How to Find a House for Rent in the Triangle, North Carolina
In North Carolina, "The Triangle" refers to one of college basketball's sacred Meccas. Chapel Hill--home to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, Durham---home to Duke University Blue Devils and Raleigh---home to North Carolina State University's Wolfpack create a triangle shape all within easy driving distance of each other. The Triangle also refers to the research triangle, one of North Carolina's richest technology centers. Many rental agencies have homes available in all three areas. Finding the right home for you requires a little research and time to look at houses.
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Instructions
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Visit each town to help you decide where in the triangle you want to live. Chapel Hill is definitely a college town. The university and all of its buildings dominate the town and its layout. Durham provides world-class medicine. Durham is nicknamed the "City of Medicine, USA" with more than 300 medical and health related companies. The capital of North Carolina is Raleigh. Raleigh is the largest of the three, and hosts a convention center, the state museums (free to everyone) and the RBC center, which is home to the 2006 Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
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Research the school districts your children will attend. Each city has a different school system. Each system has its own website with a plethora of information. Each district will present its case for why they can educate your children better than other districts can. This can help you decide which town is best for you.
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Visit various home rental web sites such as nchomerentals.com and raleighrent.com. The local newspaper's website is newsobserver.com. Their online real estate section includes advertisements for rental homes and apartments in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Many local grocery stores also have rental home publications available for free. There are advantages to using a local rental agency instead of renting directly from the homeowner. Rental agencies provide you with an agent who can save you time by helping you find the right home. Some rental homeowners do not live locally, and must use an agency to lease their homes. Using the agency can increase the number of homes available for you to view.
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Drive to the house you want to rent and park outside of it during the times you are likely to be home. The neighborhood may seem nice and quiet at dinnertime when everyone is home. If you are home during the day, you may want to know about the dogs that bark all day long when their owners are at work. Talk to the neighbors and ask questions about the neighborhood. Talk to local police officers to find out about the crime rate in the neighborhood.
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Negotiate the rental terms with the property owner or rental agency. You don't always have to pay the full rental price advertised. If you work with a rental agency, they will help you write up your offer and present it to the owner of the home for you. Once you come to an agreement, sign the lease and provide the deposit and first months rent.
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Tips & Warnings
Beware of rental home advertisement scams. Do not send money, particularly overseas, to anyone until you know exactly to whom you are sending the money. The Internet is full of scammers in other countries willing to rent you someone else's 3,000 square foot home for $500 per month if you will just wire them the funds.
