In this day and age of giant apartment complexes with hundreds of spaces to fill and large apartment buildings that feature hundreds of units stacked on top of each other, the idea of renting from an individual who is renting out a spare room or an apartment over a garage may seem quaint or even silly, but every year, thousands of these apartments are rented in cities just like Atlanta. Should you consider one of these spaces? Let’s find out.

First off, it helps if you know the people you are renting from. That doesn’t mean that you can’t trust a total stranger, or in the case of a family, a whole host of strangers, but if you rent from people you know, you have an immediate comfort and trust level that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

You also need to take into consideration how much space you’ll have. Do you like to listen to loud music? You may not be able to depending on how much space you have.

Often times, these apartments tend to be a little bit less than renting a stand alone apartment, which can save you a lot of cash over the life of a six month or twelve month lease, but is this cheap apartment located near your work or near your entertainment that you enjoy? You may end up spending more on gas or parking here than you would save on rent.

Renting an apartment over a garage or in a private house can be a good idea, but make sure you do your homework first.

The exciting world of the Internet has completely changed the way we live our daily lives and that includes the way we search for places to live. Thanks to dozens of online sites, both local and national, hunting for an apartment has been refined to a science and the bells and whistles most sites have are simply mind blowing.

If you are from an older generation, and you have been using traditional classified ads to search for an apartment, you should consider putting down the newspaper and going online. Not only do most online apartment hunting websites offer specific searches that break down availability by neighborhood, but they also offer comprehensive reviews of various apartment buildings and complexes all over the Atlanta metro area and throughout the suburbs. We’re not just talking about two or three or even ten reviews of an apartment. In a city like Atlanta that has millions of residents, most apartment hunting websites offer hundreds or even thousands of reviews of popular buildings or complexes so you can make an educated choice without having to waste an entire weekend looking at apartments.

You can even search for apartments online by amenities. We have all found want ads in the paper that sound great until you get to the last line that tells you they don’t take cats or that they only offer two bedroom units when you are looking for one. Eliminate the frustration of finding the perfect apartment for you by looking online and utilizing the incredible technology that is at your fingertips.

If you have just moved to beautiful Atlanta or you are contemplating moving here, it can be a bit overwhelming when you consider the sheer size of the city and all of the various apartment complexes that are available. Just like any city, Atlanta has areas that are wonderful (like Buckhead) and other areas that you probably want to avoid. Let’s take a quick look at how you can learn about this wonderful new city.

Thanks to the Internet, there are many national and local websites out there that allow renters to leave comments about particular apartment complexes so that you can know before you head out for a long day of apartment hunting. They can also give you an idea of how much each resident pays for rent. The nicer the area, the higher the rent will be, although that isn’t always the case.

If you have friends and family that live in the Atlanta area, or anywhere close to the big city, they can give you a good once over on the neighborhoods and what the best spots to call home are. Atlanta is notorious for its traffic, so living close to work is probably a good idea, and it will keep your insurance premiums down, too. Atlanta also has a bit of a sprawl problem, so if an apartment complex says it is in Atlanta, you better grab a map, or an online map, to see exactly what part of this big, old city it is located in.

Perhaps no city in North America has seen the population influx over the last 25 years like Atlanta has. People from every state in the union now call Atlanta home, but a recent study has shown that Atlanta, much like many cities in the South, is considered a “temporary” city, or one that people move to for a period of time, usually between 3-10 years, and then move somewhere else. It is for this reason and a thousand more than renting in metro Atlanta makes so much more sense than buying.

With the recent real estate market collapse, many southern cities including Atlanta, Orlando, Miami and Tampa suffered steep drops in home values. The main reason why most people buy a home is for the investment, but homeowners in Atlanta sat by helplessly as the values of their homes declined sharply. Renters, on the other hand, felt none of that decline and still possess the freedom to move when they want to without being chained down by the anchor that is home ownership.

While some financial experts believe that the housing recession is over, the future still looks quite uncertain for many southern cities when it comes to property values. Many locations in Georgia, Florida, Arizona and California are still highly overpriced and continued declines are feared. Buying a home at some point is still a viable idea, but until the economy begins to improve drastically, renting really is the best option available to folks looking to call the Atlanta metro area home.

