Let’s be honest, nobody likes to move. Between searching for a new place, packing and unpacking, then setting up internet, utilities and whatnot at your new place, it’s probably one of the most stressful and time consuming things we have to do as adults.
Thankfully, in this day and age of technology we have search options within reach of our fingertips. Gone are the days of relying on the classified section of the local newspaper to find a rental. With the tap of a finger on your smartphone you can browse through Placer County and Nevada County rentals, schedule a viewing, and apply online.
The million dollar question is, what rental listing sites should you be using to find your next home? Below are my top recommendations.
#1 Local Property Management Websites
If you are looking for a rental home in Placer County, the first thing you should do is Google the property management companies in that area. For example, if you’re looking for homes for rent in Auburn, CA you would search for “property management auburn ca”. This will bring up the property management companies in Auburn. From there, click on each company’s website and find their “Available Rentals” page to scroll through and see if they have anything that suits your needs.
In my opinion, this ranks as the #1 way to search for rental homes since company websites are typically the first place a listing gets posted, updated, and removed. As a bonus, you avoid the possibility of being scammed when you’re on a legit property management website, unlike other sites that allow for users to easily copy and paste a listing at a lower price to entice and scam renters. *Cough-Craigslist-Cough* (More on that later.)
At Barrett Property Management, we use software that allows prospective renters to schedule a viewing directly through our website. After answering some prescreening questions and uploading a copy of a valid photo ID, users will be able to select an available showing time with ease. This eliminates the step of calling to find out what viewing days are available, sending an email, or both. However, we are always available by phone and email for questions and make a point to get back to all prospective renters as soon as possible.
If there is nothing on our site that works for a particular renter, there is still hope! Because we are truly interested in helping people find a rental regardless of whether or not it’s with us, we provide website links to the other property management companies in Placer and Nevada County. If we don’t have something that works for you, we’ll direct you to the above link so you can easily reach out to other local companies to continue your search!
#2 Facebook and/or Facebook Marketplace
Personally, I am not a fan of Facebook Marketplace in terms of communicating effectively with renters about available properties. It seems that management companies are limited in the information that can be listed there. It does seem to work well for homeowners who are listing their own property for rent though, which provides another outlet for prospective renters.
Facebook, on the other hand, seems to provide a better platform that FB Business pages can utilize. For example, after posting a property for rent on our website, we will post a short blurb on FB with a link back to our original posting, which then allows users to visit our site directly and schedule a viewing. Remember, the #1 best place to look for rentals is on a property management website. You will always find the most accurate and up-to-date information there.
#3 Craigslist
*Gasp!* *Crickets*
It’s true. After telling you that Craigslist is used by scammers, I am now recommending it. Here’s the thing, (and it relates back to my #1 recommendation), you want to source out local options first. Given that Craigslist gets billions of hits per month and deals with local postings, it would make sense to check here.
Now, that being said, if the posting states it is listed by a property management company, always cross-check the info against the PM company’s website to verify all details. If it’s listed by an individual owner, you won’t be able to do that, but it could still be a good option.
The most important thing when dealing with Craigslist rentals: don’t EVER send money up front, especially if you haven’t even seen the house in person! As sad as that sounds, many people have fallen victim to these scams before realizing what happened.
#4 All Other Sites (Except Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads)
This may sound obvious, but pretty much any other rental listing site can get you the information you need to find a rental home. And because most companies use listing software built into their website, it allows their rentals to be syndicated to all the major rental listing sites anyway.
When a listing is posted on our website, it gets syndicated to the following sites: Apartments.com, Doorsteps.com, ForRent.com, Homes.com, PadMapper.com, Realtor.com, Rent.com, RentalSource.com, Zumper.com and probably several others. Since each renter may have a personal preference for a particular listing site, this allows us to target as many people as possible.
The important thing to understand when looking at all these rental sites is that they may not include all the details in the original posting on the property management website. I’ll say it again, the #1 place to look is local property management websites. Even if you find a listing using one of the above sites, you should always search out the PM company site and find the original listing.
#5 Zillow / Trulia / Hotpads
The Zillow Group sites, (which include Zillow, Trulia and Hotpads) are a good place to look for rental listings as long as you keep the following in mind: they are now charging weekly for rental postings! On the one hand, this can be a good thing because you likely won’t see any scammers posting here. On the other hand, many owners and property management companies don’t want to pay weekly to list a property that can be posted on various other sites free of charge.
What I do like about these three sites is you can easily view properties in a certain city, neighborhood, or zip code and hover over the map to see rental price, # of beds/baths, and square footage before even clicking a button. On the contrary , these sites are notorious for not allowing outside website links within their listing, which makes it difficult to get prospective renters back to the property management website to schedule viewings and apply.
Although they have built-in contact buttons and application software meant to streamline the process, most property management companies have a unique application of their own. Renters often fill out Zillow’s online app thinking they are in line for a property when that’s not actually the case.
The Bottom Line
Looking for a rental property can be especially difficult right now because rentals are in high demand. Your best bet is to search out property management companies in the area you are looking for a rental to view their available properties. If you’re looking to rent in Placer County or surrounding areas and not sure where to begin, I suggest you start here!
The Barrett Property Management team is composed of local Realtors® who can help you navigate the rental market in Auburn, Newcastle, Meadow Vista, Colfax, Grass Valley, Nevada City and surrounding communities. Please reach out to us if you are looking for a rental or need help with property management in Placer or Nevada County!
