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Tips For Your Housing Search in The United States

Tips For Your Housing Search in The United States

When we decide to move to a different country, looking for housing is one of the first items on our checklist. If you are about to take this step and move away from your home country, you may be having doubts or questions. In this post, we will give you some advice on how to move forward. 

To begin with, let’s give an answer to the following question: When should I start looking for accommodation?

DON'T RENT ANYTHING PERMANENT BEFORE YOU ARRIVE

Although renting a place via the internet is not really recommended (since you may be exposed to scams) the truth is that, on many occasions, it is impossible for us to travel to see the place in person and learn about the state of the house or the neighborhood’s security and location.

RENT A TEMPORARY HOME

Look for a hostel, an Airbnb or try to see if you can stay at a friend's house for a few days. This will give you some time to look for a new place once you are physically there, and so you will be able to make sure you like the place you’ll live in for the next couple of months.

RENT YOUR FINAL HOME ONCE IN THE COUNTRY

As we mentioned before, it is safer to look for your permanent home once you arrive. But for this search to be easier, you could very well look up information on the internet about the different neighborhoods prior to traveling. If you do this, the search will be quicker once you are in the United States, because you will have an idea of where to look for a place and where not to. 

HOUSING OPTIONS

SHARED APARTMENT OR SHARED ROOM

These are the most common options. Pro number one: a shared room or apartment is always cheaper. Another benefit is that it gives you the chance to meet people who are in the same situation as you. You could even come across a roommate/flatmate that speaks your same language, so this is a very good option if you are up to meeting new people and making friends. On the other hand, sharing a place with other people can sometimes be a hardship, so this is not for everyone.

APARTMENT

This option is perhaps more accessible for those traveling with a friend or partner, since it requires a larger economic budget. If you will indeed have two monthly incomes and you would rather not share your place with people you don’t know, then you could definitely consider looking for apartments to move into.

WHAT ARE THE BEST WEBSITES TO FIND ACCOMMODATION IN THE UNITED STATES?

Zillow

This is one of the best sites due to its complete information and great variety of services, which cover the entirety of the United States. It has the largest database with more than 135 million houses and apartments for both rent and sale, and was founded in 2006 by the creators of Expedia.com, a very well-known travel portal.

Trulia

It is the website with the biggest amount of real estate offers. It differs from the rest because it provides reports in relation to prices. It also has pictures, detailed descriptions about the place and information regarding the neighborhood where it is located, apart from the final renting price. It is one of the most chosen housing websites for people who are looking to rent a home in the United States.

Realtor

It is an American portal with more than three million homes published. It is the official site of the National Association of Realtors, so it offers very good information about the terms and conditions that a person needs to accept in order to rent a house.

Rentometer

Rentometer is a site that helps you compare costs. It allows you to make rental comparisons based on the comments of people who lived there. You can use different filters to simplify your search, such as: age, radius, type of building, etc.

Facebook groups

The groups of this social network are one of the main search options of those looking for housing in the United States. There are many groups of Latino communities living in different cities in the country, where you will be able to find offerings on houses, rooms and apartments. Make sure you check the daily posts because demand is usually high, so you need to be pretty quick if a place interests you. You can even post yourself sharing your housing interests and wait to see if someone contacts you with an offer.

Having said all of this, now you have all the information you need to start your search. Keep in mind our top 2 recommendations: avoid renting a permanent house via the internet and never send money in advance. 

Good luck on your search for housing in the United States!

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