Seeking Rental in Bethesda Area

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. We have been checking all of the sites that were mentioned, but I think we are still too far our from our moving date to act upon current listings. Although we had one very eye opening rental experience earlier this week which has resulted in increased panic about finding a place.

We spotted a cute little house on Military By Owner (available in July so perfect timing for us)...walking distance to the hospital, metro, downtown and with good schools. We had friends take a look for us and they thought we should make an offer right away so we did. Turns out the owner got flooded with so many potential renters on that first day of posting that a bidding war ensued and the rent went from $3200 to $3600 within just a few hours. We were told we are number two on the list in case the initial applicants fail the screening process. We were pretty shocked by how quickly that house got rented. Was that just a fluke or is this what we should expect in this area?

And what about that location? Is anyone familiar with this little pocket of a "neighborhood". There is the possibility that a second house will soon be up for rent on the same street. The proximity to the Trolley trail path and being within walking distance of downtown is very appealing, but does that collection of three streets really have a feeling of community? Will it be a noisy location being so close to that larger road? Are there many families living there? If you are familiar with this area, we'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Also, thanks to the person for pointing us in the direction of East Bethesda. It sounds like exactly what we are searching for....I am going to contact the neighborhood association to see if they have some place to post information about our search.

[Anonymous]

We rent a GORGEOUS 3-bedroom, two bath house (with basement) in Bethesda - we are actually moving out in a couple of weeks and they are planning to list it today. The bathrooms are older (pink and green!), but they rennovated the kitchen completely (granite and stainless steel appliances) and the home has hardwood floors throughout. Our rent is $3100, and we can walk to the Bethesda Metro and downtown Bethesda (.75 mile). We couldn't have been happier over the last year.

[Anonymous]

Sounds perfect, could you send me the contact information and/or location, please?
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Here's one that is in East Bethesda. You'd be able to walk straight up Lynbrook, cross Jones Bridge and you're at Navy Medical.

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/apa/2909470256.html

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a great house. Thanks for sharing that link!

[Anonymous]

"We spotted a cute little house on Military By Owner (available in July so perfect timing for us)...walking distance to the hospital, metro, downtown and with good schools. We had friends take a look for us and they thought we should make an offer right away so we did. Turns out the owner got flooded with so many potential renters on that first day of posting that a bidding war ensued and the rent went from $3200 to $3600 within just a few hours. We were told we are number two on the list in case the initial applicants fail the screening process. We were pretty shocked by how quickly that house got rented. Was that just a fluke or is this what we should expect in this area?

And what about that location? Is anyone familiar with this little pocket of a "neighborhood". There is the possibility that a second house will soon be up for rent on the same street. The proximity to the Trolley trail path and being within walking distance of downtown is very appealing, but does that collection of three streets really have a feeling of community? Will it be a noisy location being so close to that larger road? Are there many families living there? If you are familiar with this area, we'd love to hear your thoughts on it."

OP, I live in this neighborhood and it is great. I am the pp who suggested NIH as a rental-house source, and I will let you know if I find out about the house next door. There are lots of school-age children, a yearly block party, outdoor kids' movie nights, and general friendliness.