One of the great things about living in Atlanta is the fact that it is such a huge city that has so many wonderful neighborhoods. You can live out in the ‘burbs if you are looking for something quiet and private, or you can live downtown and be surrounded by non-stop energy. While downtown Atlanta has many interesting areas, one of the liveliest is Atlanta University Center. Here the crowds are young, hip and ready to have fun. If this sounds like the kind of environment you want to live in, here are a few rules you can follow to get the most out of your experience.

Since Atlanta University Center is going to attract a lot of students and young people just out of high school, you are probably going to have a roommate who is loud and looking to party. This is fine if that’s what you are looking for, but if it isn’t, you need to be specific with that person before you even meet for the first time. When you place your ad or respond to an ad, be very, very specific about wanting a quiet environment to live in and how important it is to you.

Next, try to find out how serious of a student they are since the last thing you need is to have a lease dropped on your lap if they suddenly decide to drop out of school with no notice. Of course, emergencies happen where people suddenly need to head back home or need to end their schooling, but if your roommate tells you that they aren’t getting very good grades, you may end up looking for a new roommate yourself in no time flat.

Atlanta University Center is an exciting and fun place to call home, but make sure you cover all of your bases when you are hunting for that perfect roommate.

By and large, Atlanta offers many excellent retirement apartment complexes that are perfect for Mom and Dad to call home during their golden years. Of course, not every complex is created equal so you should have a general checklist of questions in mind before you even consider signing a lease. Here are just a few of the questions you should ask and some of the research you should do before finding a new retirement apartment for those special folks in your life.

When you tour the various apartment complexes that you visit, pay close attention to the little things. Is the paint peeling or in bad shape in any of the buildings you see? Is there garbage or litter in any of the public areas? Are people out and about and having a good time or does everyone look miserable? The employee who is giving you your tour will likely be talking a mile a minute and what they say is important, but keep your eyes and ears peeled so you can learn even more.

If you should happen to run into a resident while you’re taking your tour, try to speak with them. Hopefully, the person giving you your tour will be distracted and you can have an honest conversation. Most times, anyone you run into will be more than happy to tell you what kind of place this is and what you can expect if your mom and dad move there.

Choosing the proper retirement apartment complex is a big chore that you don’t want to get wrong, but if you keep your eyes open and engage residents in conversation, you’ll likely learn everything you need to know.

Often times, school, work or just plain old life will carry us to destinations that we never thought we would be in. For many modern day city dwellers, the idea of heading out into a rural area may seem terrifying, but finding an apartment out there doesn’t have to be. Here are a few good tips for finding a nice place to live in a rural area.

Surprisingly, more and more rural apartments are showing up online. While you may not have a large selection on nationwide apartment hunting websites, you will likely have a good bit of luck checking out the city or town newspaper website and finding a real estate link from there. Often times, apartments are thrown in with homes since far more people out here buy instead of rent.

In most rural areas, the chief method of listing an apartment is still the newspaper. Grab as many as you can and check out the listings, especially on Saturday’s and Sunday’s since most people choose to list on the weekends, instead of each day.

Many small communities have apartment hunting supplements to the newspaper that are published every few weeks or once a month. They are often at the corner store next to the regular newspapers, and they are sometimes free.

Finally, in a really small community, you can’t discount the power of word of mouth. Asking around is still probably going to be your best bet, so start smiling

With today’s less than ideal economy, more and more people are dealing with the consequences of having bad credit. You may not realize it, but having bad credit can even endanger your chances of getting the apartment you’ve always wanted. The key to avoiding this problem is finding a no credit check apartment. It may sound impossible, but more and more complexes are disposing with the credit check since so many people tend to fair poorly on it. Here are a few tips to the perfect no credit check apartment.

The first place you should look is at apartments run by families or individuals or even subletting. These apartments obviously aren’t going to run your credit, and although it may be a bit more comforting to rent from a large company since you will have a place to complain to, you won’t have to deal with a credit check. You might have to dispose of searching online for an apartment like this since most individuals don’t rent from major sites, with the exception of sites like CraigsList.

Check your local newspaper for no credit check apartments. Many large complexes are now taking ads proclaiming the fact that they no longer run your credit, so they should be easy to find. Worse comes to worse, you can always pick up the phone and call various apartment complexes in the area in which you want to live in and ask if they run your credit or not. Don’t give your name or any personal information so there is no chance of embarrassment later on.