Looking for house rentals

Submitted by zebra_humbucker t3_yeuuiz in ManchesterNH

Hi, my wife and I are emigrating to the US in the next couple months and aiming to live around Concord or possibly Manchester NH. I've been looking around for houses to rent while we settle in and using the likes of Trulia and Zillow i'm coming up really short on options.

We potentially have a baby on the way and I will need to work from home so I need a 3 bedroom place. On that basis I really want a house as opposed to an apartment.

Admittedly I'm filtering for places that allow a dog which doesn't help.

Budget is probably at around the 2 or maybe 2.5k per month.

Are there any avenues I'm missing in my search? Or are the pickings really as slim as Trulia would have me believe?

Thanks.

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kathryn13 t1_iu00bdp wrote

We have a less than 1% vacancy rate in New Hampshire right now. It's slim pickings.

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booniebrew t1_iu2wni1 wrote

Southern NH has been one of the hottest markets in the country over the last 2 years too.

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thepartyscene t1_iu097ca wrote

You may have to settle for an apartment right now, the market is crazy and rental houses are VERY expensive.

That said, Zillow and Facebook marketplace have the most postings. A lot of places want you to view in person before so you may run into issues there. Ignore the pet filters though, so many places don’t set them accurately. Don’t bring up the dog until completely necessary, tbh.

A few other things to consider— off street parking is critical in snow emergencies. I’d also ask about snow removal, a lot of landlords have that included but it’s good to know if they don’t. Laundry in unit is something I personally really like, and if you have a baby coming it will be necessary, so keep an eye on that. I think there are maps of “good” neighborhoods on this sub somewhere, I’d say that’s good information but take it with a grain of salt.

If you have any other questions feel free to DM me! The market is miserable right now but not completely impossible. Good luck!!!!

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sysadminsavage t1_iu0ajeb wrote

Unfortunately you will have a tough time with that budget. 2 bedroom apartments in decent neighborhoods around Manchester go for just under $2k/month to put it into perspective. Your best bet would be to scour Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace daily around 5 PM (this is when listings typically get put up). I think you would have better luck looking for a townhouse/duplex as those are more within that price range. Pinardville/Goffstown west of Manchester and some of the communities east of I-93 in Manchester are both decent options and not terribly pricey. Concord is around the same price nowadays compared to Manchester.

The increase in interest rates has put even more of a strain on vacancies statewide, and we already had short supply before the pandemic started. Even with the doubling of rates New Hampshire is still a red hot market for sellers. Best of luck in your search and welcome to the United States.

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employeeno5 t1_iu0ln72 wrote

I know locals with lots of local knowledge and connections in the community who can't find a decent one bedroom apartment in town, never mind a house. Actual whole house rentals are much more rare in the area than apartments regardless of the current lack of vacancy. Most single family houses are owner-occupied, though there are a lot of houses divided into multi-family apartment rental scenarios. But whole houses for rent are not as common for rental options as apartments in the best of times.

I don't mean to be discouraging, just saying this is a problem for everyone and the pickings really are that slim even at the level of apartments.

Keep being persistent, and while it's an unfortunate pain in the ass, consider making a Facebook account if you don't have one, so you can browse listings on Facebook Marketplace as well. A lot rentals get listed there that might not get listed on the real estate sites, and it's less scammy/spammy than Craiglist these days.

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q_q_o_o_b_b t1_iu086z1 wrote

I was in a similar situation a few years ago and had better luck on Craigslist. I was able to find a single family home in Manchester that allowed my dogs for a reasonable price. That said, the market in this part of the state is out of control. If you can work from home you might have better luck in a more rural town surrounding either of those cities.

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TravelingTequila t1_iu28asf wrote

Craigslist, Facebook, Apartments.com. There will be overlap but you'll have a better chance broadening the search. It's a bit difficult if you're not on the ground.

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