How to find an apartment for rent in Fort Lauderdale is the question. Whether you are trying to find a house to rent or an apartment, condo or a townhouse to rent in Fort Lauderdale , it can be a daunting task. There are many different choices to sort through . From apartment community rentals to privately owned units I.e. Condo or houses , the choices can be overwhelming.  

Most consumers flock to the internet at the onset of their search through 3rd party websites like Zillow, Trulia , Hotpads, and many more. Ironically, Zillow owns all three of them . Hmmm… are they trying to help you, or or they trying to generate leads to make money on Realtors? I’ll let you figure that one out. One of the biggest problem with those websites is the data is old half the time . Listings can stay in there for months even after they are rented, that’s a big problem and it’s confusing to the renters . Also, renters go back and forth through these sales sites, and they are looking at the same outdated Inventory thinking that different sites may have different Inventory because one might be more accurate than the other that particular day or week . Eventually the renters may figure it out after a few days or even weeks. By that time they have wasted so much time and energy and have lost very important time they needed or they have become frustrated. Especially if they are not from this area and are relocating in they may become disappointed with the realtor pool .

My suggestion when trying to find an apartment for rent in Fort Lauderdale is to seek out a qualified realtor before you start the search , and this would be for any market . It will cut down the search time tremendously. You can do the search by word of mouth or by online reviews .  Very good site to start with is YELP.  Also google reviews and Zillow reviews may be helpful . Recommend finding reviews that indicate the realtor has experience in doing rentals. It’s very important for many reasons . Firstly , not all Realtors do rentals on a weekly basis . The rental market is very fast moving and currently most buildings are around 90-95% occupancy. Meaning there is not a surplus of units available and good units can be listed in the Morning and rented in the afternoon . Back to the point; a Realtor who knows the market will already know which property will be available, have relationships with the rentals buildings, and also have codes already, plus know the building access: where the lockboxes are , where to park, and the building / association requirements.

Also, I have been told by past customers that they have had a hard time finding an apartment for rent in Fort Lauderdale. They have encountered challenges such as not getting calls back , or no one answering the phone . Keep in mind not all numbers on the listings will lead to someone on the other end that will be eager to help for numerous reasons . The person may only be a property manager  part-time, already rented, and even fake listings. Again, best to actual vet out the right Realtor for you . A sophisticated full time rental market friendly and technologically affluent Realtor will flat out save you time and money . Also they will be contract savvy, know the associations, and be well connected in the city with other Brokers and Realtors and buildings alike .

The 30 day rule:

Keep in mind the 30 day rule. Most condominiums, homes or townhouses will not have vacancy more than 30 days out. Why is that ? It is not common for tenants to only give 30 days notice if that. Many tenants let the owners know about 30 days that they are moving. This only gives a landlord 30 days or less to put the market online . Many times landlords wait until the tenant moves out beause they want to clean or prepare the unit for the new potential renters. With that being said most landlords will not accept an offer more than 30 days out. For example , Jon Smith moves on Jan 1, landlord comes in cleans the following day or week and then its ready Feb 1 or before. This is not always the case but it is not uncommon to put them online for rent making it available right away. Once of the reason could be to how fast the market moves here. Rentals sometimes stay on the market for just hours. In the last 5 years 450,000 people have moved to south Florida in the last 5 years. It is projected that 600k people will move here within the next 5 years. South Florida is growing and many of the people who are relocating her are international, about 70% per market reports from Cushman & Wakefield. What that means is a lot of people entering the renting pool making it a very tight fast moving market. Also baby boomers are selling out west, as they are empty nesters now and renting out east Fort Lauderdale Etc. My point is, if you find a place you like don’t think you can rent it 2 months down the road. The landlord will expect within 30 days. Apartments/ rental complexes are a little different. They get 60 day notices, but are also more expensive but flexible move in and lease terms.

 Apartment for rent in Fort Lauderdale, What is needed :

1. Copy of clear colored ID
2. Print a copy of credit report (try credit karma)
3. Print out a month worth of paystubs . If you are self employed bring last year tax return, and/or a few months of bank statements / deposits . If you are relocating down a signed offer letter may work . Also if you have a very strong savings account that can help and may work in substitute if it’s around 100k
4. A basic application – LEASE APPLICATION GENERIC
5. A offer to lease – realtor provided
6. Check book – 1 month deposit is very common once you find the right place
7. The more documents you bring the easier the approval may be .

My name is Adam Docktor with RE/MAX House Of Real Estate and I can help you find an apartment for rent in Fort Lauderdale. I have a 4 year degree in Business Real Estate from Florida State University. With over 350 leases/ rentals in the last 3 years, I’m #1 in the market place for rentals . I have approximately 10 buildings that I’m contracted with exclusively, I work with over 50 buildings and have access to hundreds of rentals at any given time . I have a wealth of knowledge in the business. I live, and work in Fort Lauderdale, plus I’m a native to the area. I’m well connected with agents, brokers and buildings and know the ins and outs of most associations. I have a deep familiarity with the Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas. I offer a no fee service, I’m fully committed and I only ask for your loyalty if you want to work with me . I do a 20 min consult in my office and can narrow a search that may take you a week and compress it into 1 day due to my experience. I may ask you some qualification questions such as how is your credit and income as that will help me match you to the best property, plus landlords will ask for this.

I can be reached at 954-610-0440 or realtor@adamdocktor.com . I also have an application that will hope you find an apartment for rent in Fort Lauderdale and it can be downloaded from your phone bypassing inaccurate 3rd party websites and giving you direct MLS access . Just call or text me at anytime . And remember “This Docktor Makes House Calls”
Below is a map of Apartments for rent in Fort Lauderdale. It has every single property mapped out , and can be provided to you once we meet .