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My first step is to use multiple realty websites like trulia, zillow, rent, etc. (any that apply to the area youre looking at) to seach. Usually local realtor/housing companys use them to get more visibility to potential renters/buyers, and they do background checks on whatever theyre featuring so its not likely to be a scam. Plus if you find the same posting on multiple realty sites then the posting has been checked several times which means you can trust what they have posted!

Second step is usually to decide what the most important thing i cannot compromise on with the new place is, and use it to do an initial filter search. If we are on a budget its making sure everything meets or undercuts that budget. If we're doing ok financially and want more space its making sure to check for number of bedrooms or yard space. It could even be to make sure your new place takes pets, it all depends on your needs! And make sure to check availability!! If youre moving close to a college a lot of realtors will say theyre only available to rent around august.

Narrow down your search with something youre less sure of what you need, like budget if you know how much space you need, etc. You can have another strict qualification to filter by, it just narrows down your search more. For example when i looked for my place last year it needed to allow pets, and it needed to be under 800 a month, but everything else i could work around.

This will get you around 10 to 15 places to persue further. If you end up having a lot of options even after filter searching, positives to look for to narrow down your options are: laundry facilities (in house is best, on site is ok, coin laundry down the street sucks but is workable), size (square footage is important when figuring out how cramped a place will feel, cause a 500 sq ft one bedroom will feel waaay different than a 500 sq ft two bedroom), and amenities (sometimes water and trash are incluted in rent! Its something to look out for)

Next is to contact all your options for an online showing! This is the suckiest bit because not only are you emailing/calling a bunch of strangers, heres where you find out if the realtors actually keep up with their listings or not =_=. This is why i have a selection of at least 10 to look at, cause if youre lucky you can schedule viewings for them all and see which ones look the best! But more likely than not some wont even contact you back because they havent had any openings for months and havent bothered to update their information online.

Email them first (usually rent/zillow/etc. have an in site email template to contact the realtor and you just have to give an email for them to contact you back at) like "hi my name is ___ and im interested in your 3 bedroom house on 123 street, can you contact me as soon as possible to let me know if its still available? And if it is i would love to schedule an online viewing! Thank you for your time"

After two to three days, call anyone who hasnt emailed you back! (Realtor sites usually provide a contact number as well) The message you leave can be the same script as the contact email, the point of this is just to cover your bases and make sure its definitely unprofessionalism on their end if they dont contact you back.

Idealy at this point you have several places scheduled to do an online viewing of the property. At this point if you have anybody you live with you should talk with them about what youve found, the pros and cons of each place and see if there is a viewing (or several) they can sit in on.

And after that its just deciding what place is best for you from what you have left. Is it close to a bus line, or the library? Does it have a back yard or a porch? What is closest to your ideal place to live?

After you make your decision, talk to the realtor to see what you need to do to get the process started. For example if youre trying to move 2 or 3 months from now some places require a holding fee, or the deposit, to "hold" the residence so they dont give it to someone else.

I hope this helps!!

posted this as the incorrect post type the first time and i couldn't see a way to change it to an art post so ................repost.