Renthackr Helps You Find a New Place
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Trying to find a new place to live can be totally frustrating. With postings constantly being updated and pulled from sites like Craigslist, it can feel like you’re on a wild goose chase. Then, of course, there is the anxiety of moving to a new area. Is it a safe neighborhood? Are there shops close by? What about the closest highway entrance? When are people’s leases usually up in a certain area? Questions you can easily answer about your current living situation instantly become “Million Dollar Questions” in the big game of life. Of course, there is the big fat question on everybody’s mind: Am I paying much more than all of my neighbors? Questions like that are usually pretty difficult to find out, especially in big cities where people are constantly coming and going. Where’s the best place to go to find out REAL information about the place you want to live? The answer (to all of the above questions) is Renthackr!
Renthackr utilizes user-generated content (volunteered information) and social media to help people solve the dilemma of finding a new, affordable place to stay. The site is super-easy to use; you just link it to Facebook so you can sync up with friends, and then fill in your information (neither your name OR your unit is shared with the site). You can also fill out basic information about when your lease is up and when you plan to move. Then, your information is plotted on a map among other Renthackr users. Places are identified as ST (studio), 1B (one bedroom), 2B (two bedroom), and so on. Now you can see EXACTLY what your neighbors are paying and figure out if you’re in the rent bracket you want to be living in.
“We’re not just asking what you’re paying right now, but what are you doing when your rent is up,” explained founder Zeb Dropkin. “We can filter based on your friends. When you find a place that you like, you can get in touch with a tenant and say we both know a friend in common.”
It’s pretty awesome to have all these listings available to you, although when I put in my own information in Los Angeles, not very many listings came up in my immediate surroundings. Some exploring shows that while there are limited users in LA, those that have input information are on the Westside (which is where I’m trying to move… lucky me!). I can only hope that the site grows in LA the way it did in NYC and San Francisco; this looks like a great way to find a new home!
