I am seeing more and more properties these days advertised for rent on Craigslist that are not really available for rent.  They are typically properties that are really listed for sale -- and some Craigslist scammer grabs the photos and listing information from the web and promotes the property for rent on Craigslist.

If you e-mail the supposed owner of the property through Craigslist you'll usually discover that they had to relocate internationally and thus they just really need to find a tenant.  They are typically offering properties for lease at ridiculously low rental rates -- so low that prospective tenants seeing the ads on Craigslist almost already know that it is a scam.  If it seems too good to be true, it probably is! 

Before you mail away your money (never to be seen again) to a property owner who advertised their property for rent on Craigslist, you might want to first check to see if the property is also listed for sale, and if so, verify the supposed owner's story with the actual owner's Realtor.
  

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As per the Daily News Record this morning, Harrisonburg may soon (2014) have its first gated community featuring luxury apartments.  Most of these apartments (~70%) would be one bedroom apartments and would be geared towards "transient professionals" per the developer, Dain Hammond.

The 200+ unit development on six acres at the corner of Port Republic Road and Stone Spring Road would feature a triangular, 4-story building with a large courtyard and pool in the center of the building. 

"Hammond envisions the devel­opment appealing to renters seek­ing upscale short-term housing. That would include RMH doctors who may perform surgeries at the hospital a few times a week and need a nearby "crash pad," or a vis­iting professor at James Madison University for a year, he explained. "It's more for the ‘transient' pro­fessional," Hammond said. "That's our target demographic."

Read the full Daily News Record article here.
 

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If you are looking for properties available for lease/purchase in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County you can now easily find them on www.HarrisonburgLeasePurchase.com.

Also, don't forget, if you are looking for potential short sales in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County you can find them on www.HarrisonburgShortSales.com.

Also, don't forget, if you are looking for bank owned (REO) properties in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County you can find them on www.HarrisonburgREO.com.
  

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In many cases, your better option is to keep renting your townhouse --- and doing whatever it takes to find a tenant --- rather than trying to cut your losses via a sale.

In the example above, you could go for years with reduced ($750/m) rent with annual losses of $1800 before you came anywhere close to realizing the full amount of loss realized by a quick sale on day 1.
  

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There are plenty of ways to compare the opportunities of renting versus when buying.  For example, a tenant in Avalon Woods recently discovered that he is paying more in rent per month than he would have to pay for a mortgage in purchasing this fantastic townhouse.

This phenomenon is apparently also happening from an overall perspective as well, though, as median rental payments have now increased enough and mortgage payments have now decreased enough such that the median values are equivalent.  The extraordinarily low interest rates we're seeing these days definitely help!


As this insightful article points out, however, the up front costs of buying (closing costs) are typically much higher than those related to renting (a refundable security deposit).  Furthermore, it is quite a bit easier to decide to stop renting (provide notice to landlord) than it is to stop owning a home that you bought (sell it).
 

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While you can find any property listed for sale (via the MLS) all in one place, it's not quite as easy to find rental properties.  Here are some web sites to be checking if you are looking for a rental property in Harrisonburg or Rockingham County:


HarrisonburgRentalProperties.com
 

Harrisonburg Craigslist
 

Daily News Record
 

HarrisonburgHousing.com
 

RinerRentals.com
 

Mountain Valley Management


RentalMatchup.com

If you're still having trouble finding a rental after exploring these sites, let me know, and I can ask around to see what else I can find for you.
 

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