Hello, I will be moving to Philadelphia about one year from now. I have been examining the house rental listings on www.citypaper.net and www.philadelphiaweekly.com. I cannot help but notice they are dominated by just a few agents- Rental Pros, Locators, and one other I cannot remember. Their listings appear to be a little too good to be true. My question is this: are they reputable? If not, will I have a difficult time finding a house to rent under 850.00 a month? Mind you, I have three dogs and a couple of cats. I am interested in University City and South Philly, but I am flexible. Also, can anyone tell me anything about Overbrook? I will be visiting your wonderful city in about a month, and want to scope the area out. Thank you in advance, and I really enjoy this website.

Glad you're enjoying the web site!

The range you quote sounds about right for the city; you could probably pay a little less north of the city, in Manayunk, and be only a 10 minute train ride away. The city is really nice, though.

You might want to look into Philadelphia Management. For people just moving to the city, they probably present the best opp. They own well over 90 properties in the city and you can move within their properties without breaking your lease - you just pay the upgrade in rent.

Their web site is www.philamanagement.com.

Good luck and keep in touch! Let us know if we can help.

JK

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stay away from those rental companies. call the smaller property owners form the weekly, the citypaper.net is apartmentsolutions.com and they can be helpful. another big property owner is brandywine mgmt (my new landlord as of next month), www.apts-now.com
for your trip, be sure to check out gophila.com as you may be able to get a good package. with those pets, center city might be tough but south philyl you shoudl be able to din things well within your range. of course if you watch carefully enough there is always something that fits your needs. as for university city, as far as i know the nice neighborhoods are powelton village and spruce hill.

I would agree with el, center city would be tough, but univeristy city could definitely be a nice alternative.

Manayunk is a very dog friendly town, I see people with dogs everywhere. It probably has something to do with the fact that most manayunk houses have back yards. I think there are 2 dog parks in manayunk too.

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Check out Dickinson Park in the neighborhood section. I live there. It is south Philly. I used to live a few blocks away and I was paying $650 for a large two bedroom. I now live in a 3 bedroom house, but I own, so I don't know what rent would be like on a house, but I know last time I was looking, you could find a house for under $850. There are tons of parks close by to walk the dogs and the back yards in South Philly are usually bigger than in center city. Also, use philadelphia weekly and call the individual properties. They are cheaper and don't have a fee just to look. The agencies might work, but I don't know anyone who has ever used them. Although, coming from out of town it might be in your best interest to try them. That way you could see a bunch in one day.

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Jason
Lynn Swann 06'

"Individualism is absent when other peoples' standards, not reality and reason, are ones primary guide."

Thanks to all of you for your help! It will be a challenge finding a house to rent with my menagerie of animals, but your advice should make the task easier. Thank you for the websites you have recommended. Nice to hear Manayunk is so dog friendly...and affordable :!: ...I never would have guessed that. Also, thanks to Jason for the info regarding Dickenson(sp?) Park; I will definitely check it out when I make my visit. I have already circled it on my map. I like neighborhoods that are not too trendy and fashionable, so I am definitely looking beyond Center City. However, I want to ditch my car when I move to Philly, so it has to be accessible to public transport.

Well, I'll be hanging around this board, I have learned quite a bit by reading it However, if any of you need info about New Orleans, Biloxi,MS or Pensacola, FL...feel free to ask.

HausFrau

if you are going to ditch your car, I highly recomend living near a subway stop or at least a trolley, like spruce hill or powelton village. it is much easier to get around that way. otherwise, just make sure there is a bus route. center city is the most foot friendly of areas.

Dickinson Park is on the corner of two bus routes, 23 and 57. 23 runs east and west and stops at the broad street line and 57 runs north and south and stops at the market-frankford line.

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Jason
Lynn Swann 06'

"Individualism is absent when other peoples' standards, not reality and reason, are ones primary guide."

And also don't forget Philly Car Share!

http://www.phillycarshare.org/

(I don't get a commission every time I mention them, really. I just happen to think it's a neat idea and we keep talking about transit-related issues.)

you don't NEED a car in manayunk, but I wouldn't recommend it, the train service is every hour off peak, and the trains stop at 11:30 on the weekends, so no going to the city and coming back late via train.

A cab from downtown to manayunk is going to run you about 16-20 bux.

Just something to consider.

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