Apartment Hunting in Columbia, Missouri

Searching for an apartment can be overwhelming - especially if you're not sure where to start. Columbia, Missouri is known to be a college town with three large colleges and other community colleges. Many students eventually have to make the transition from dorm room, to apartment. If you're having trouble knowing where to look, let me give you a few starting points. Everyone has different needs in their perfect apartment, so once you have the tools that I am about to give you, it is your job to do the research specific to your individual needs.

The easiest starting place to search for apartments is online. The world is at your fingertips, as they say. These are five websites that I have found to be informative and helpful in your search for an apartment in Columbia, Missouri. I ordered them in my opinion of the most helpful to the least helpful, but they all have something useful.

1. www.apartmentguide.com

ApartmentGuide.com is a great starting point, even if you don't use them to find that perfect place to call your own. Among the apartments listed, they also have links for helpful hints. Moving tips, how to save money, all about room mates, how to deal with landlords, making the transition from dorm rooms to apartments, and even how to find a good school for your children are among the tips. The apartments can be sorted through preferred price range and number of bedrooms and bathrooms. It has specialized information for the college crowd, military, corporate, and even seniors.

2. www.columbiatribune.com

The ColumbiaTribune.com is merely an online version of the Columbia, Missouri newspaper. While there are no helpful hints on this site, there are many selections of apartments. The ads on this site are generally individual apartments for rent, and sometimes even houses or duplexes. The options are sorted into four different areas: room and board, furnished apartments, senior housing, and apartments for rent. While the information may be tough to search through, as it is basically a page of plain text with only small checkmark boxes to separate each new ad, you can click those checkmark boxes next to the ones you're interested in, and then save the page and the page will re-load and only the ones you selected will appear - weeding out all of the unnecessary text.

3. www.forrent.com

There are plenty of selections on ForRent.com. While you can't search for the things that you're specifically looking for, they are listed. Small picture icons make searching for specific things while scrolling through the page easier. There are also tips on this website. Some of the helpful links include a mover's checklist, checking your credit score, truck rental, and self-storage.

4. www.apartmentratings.com

There are plenty of selections at ApartmentRaitings.com as well. You can sort out apartments through the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the price range, and a move in date. What is unique about this site is that, as the name suggests, visitors can rate apartments and leave reviews. If you'd like to see what other people have said about certain apartments, look for their reviews on this website.

5. www.rentals.com

Rentals.com does not have as many apartments show up in the search. The website gives you the information on each apartment - number of bathrooms, bedrooms, and the area in which the apartment is located (Columbia). It also has a link for scam alerts, which is always an important thing to be cautious of.

The search for an apartment doesn't have to be daunting or traumatic. Just having a starting place can help. Before you make a decision, be sure to do your research on each individual apartment that you have your eye on. Ask the right questions and make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you sign a lease. Most of all, have fun on this search for your new living space. Happy hunting!