If you move to any big city you could easily find several apartment complexes around town. The rental process is simple – you walk in, ask to view a model, sign a lease or move on to a better-suited neighborhood.
And sometimes you ponder the existential question: pay the up-charge for granite countertops or take the vinyl for less money?
Finding a rental in Durango is a bit more complicated because demand is high and availability is low.
Durango’s vacancy rate was 4.3 percent in the third quarter of 2013, up from 2.3 percent in the first quarter, according to the Colorado Multi-family Housing Vacancy and rental survey.
That means people who are not homeowners in Durango struggle to find housing regardless of the time of year.
Dawn Wright, a broker at Durango Property Management, said the company’s busiest season is between May and August, when many leases are expiring.
However, in the months of October through March, the company tries not to have any vacancies because fewer people are looking to move, she said.
If you happen to be moving to the area during the peak college moving season – the summer months – it can be especially bad with potential renters competing with college students filling out applications and sitting on waiting lists to find an ideal residence.
Many local landlords don’t accept students because of past problems, making it especially challenging for them to find rentals, Wright said. She said landlords refusing to rent to students reduces their choices to about half of the agencies’ available inventory.
Durango Property Management handles 250 residential properties consisting of condominiums, townhouses and houses throughout the county. As of now, they only have a handful of vacancies.
Prices are also a shock for many would-be renters.
Several times a week, the agency receives calls from out-of-towners asking to rent a three-bedroom home for less than $800, forcing the brokers to advise the optimistic callers to either up their price range or try a different location.
“Durango is a tough town,” Wright said.
For renters looking for cheaper options, Wright said surrounding towns like Ignacio offer less expensive properties. Bayfield is slightly more affordable than Durango, but not by much, she added.
An employee with Durango Action Property Management said the summer months are the busiest for rentals. Of the 400 or so residential and commercial properties the company manages in the county, 13 homes currently are vacant.
If a client is interested in a rental, he or she must schedule an appointment to view the property. The agency does not rent sight unseen, which could pose some difficulty for people looking to find a home just before moving from a different state.
The company also requires extensive screening, which includes a background check, a credit check and a verification of rental history. Similarly to Durango Property Management, about half its properties do not accept student renters upon the homeowner’s request.
Apartments typically have no vacancies left by the end of summer.
Leah Dirksen who manages Hillcrest Apartments, said the complex tends to reach capacity around July.
With 112 units, Hillcrest is the largest apartment complex in Durango and it’s still difficult to find a room. As of now, it has one unit open, but it’s not quite ready to house a new resident, she said.
“It’s extremely competitive,” she said.
Additionally, investors have seemed to grasp the concept that rentals are in high demand and a profitable investment. In January, Hillcrest sold to a Californian venture capital firm called Virtu Investments for $14.5 million.
For those waiting to move in, the complex begins taking wait-list applicants as early as February, she said.
Because of its location, the complex is attractive to college students. The complex is minutes away from Fort Lewis College. However, students make up only about 40 percent of the residents; the rest are families, Dirksen said.
The starting rate for a studio unit at Hillcrest Apartments is $1,100 per month. The complex also offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units, which go up in price as the square footage increases. The floor plans and price range are available on its website.
And for those hopefuls who need advice about how to go about finding a rental in the area, most employees and brokers involved in the rental industry would strongly urge potential clients to turn in paperwork as soon as they can, as many agencies operate on a first come-first-serve basis.
vguthrie@durangoherald.com
