Unvercity City Apartments: Best way to find them and best time to rent?

[greenbelter]

I'm considering a move to University City soon and will be looking for apartments. Cost and space are much more important than finding a large property management company to rent from. What time of year are apartments cheapest and most plentiful in the neighborhood, and what's the best way to find them. Craigslist has a bunch, but I know the ones found on there must just be scratching the surface.

NB, don't mind the spelling in the title-- don't know how that happened.

[lewblum]

You should look for a move in date around June/July. Units usually open up after the semesters end in May. So this is the time when apartment choices will be plentiful.

By then end of August the supply will have dwindled, but you might find a landlord or two that are scrambling to fill a unit. So you might bargain for a cheaper price then.

[boognish]

I've had great luck using this resource: Off-Campus Services at the University of Pennsylvania

In the past, it's been a fantastic place to find an apartment.

[annie]

When considering a landlord, it is helpful to search the Philadelphia Civil Docket to make sure the landlord is not in foreclosure proceedings or in the habit of not paying the utilities so they say, get cut off right before Thanksgiving and no one from the utility is around to come out. If managed by a company, you can find out the real property owner by searching the address on the BRT/OPA.