by leah and elina furman

Help for the unresourceful Okay, so you've done your homework. You now know exactly how much you're willing to pay to live in that one locale which, as you have decided, will make you the happiest of flat dwellers. Now what? Do you drift aimlessly from one "for rent" sign to the next, hoping that this will be the one? If you're nodding an emphatic yes, you are what we call the resourcefully challenged. There is a wealth of resources at your disposal: Get ready to call on several of these. 1. The Web: The Web has listings galore, photo captions and all. So before you buy a set of orthopedic shoes for the apartment pursuit, get yourself a Snickers and try these sites out for size: Rent Net: Probably the best rental site on the Web — covers United States and Canada, with about a million and a half listings. Includes links to international rental sites. Apartments for Rent: More than 2 million U.S. apartment listings; for some reason New York City and San Francisco are not included! Apartment Guides: Includes great relocation Web resources, listed by city. Rent Check: Fairly slow to load, but not a bad resource. Includes street maps. Apartments Online: Covers only the Rockies, Texas, and Washington, D.C. so far. Boulevards: Boulevards Cities covers all the major U.S. cities (and a few international cities too) — it lists all the mainstream and alternative papers for that city that are online (most of these include apartment listings) as well as Web resources for that city. This is especially useful if you are moving more than a few hours away. For example, these are some big city newspapers that list apartments online: New Orleans Times-Picayune Chicago Tribune Dallas Morning News Los Angeles Times Seattle Times And if you're planning to move to New York City, you should know this: The Village Voice Real Estate Listings go online before you can get the print version! The online version is updated every Tuesday at 1 pm; the print version isn't available until Tuesday evening, and only then at select newsstands. If you've ever seen someone sprinting down a street in New York, brand-new Village Voice in hand, then you know how valuable those extra few hours can be. 2. Classifieds: Scrape together a couple of bucks and make a bee line for the nearest newsstand. Pick up the Sunday edition of the city paper as well as any community newspapers that target your chosen sector. Some papers classify the apartments by number of bedrooms, others stick to the general vicinity categorization. Pick which ever suits your wishes, and, red pen in hand, mark up the paper. The choice pads will usually list prices, semi-specific locations, and concise descriptions of the amenities. After you've put pen to paper, go ahead and make those calls. 3. Word of Mouth: People who live in your target area always have the inside track on neighbors moving. This is often how the best digs get snagged, never even going so far as the presses. Get in on this grapevine by alerting everyone you encounter of your apartment quest. Give out your card, number, etc., to anyone who may be of assistance. 4. The Site Visit: While limiting yourself to pounding the pavement will prove more trouble than it's worth, do keep your eyes open while you're in a prospective neighborhood. "For Rent" signs are there for a reason, and no photo caption can capture the essence of a place the way a direct sighting can. Go on up to the door and read the particulars. These should include the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and rooms, the rent, the availability, and the parking situation: In short, enough information to get you to either jot down the number for future reference, or keep walking without a second thought. next Leah and Elina Furman are freelance writers living in Chicago, and are currently writing The Everything After College Book, to be released by Adams Media in the fall of '97. © 1997 Tripod, Inc. All Rights Reserved.