Moving from Europe, need to rent in DC area

[Anonymous]

Hi,
We will be moving from Europe to DC this summer and we need to rent a house for 2 years, from July or August. The rental agreement will be in our name (as opposed to my husband's employer). I imagine this is quite a usual situation but I am wonderingnhow the landlords do the credit checks for on foreign families. Is there anything we should/can do to make it easier/quicker?
My husband and I will be in DC in a couple of weeks just for house hunting. In an ideal situation we find a house we like, pay a deposit, and start renting it in July. Are credit cards accepted for deposit payments?
Any advice will be helpful, as we are very new to this.
Our budget is $4700 and we would like a 4 bedroom house near the metro, ideally.

[Anonymous]

This is a very nice home, I have been inside.

http://www.homes.com/listing/165681567/2396_Hurst_St_FALLS_CHURCH_VA_22043

[Anonymous]

do you have kids? this is important because if you do you may have to look for a house in a good school district, unless you go private. if you have 4 kids maybe a house in the burbs with land is better than a house with a smaller yard in the city. yould you like an area where you can walk everywhere, schools transportation, restaurants or a more suburban area where you need the car to go to the store is OK? also, where are you or your DH going to work? if you work in Rockville, maybe a house on Capitol Hill is not the best. so you should give us more info. BTW I am European too and very happy here, so welcome

[Anonymous]

With that kind of budget you've got a lot of options. I'd look at Capitol Hill, Tenley Town, Dupont Circle, Bethesda, near American University. Unless you want a long commute and like suburbs I'd avoid them, but that's because I don't personally like the burbs.

I'm also European. Living in a more urban environment in the city will be more like what you're used to in Europe.

[Anonymous]

Is European a nationality?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is European a nationality?

No. What's your point?

[Anonymous]

It would help to have more info. on where work is, if you have kids, if you want an urban/city/walkable lifestyle, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is European a nationality?

Of course not. African is a nationality.

[Anonymous]

OP here
We have two boys aged 2 and 5, the oldest will start at WIS. We'd like to live near the metro (husband's work at Foggy Bottom) and have one car only. Back yard would be nice.
Many nationalities, all European.
If somebody could also answer my question about the credit checks it would bw great.
Thank you

[Anonymous]

8:27 here
when I came to DC I rented an apt and had not problem beign a foreignerjust with an offer of a job in DC and no real credit history in the USA. however, I remember paying the deposit with a check. I doubt you can pay with credit card (I guess you could cancel the card or contest the payment), my experience is that the deposit must be in some kind of equivalent to money (so check, money order, cash or similar stuff). tons of people like you live in DC so you should not have any problems in finding a house. my neighborn across the street until recently was a family from CH with two little girls, rented for 4 years.
I live in Chevy Chase DC and love it. very walkable, close to the metro at Friendship Heights and the shopping area, close to the Avalon theater on Connecticut avenue - an out of the mainstream movie theater, look at the web site - lots of playgrounds, lots of families, really a great place for a family with little kids. I have two kids 3 and 6 and we have only one car. I would never go to the suburbs if I were you, try one day in rush hour traffic and you will see yourself. even in Bethesda you may need a car per adult in some areas, or you are stuck. anyway, good luck in your house hunting, with your budget you should not have any problem

[Anonymous]

OP, if your older son will be at WIS and you don't need public schools, then I would recommend Capitol Hill and ideally, the Eastern Market neighborhood. It's a really lovely area, w/ old brownstones and rowhouses, many with backyards (albeit small ones), and it is highly walkable to everything. There is a gorgeous fresh food / farmers market w/ cobblestone streets and a flea market, cafes, yoga studios, good restaurants, shops, etc. I lived in Paris and London for several years and Eastern Market is the closest to the same sort of European feel that I've found in DC (not that close, mind you, but there is a bit of that flavor). Eastern Market is also right next to Metro w/ Orange Line which goes straight to Foggy Bottom for your husband's job. You could definitely find a nice house in Eastern Market in your price range. I'm not sure about the credit check but I'm sure a realtor can explain that to you and I'm sure they've dealt with it before as DC is a very international area w/ lots of renters from abroad. GL and welcome to DC!

[Anonymous]

OP, this is the prior poster again. I just googled Eastern Market and actually found this blog entry, which, coincidentally, describes the neighborhood as a "More European Way of Living" (with which I completely agree).

See: http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/eastern_market_a_more_european_way_of_living/2528

[Anonymous]

For the commute to Foggy Bottom and WIS I would consider Dupont Circle or Georgetown; both within walking distance.

[Anonymous]

OP, could you please contact us, our house is available and seems to meet your criteria. Thanks.
David and Deana Sullivan

sullidav [at] verizon [dot] net

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8:27 here
when I came to DC I rented an apt and had not problem beign a foreignerjust with an offer of a job in DC and no real credit history in the USA. however, I remember paying the deposit with a check. I doubt you can pay with credit card (I guess you could cancel the card or contest the payment), my experience is that the deposit must be in some kind of equivalent to money (so check, money order, cash or similar stuff). tons of people like you live in DC so you should not have any problems in finding a house. my neighborn across the street until recently was a family from CH with two little girls, rented for 4 years.
I live in Chevy Chase DC and love it. very walkable, close to the metro at Friendship Heights and the shopping area, close to the Avalon theater on Connecticut avenue - an out of the mainstream movie theater, look at the web site - lots of playgrounds, lots of families, really a great place for a family with little kids. I have two kids 3 and 6 and we have only one car. I would never go to the suburbs if I were you, try one day in rush hour traffic and you will see yourself. even in Bethesda you may need a car per adult in some areas, or you are stuck. anyway, good luck in your house hunting, with your budget you should not have any problem

We rent out our Georgetown rowhouse on craigslist. We mostly get Europeans looking for long-term leases. We do not take credit cards--but will take echecks. We do rent to the individuals---unlike some neighbors that have deals with the embassy and the embassy rents out their home. We like the control and prefer to do the screening and background/financial checks ourselves. References are a must. Our last two tenants were both multi-year.

Georgetown has loads of Europeans and it is a lifestyle much like the one we had when living in Europe. My son was one of the few 'americans' at his preschool there.