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.
As deals for apartments for rent are posted online instantly and a walk through of the property can be done from home over a video sharing site like Dailymotion, everything is done so much faster. What blew my mind was when I recently moved north and had to find apartments for rent in Clovis CA, I was shocked at how fast I was able to find the apartment, take a video tour, and email the manager. Many years earlier when I rented an apartment in Fresno CA, it took a lot longer. You had to schedule an appointment with the manager just to see the apartment and by the time he would call your boss and call any previous managers, it would take days.
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?
As Craigslist has started to charge for apartment rental listings in more and more cities, the popularity of Craigslist alternative websites are rising. Some of these websites are: Postlets, Oodle, and Kijiji. The sites you should avoid are the ones that charge you to contact the apartment complex. You should not have to pay to contact someone about a vacant apartment.
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