Advice on finding good landlords in the area?

Submitted by 412gage t3_10gxur4 in RhodeIsland

Hi all,

I'll keep it short. We're heavily considering a move to RI this summer and are at the top of the wait list for an apartment already. However, we've been strongly considering renting a house for a few reasons.

Does anybody have advice on vetting the local landlords in the area and what resources to use? What are some areas with generally good-conditioned houses for rent?

We're trying to stay around the $1,700 or less range. We also have a small dog. Any help is appreciated.

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canibringmydog t1_j55f1ns wrote

We pay $1500 for an apartment, nothing included. I would be surprised if you could find a house for less than 2k rent. I have heard some wicked horror stories of landlords out here. There are very few renters protections, and what seems to be few repercussions for landlords. I would just familiarize yourself with the Rhode Island landlord tenant handbook; hope for the best, expect the worse. Best of luck!

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412gage OP t1_j55gdxr wrote

Thanks. That was my initial thought when considering renting a house with a smaller landlord. I figure it would be harder to get tenant protection. The apartment that we are on the wait list for is for about $1,700.

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degggendorf t1_j55f3nx wrote

Unfortunately, it's still a landlord's market. Openings are low and prices are high.

I don't think you'll have the luxury of finding so many options for a house that allows dogs for $1,700/month that you have to interview landlords to find the best one. I'm afraid you might be stuck jumping on the only option you find and hoping it's not too bad.

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412gage OP t1_j55gkco wrote

Appreciate the insight. Luckily, we're on the wait list for an apartment with that criteria, but I imagine the small landlord market is completely different than going through a property management company.

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degggendorf t1_j55gw57 wrote

You are looking for a house that fits those criteria though, or did I misunderstand?

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412gage OP t1_j55jyzl wrote

Yes, but we only just started considering a house. We like the apartment that we applied for and are not against living in one for a year or so until we find something, but a house is now on the radar if we can swing it and meets the criteria.

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RandallFaraday t1_j55l9xu wrote

dunno where you’re looking, but when we lived in PVD for 3 years we found our apartment through the people at Residential Properties on Wickenden. After looking at apt buildings all day I dropped in without an appointment and they were SUPER helpful in pairing us with a great landlord in one of those converted houses on the east side. He’s no longer a landlord, otherwise I’d recommend him, but I would recommend chatting with a real estate agency, in person. Also: I’d keep it to yourself that you’re open to house hunting, landlords want good tenants for as long as they can. Knowing that you might only be for a year could work against you. Also also: Rhode Island is awesome! Happily living here now for 7 years

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412gage OP t1_j55uls7 wrote

Thank you very much for the advice. If we like the place, then we're staying in it for some time.

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strugglebus984 t1_j55kfza wrote

We mostly looked through Zillow or realtor.com, because when I called property management companies and realtors, this is what several recommended to find legit landlords. We discovered that we needed to be here in person to look at rentals, because the houses are, more often than not, rented same day or next day. And since rental houses aren’t that available, expect to make more than one trip and to only find 1-2 houses to look at during each trip. Be prepared for sticker shock. We were looking for a small 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a yard that would take one dog, and the prices were at least double what you listed in safe areas. Most of the potential landlords required us to send a photo of our dog, cause they screen out rentals to families with certain breeds. You have a small dog so that should not be a problem for you. Rentals in Rhode Island are seasonal. Most around Providence coincide with university schedules in the fall but landlords rent them early. At one point I was very excited because I started to see some great rental houses in Portsmouth and Newport with leases starting in June and rent that wasn’t too high. But when I called the landlords, it turns out they only rent to military families and the landlords set the rents to match military housing stipends. Check prior posts on Reddit to research neighborhoods. Providence is a city where one block may be safe but another one isn’t. Sorry to not be more encouraging, but the market here is very difficult.

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412gage OP t1_j55ufza wrote

Don't be sorry, I appreciate it. Our dog isn't on any restricted breeds lists so that's not an issue. We are actually trying to stay a little outside the city and more south (below the airport and closer to the coast, but not really Narragansett. More like North Kingston, East Greenwich, etc. Thank you for that information.

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hurricanetruther t1_j55tr5z wrote

What I'd do is look up the assessment record for the property you want to rent and use that to research the owner and owner address. Does the person even live in the state? I'd be reluctant to rent from someone who's not around. Is it a name you can connect to a management company, and can you find information on that management company? Run the name or any name associated closely with the owner or a company through Google and the RI court system. Eviction hearings can give you other properties the owner might have, can check on those, see how they're being managed (or not).

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412gage OP t1_j56hfcx wrote

Good advice, thank you. This seems like it would be a great way to vet the landlords and is exactly what I was looking for.

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CosmoWandering t1_j5bpb9n wrote

I can connect you with a good property management guy who helped my cousin find a place - he was flexible with him on some of the details to make it work, and it was a big to help to my cousin after he struck out on a few sketchy landlords and was feeling ready to give up. The guy is part of a mission driven company that wants to help build community, not just make as much money as possible

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412gage OP t1_j5bvqq5 wrote

That would be highly appreciated, thank you. I'll DM you.

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BingBong022 t1_j56iu01 wrote

Just buy a house, mortgage is cheaper than rent

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412gage OP t1_j56lp15 wrote

If we could, we would. That's the dream.

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BingBong022 t1_j56m47j wrote

Have you looked at or thought about a condo? Plenty of first time home buyer programs too that can help with the down payment, as little as 5% down.

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412gage OP t1_j56mkst wrote

We've looked into it. I won't get into the financials, but it's just not in the cards yet. Aside from that, we're also waiting to use that program and get our first house / condo when we find an area we like. We'd rather rent short term in the chance that we don't like where we move. Thankfully, we both have fully remote jobs now, so that part isn't really an issue.

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