condo/loft rental

[droopy]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some experienced opinions and advice on renting a condo or loft. I have owned a home for the last 10+ years and am looking to rent a place in the crossroads or river market towards the end of the summer. I've checked out some websites so I have a decent feel of many of the places but have yet to tour them. I haven't rented in a long time so I'm not sure the best strategy or how to proceed.

Where should I start?
Any favorite properties with rentals?
Any to avoid?
What should I look for?

Thanks in advance! I've read a lot of good info in other threads but didn't see anything specific to these questions. I was inspired by the recent condo buying thread.

[earthling]

Here's a list to start with.

http://www.downtownkc.org/wp-content/up ... Report.pdf

[droopy]

thanks earthling, I've seen the housing report and it is very helpful. How accurate do people think it is for the rent ranges for a new rental?

[taxi]

Rents are starting to go up, because there are very few vacancies. I had an empty loft 2 weeks ago (Soda Lofts) and people were going apeshit over it. In 10 years, I have not seen anything like that. 2 separate parties had just had a bad experience, both thought they had secured other lofts, only to find out they got rented to someone else because they didn't move fast enough. Point is, if you find something you like, grab it fast.

[earthling]

Downtown rental occupancy is supposedly at 98%. Yeah, if you like something might grab it. Or consider Westport/W39th/Plaza area.

I'm not sure how you find condo units that are available for renting by individual owner, might check craigslist.

[KCLofts]

I'm not sure how you find condo units that are available for renting by individual owner, might check craigslist.

Well, smart people list them on kc-lofts.com!

[smh]

You can use Boveri--lots of owners list condos through them. You can search their listings on Craigslist by just running a search for "Boveri"

[loftguy]

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories ... build.html

Interesting report from Columbus. It's parallel with what is happening in KC.

[droopy]

I wish there were more actual listings on kc-lofts.com I've definitely been using the site for research though, the building info is nice.

Boveri seems like the way to go. I'll give them a call. Hopefully I can get lucky and be in the right place at the right time for a great place.

Any other help is hugely appreciated for any do's or don'ts

[KCLofts]

I wish there were more actual listings on kc-lofts.com

You and me both, my friend.

But it's just something I put together for the fun of it. I think the site is almost 10 years old now. I started it to let people know about all of the different residential properties downtown. A task that was easy to manage for the first several years and then things exploded (relatively speaking) and it became difficult to keep up with all of the changes. Hopefully there is still some decent info.

[taxi]

When I started leasing 10 years ago, I got most of my traffic from craigslist. Soon after, the realtors ruined it (I can't really blame them). Now I get more traffic from kc-lofts.com (not free, but worth every penny and outstanding customer service!)

If you rent a condo, be sure you get a copy and read the by-laws beforehand, as you'll be bound by those. They are not all created equal.