Boston North End Apt Search
February 19, 2011 8:10 AM Subscribe
Hey everyone... I have the dreaded task of looking for an apartment in Boston this spring. My boyfriend and I are looking for a 1 bedroom in the North End for no more than $1200 with heat and hot water. I know this will be pretty difficult to find, but I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find apartment postings by landlords themselves in stores in the north end, a website, etc.
Or if anyone currently lives there or has lived there in the past and managed to find a good deal and how they found it. Or anyone who knows someone moving, looking for good tenants, etc. I've been searching craigslist but if I can avoid working with a realtor, that would be awesome. I've lived in my current Brighton apartment with roommates for the past 4 years and love it, but I also remember how difficult it was to find and how terrible our first apartment was. Please send me a message on here if you're able to help..I appreciate anything! :)
Or if anyone currently lives there or has lived there in the past and managed to find a good deal and how they found it. Or anyone who knows someone moving, looking for good tenants, etc. I've been searching craigslist but if I can avoid working with a realtor, that would be awesome. I've lived in my current Brighton apartment with roommates for the past 4 years and love it, but I also remember how difficult it was to find and how terrible our first apartment was. Please send me a message on here if you're able to help..I appreciate anything! :)
Aargh, my carrot borked my formatting. That should be "Your options are significantly lower when you limit it to 1 bedrooms that cost under $1200, but there are still a few out there"
posted by arnicae at 9:08 AM on February 19, 2011
posted by arnicae at 9:08 AM on February 19, 2011
Another thing to consider... The Boston Redevelopment Authority often has lotteries for people that qualify under their definition of 'low income' (that term is very loosely defined. Suffice to say, it's well above poverty level - or at least it was when I was looking into it.) The units they offer are not run down shacks by any stretch of the imagination. Often they're very nice properties in newly built complexes. The city offers significant tax breaks to developers who offer up a certain number of units within a whole development to these low-income lottery applicants. Most of the units are for sale, but they offer rental units as well. You'll have to go through the application process and prove your income falls under their criteria. Then you have to win the actual lottery. Might be more trouble than it's worth, but the payoff is you get a very nice apartment in a very nice location.
They don't appear to have any North End listings at the moment, but I've definitely seen them before. More information can be found here. Good Luck!
posted by Rewind at 9:30 AM on February 19, 2011
They don't appear to have any North End listings at the moment, but I've definitely seen them before. More information can be found here. Good Luck!
posted by Rewind at 9:30 AM on February 19, 2011
Keep in mind that parking in the North End is... limited, so if you have a car, you may want to work that into your math somehow.
And I'm pretty sure the North End doesn't *have* any "newly built complexes".
posted by maryr at 10:11 AM on February 19, 2011
And I'm pretty sure the North End doesn't *have* any "newly built complexes".
posted by maryr at 10:11 AM on February 19, 2011
I think asking around may be a good option. I don't have any connections for you, but when I lived in the North End it was as the roommate of someone who had gotten the apartment after renting her previous apartment from our current landlord's mother. My completely anecdotal impression is that a lot of the cheaper North End apartments get rented out via personal connections. I don't know if people put up posters in stores or anything (I never really looked) but it couldn't hurt to ask at, say, the Salem St. True Value or something like that. I found the roommate through craigslist, though.
I can think of a couple of residential buildings in the North End that have gone up in the last five years, and the BRA definitely does offer some of those units in a lottery, but I think that would be a long shot at best.
posted by mskyle at 10:20 AM on February 19, 2011
I can think of a couple of residential buildings in the North End that have gone up in the last five years, and the BRA definitely does offer some of those units in a lottery, but I think that would be a long shot at best.
posted by mskyle at 10:20 AM on February 19, 2011
Padmapper pulls listings from a couple of sites and lets you filter by all sorts of criteria. It may or may not have apartments that meet your criteria, but I thought it was worth mentioning. It was invaluable during our recent apartment hunt.
posted by chrisamiller at 2:34 PM on February 19, 2011
posted by chrisamiller at 2:34 PM on February 19, 2011
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Craiglist, as always, is your best bet.
posted by arnicae at 9:07 AM on February 19, 2011