots in the area, but there are plenty of garages around. I know most of them sell 24/7 monthly passes south of $400/month, but I've never lived in an area where I had to worry that much about parking, so I don't know that people actually do that for residential parking, heh.

When you find a place, ask whoever you talk to about parking. They ought to be able to point you in the right direction.

[Xanator]

Not in Cambridge, but maybe 2-3 miles east on the other side of I-93 (I don't know Boston). Charlestown ...

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000052887.php?origref=http%3A//www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dapartment+for+rent+cambridge+ma+dog+p ark+balcony+pets%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft%3Aen-us%3AIE-SearchBox%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26sourceid%3Die7%26rlz%3D&alias=http%3A//www.forrent.com/apartment-community-profile/1000052887.php

Somerville

http://www.bostonapartments.com ... search by area. The Cambridge search pulled up two that are dog/cat friendly.

You can get to Charlestown from Rt. 1, but 99 is easiest. Really a straight shot into Cambridge, but it's traffic hell zone.

[Androidpk]

I'd consider Somerville too. Definitely avoiding crime and filth..

Avoid Somerville then.

[Sean of the Thread]

I gotta say the apt/condo market here is pretty damned cheap atm. We're looking to move out of this ghetto shit ASAP.

Her lease (was... no lease currently) was for $700 and now they're renting for $499 but this is a bad area.

Thinking about moving next door to my pops for a 2 bedroom 2/bath nice place (he's been there 20 years about now) just down the road in niceville for $700.

I don't know shit about boston area however sorry.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Avoid Somerville then.

Hm, really? Our friends lived there and said it was a nice area, hm.

@Numbers, I know the place you're talking about. They have nice apartments but they have a 2 animal limit :/

[Numbers]

How many animals do you have?

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

3. 2 cats and 1 dog.

[AnticorRifling]

3. 2 cats and 1 dog.
Easy fix, get rid of the damn cats.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

Easy fix, get rid of the damn cats.

It would be a cold day in hell that I surrendered any of my pets. :D

[Parkbandit]

It would be a cold day in hell that I surrendered any of my pets. :D

Since I would consider having to live in Boston hell, I would say you should be ready to give away your pets by January 11, 2010.

[Cephalopod]

It's going to be tough to find an apartment in Boston / Cambridge that will accept 3 pets. You either need to look further out, or maybe houses for rent around Somerville / Cambridge. Somerville isn't THAT bad, but it's not as accessible to the T.

You'll definitely have more luck the further out you look -- Malden, for example, will probably be pretty easy pet-wise and reasonably cheap, and still has orange line access.

Also, may want to check out:
http://www.cambridgepads.com/

[Numbers]

Have you thought of renting a house?

You're going to have a lot of trouble finding an apartment that'll let you have pets (unless you lie about the # of pets). There's a few very pet-friendly places, but those tend to fill up fast for that reason.

[Mighty Nikkisaurus]

It's looking like we've found 3 places that will take more than 2 animals. Not an ideal number to choose from but I figure I'll try those out and then expand the search outwards if I need.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I really appreciate it!

[Belnia]

Might as well just look for a house to rent out in Newton or somewhere poshy. The green line runs out there and you can just hop to the red line at Park Street station, I think it is? Been a while since I was in Boston.

[TheEschaton]

If you want an idea of parking, I paid $225 a month for 24/7 access to an underground, guarded garage in Fenway, which is much more centrally located and probably more expensive than shit you find in Boston.

In Brighton, I paid about $120 a month for an outdoor, guaranteed, non-guarded spot.

I take that back, Cambridge might be equally or more expensive than Fenway for parking, but we did live on prime parking property since Fenway (the baseball park) was two blocks away.

[Belnia]

Last time I was in Boston I was coming back from some early drinks right as a game was beginning at Fenway. The T was packed to overflowing. Avoid Fenway during game nights.

[AnticorRifling]

If you want an idea of parking, I paid $225 a month for 24/7 access to an underground, guarded garage in Fenway, which is much more centrally located and probably more expensive than shit you find in Boston.

In Brighton, I paid about $120 a month for an outdoor, guaranteed, non-guarded spot.

I take that back, Cambridge might be equally or more expensive than Fenway for parking, but we did live on prime parking property since Fenway (the baseball park) was two blocks away. That's retarded. I just park my cars in my garage and driveway....

[Sean]

That's retarded. I just park my cars in my garage and driveway....

You children just wish you'd park your car in an underground garage so no one would know how they're rollin..

[Numbers]

By the way, stay as far away from possible from Dorcester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.

[Androidpk]

By the way, stay as far away from possible from Dorcester, Mattapan, and Roxbury.


Especially if you're white and don't have a police escort.

[TheEschaton]

Dorcester isn't as bad as people say it is.

Oh wait, I'm not white.

Yeah, stay away from Dorcester.