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I saw an ad on Craigslist for that price with lots of pics, and the apartment looked great. All I see on these threads is that $1,500 will put you way out in the burbs. This ad had a map, and the marker was truly in the heart of Dupont Circle in a good spot. Using the 40 rule, my partner and I could afford $1,500 even if I didn't work and he got a job that paid only $30,000 because I have a pension. But I plan to work if we move there.
$1500 is not the norm. You can def. find some good deals here and there on craigslist if you look hard enough and often enough (like all day, every hour). It could be legit, only way is to contact the landlord and find out. However, if it does turn out to be real, you'd better have a checkbook in hand and be able to go see it ASAP, as that will not last past a day or two
I agree with Bossman above. The rent is low enough that my initial suspicion is that it's a scam (especially if it really is in the heart of Dupont), but it's high enough that it may be one of those once in a blue moon type deals.
Usually you can sniff out the CL scammers pretty easily though, as their e-mails are often awkwardly worded or riddled with grammar/spelling issues. They'll also almost always try to get you to send them money without seeing the place in person (e.g. they're out of the country so they can't meet you, but they'll give you a discount on rent if you send them a security deposit)
The pics show a 1-bedroom and the ad says it's on the top floor of a 4-story building.
Doesn't mean they aren't showing one of the THREE bedrooms. You have to think about what they're NOT telling you. Not what they are. You can't get a 1BR in Dupont Circle for that price. Unless it's a walk up in a sh!tty bldg. about to get condemned.
If so, it is a bedroom in a condo, not a 1-bedroom apartment. The ad says "1 BR available in condo" and "***Please provide background on your current situation, job/school, interests/lifestyle, and what you are looking for in a place, r00mm@te, etc."
That said, it is possible to find a small 1-bedroom or studio in the area for $1500. It'll be hard to find, and most likely in an old building, but not impossible. When a friend of mine moved here she came up for the weekend and found her apartment by walking around looking for "for rent" signs. Worked for her, she got a decent deal.
It is possible through other property management companies - some of which I wouldn't trust due to bad reviews, and some which just rent income properties. For instance, I just signed a lease for a Jr 1 bedroom, 1 block from Dupont Circle, for 1300 a month. You just have to 1) Move as quickly as humanly possible, an hour is too long sometimes and 2) Research. Oh, and 3) Be willing to sacrifice a dishwasher or full sized refridgerator for location.
Yes, juniperbleu, that's the one. I didn't read it carefully enough. Thank you. As for my situation, right now I'm doing a lot of hurrying up and waiting on my partner who is in his last two semesters getting a degree in social work. I live on a state government pension that equals about what his first job is likely to pay. If he got a job in DC I could continue to live off my pension until I got a job.
I don't need a job where I am (Columbia, SC - a surprisingly progressive, gay-friendly city) to make ends meet comfortably, but that wouldn't be the case in DC. I'm rather young to be retired for good, though. That's my (our) situation.
Just to feel the job market out a little, I emailed my interest in a position that basically has my name written all over it. I immediately got a response asking if I had moved to the DC area already. I responded that I had not, but that I was looking to move there. I haven't heard anything since. Maybe they are out of the office because of the snow storm.
I wouldn't hold my breath on finding a one-bedroom apartment in Dupont for anything less than $2300. My coworker lives in Dupont in an ancient studio the size of a shoebox. She doesn't control the thermastat in her place so in the summer it's a cool 80 degrees in her place. She bikes to work because she can't afford a car or the insurance and maintenance to go with it and never goes out for lunch because she brings her own. Oh, and she doesn't have a cable either. All so she can be where all the action is in Dupont.
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