Top 10 Questions Asked by Philadelphia Renters
Questions
Advice for Budget Conscious Renters
What is the least
I should expect to pay for rent in Philadelphia? Which neighborhoods
are the best bets?
I can’t afford
these prices. Do you have any additional advice for renters
on a very tight budget?
Are there any seasonal
differences in pricing?
What if I still can’t
afford an apartment?
Neighborhood Information
What neighborhoods
are “hot?”
What neighborhoods
have a lot of restaurants and night life?
Which neighborhoods
are in Center City?
Which Center City
neighborhoods are the most residential?
What neighborhoods
have the best schools?
Parking Information
What is parking
like in Philadelphia?
General Questions
Why did you create 4WallsInPhilly.com?
How do you make money?
Answers
What is the least I
should expect to pay for rent in Philadelphia? Which neighborhoods
are the best bets?
On the 4 Walls site, apartments can be found
starting from the following prices.
Philadelphia County
$400-450 for a studio apartment
$550-600 for a 1 bedroom apartment
$650-700 for a 2 bedroom apartment
Germantown, East Mount Airy, West Mount Airy, the Northeast,
South Philly, University City, West Philly and Roxborough
have lower cost apartment listings.
Center City
$550-600 for a studio apartment
$750-800 for a 1 bedroom apartment
$1100-1200 for a 2 bedroom apartment
Washington Square West, Avenue of the Arts and the Art Museum
area are the best places to look for budget apartments. Also
look in our “Other Philadelphia” section. Our
classifieds for these areas are the best source of budget
apartments.
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I can’t
afford these prices. Do you have any additional advice for
renters on a very tight budget?
The tighter the budget, the more time and energy
it will take for you to find a good rental housing option.
The lowest cost and best value apartments are hard to find
because they are rented very quickly.
Many low cost rentals are not advertised. Those
that are placed on www.4WallsInPhilly.com, usually rent very
quickly. If you would like to examine other resources for
finding suitable rental options, we suggest that you consult
your local newspaper. In our neighborhood profiles, we have
links to the local newspapers we know that have online versions.
If you already live in the area, pick up a copy of your neighborhood
paper and look for bargains in the classified section.
Although there are no truly crime-free neighborhoods,
some areas are safer than others. Before you sign a lease,
carefully investigate the neighborhood. Although crime exists
in every Philadelphia neighborhood, including the most upscale
suburban ones, there is a tremendous difference in the crime
rate neighborhood by neighborhoods. If the rent seems too
good to be true, it might be a rare bargain or a problem rental.
Proceed with caution.
By the way, you can research crime statistics
for Philadelphia by neighborhood at www.phila.gov.
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Are there any
seasonal differences in pricing?
Pricing for some landlords varies depending
on the time of the year. During the “busy season”
– March – October, you will pay the most for a
rental apartment and will find that landlords are likely not
to negotiate. From November-February, you are more likely
to find discounts and special pricing.
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What if I still
can’t afford an apartment?
If you still can’t find anything in your
budget, consider finding a roommate. A number of services
including www.easyroommate.com
are available online.
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What neighborhoods are
“hot?”
Over 12,000 people visited 4WallsInPhilly.com
in December, 2003. These are the neighborhoods that they browsed
the most often. Not surprisingly, these neighborhoods also
command higher rents.
Rittenhouse Square
Manayunk
Montgomery County was the most popular suburban
destination.
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What neighborhoods have
a lot of restaurants and night life?
While all neighborhoods have local restaurants,
the following neighborhoods are nightlife and dining destinations:
Old City, Manayunk, South Street, Avenue of
the Arts
These neighborhoods have a high density of restaurants
and local bars:
Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square West,
Chestnut Hill
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Which neighborhoods
are in Center City?
Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, Washington
Square West, Avenue of the Arts, Society Hill, Old City, Graduate
Hospital, South Street and parts of The Parkway are in the
heart of Center City.
Neighborhoods that are adjacent or very close
to this core area include the Art Museum, Northern Liberties,
University City, Powelton Village, South Philadelphia, Queens
Village and Bella Vista. As rental housing prices have risen,
many people have chosen to move to these neighborhoods which
offer a city living experience (e.g. densely populated areas
with neighborhood restaurants/bars/bus service) but aren’t
an easy walk to the downtown area.
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Which Center
City neighborhoods are the most residential?
Fitler Square and Society Hill are filled with
lovely brownstones and dotted with local restaurants and shops
and tend to be quieter than other neighborhoods.
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What neighborhoods
have the best schools?
People vary widely in what they define as a
good school. The good news is that there is a lot of data
to help you decide. The PA Department of Education web site
http://www.pde.state.pa.us
provides some useful statistics. The PSK12 web site ranks
individual Pennsylvania schools based on standardized test
scores results. http://www.psk12.com/rating/index.php
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What is parking
like in Philadelphia?
The Philadelphia Parking Authority issues low
cost parking permits, so it is possible to park on city streets.
Further, unlike other major cities (e.g. New York City), Philadelphia
doesn’t have alternate side of the street parking regulations.
While it is possible to obtain street parking,
it can take 15-20 minutes (and sometimes longer) to find a
parking spot in Center City neighborhoods at night.
Paid parking lots are widely available and vary
in cost and quality. Plan on spending $150-225 on a monthly
parking spot.
Parking in Philadelphia neighborhoods outside
of the core Center City neighborhoods is much easier. The
one exception is Manayunk which has a dining, shopping and
bar scene that attracts thousands of people at night and during
the weekends.
Most suburban rental properties have free parking
lots.
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Why did you
create 4WallsInPhilly.com?
4WallsInPhilly.com was created to supplement
the resources that are out there to help people who need to
move into a rental home or apartment in the Philadelphia region.
We are building this site in response to our
own personal experiences helping our employees, friends and
families find apartments and rentals homes. Our research confirmed
that there is a need for a site for Philadelphians, by
Philadelphians that will reduce the time and stress involved
in finding an apartment or rental home.
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How do you
make money?
We make money by offering cost-effective advertising
opportunities to property owners, property management companies
and local merchants. We sell enhanced listings which offer
more information than our basic listings including detailed
descriptions of apartment features, the rental community,
and pictures and floor plans.
On the other hand, we WILL NOT use our
site to make money in any way that compromises your privacy
or diminishes your search experience. For instance, WE
WON'T sell e-mail addresses or information about our customers
to any third party and WE WON'T sell annoying pop-up
advertisements.
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