No this isn’t some kind of joke …How not to be homeless today in Tucson real estate market is a real thing because if you’re selling your home you might not have a place to move into when your house sale closes. that’s just how low the inventory of rental homes and homes to purchase is.
Whether you’re a home seller looking for a rental, a renter looking to buy, or a renter looking for your next rental planning ahead and knowing where to look are critically important to avoid homelessness.
Here’s a few things to keep in mind to give you the best chance of landing a place to live.
First of all let’s talk about if you’re selling your house. If it’s financially feasible buy your home first and move into it prior to listing your house for sale. That’s not going to work for everybody but if you can pull it off it’s the best option.
If you plan to have a new home built order it now because it could take 8 to 10 months for it to be completed. You might also be put in a lottery and hope for the best that your name gets drawn so you can be one of the lucky 5 to 10 each month they get chosen to have their home built.
if you’re currently renting and wanting to buy, team up with an experienced agent and with some luck find your home, win a likely bidding war, and close on the sale of it first.
Now if you know you’re going to look for a rental regardless if you’re selling or you’re renting now… secure your rental first before you terminate your lease or put your house on the market. It’s very important that you don’t do it the other way around. This alone the one that can cause the most frustration and aggravation.
So we talked about what to do what not to do what about where to look? What are the best resources to find a rental….
the first one is an oldie but a goodie and that is Craigslist most for rent by owners post their properties there because its worked for years and continues to do so.
Next up is Zillow. Anything that is a rental on a local multiple listing service ends up on Zillow too. Facebook marketplace is also a great resource. And sharing with your Facebook friends that you’re looking for a rental is a great way to quickly connect with Friends of Friends of Friends to put the power of the network to work for you. Whichever one you choose act quickly and submit your application quickly follow up repeatedly with the landlord or property manager.
One quick tip about property managers they’ll only open doors for properties that they have listed. Rentals are not like homes for sale or every realtor can open every door.. therefore Don’t rely on a property manager to help you find a rental property. Although it never hurts to ask them if they have another one coming in their pipeline because they know when their leases on their other properties are coming due.
In summary you’re not the only one facing the challenge of finding a place to live. Use these tools to your advantage act quickly, and out hustle everybody else to land rental in today’s housing market.
