Formerly Grand Central Apartments

Exciting news from Grand Central Apartments

We are making your apartment search easier and faster. With recent major improvements to our service, we are launching a new site called RentalBeast.com

Our current clients will continue to login with the same username and password and your information and apartment preferences will remain the same. Service should continue without interruptions.

There is a 20% discount for all our past clients, if you are planning on moving again this year we would love the opportunity to help you.

We are dedicated to continuously making your apartment search easier, faster and cheaper. We hope that you find our new site easier to use and more productive.

If you have any questions, our dedicated customer service team is here to help.

info@rentalbeast.com

Toll-free: 1-888-244-6696

IG

Contact The Beast

Toll Free: 1-888-244-6696

e-mail: info@rentalbeast.com

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©2008 Rental Beast. All rights reserved.

***AVAILABLE MAY 19TH***

PHOTOS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF SIMILAR UNITS WITHIN THE BUILDING, ACTUAL UNIT MAY VARY.

Front facing FURNISHED studio. Furniture included is a double bed, desk with chair, lamps, and dressers in some units.

Unit has been wired for cable TV and Internet access.

Hot water included. 24-hour maintenance available.

Studio has bay windows overlooking the nicest street in the city. Located one block from The Mall on Commonwealth Avenue and the Hynes Convention Center.

This four bedroom on Commonwealth Avenue features 1.5 baths, living room, and a kitchen. Coin-op laundry in building. The kitchen has a dishwasher and a disposal. Back porch. Parquet floors. HEAT AND HOT WATER INCLUDED!! $650 per bedroom. Pets are welcome. Seconds to the T, shops, banks, restraunt, and shopping. Completely renovated. All new appliances.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments studio apartment in Back Bay, Boston, MA.

After 6 years and over 20,000 happy renters we are ready to take our services into the next level!

• If you are a current or future renter that dreads the premise of having to find your next apartment…
• If you fear the thought of viewing yet another unit that has little or no relevance to the description you read online…
• If you’ve been walking for 40 minutes to see the unit that read “Close to the Train Station”…
• If you suffer from pocket pain while calling another real estate agency…
• If you wake up sweating at night fearing you might have made the wrong decision and that there might be a better deal out there…
• If you are a student that needs off campus housing but requires proper guidance and has no money to spare…

…we have some groundbreaking news for you.

We are about to unleash something that will solve all your renting needs.

Dismiss any fear and concern you have in your quest to find a new home.

It’s beyond human.

We are about to unleash a BEAST!

Unleashing on or before February 20th, stay tuned.

IG

PHOTOS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF UNITS WITHIN THE COMPLEX, ACTUAL UNIT MAY VARY.

A two bedroom apartment in Cambridge with new windows and great views. It has a walk-in closet, modern kitchen, and beautiful hardwood floors. Rent includes heat, hot water, cooking gas, two parking spaces, and use of the pool during hours of operation from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Situated just two blocks from the prestigious Avon Hill section of Cambridge, home to part of Leslie College and also streets filled with beautiful, historic houses. It’s a wonderful place to go for a walk or a bike ride.

Nearby Porter Square has many different types of interesting stores and restaurants. From Porter Square you can easily walk to Harvard Square (one mile away), or the very popular Davis Square, which is even closer.

The Porter Square Subway Station is part of the Red Line, which will carry you into Harvard Square in about two minutes, into Kendall Square(M.I.T.) in about ten minutes, and across the Longfellow Bridge and into Boston in about 15 minutes. There is also regular bus service, and plenty of taxis. Cats ok.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments two-bedroom apartment in Cambridge, MA.

Given the current state of the sales market and the usually frigid rental market during the winter, you can find single family homes for rent that were recently on the market for sale but didn’t.

A few quick “facts” (IMO)

• Selling real estate in 2008 is something most owners would try to avoid if they can.
• Selling during the winter, even in a good market, is not advisable.
• A vacant rental in late December is not going to fetch the same rent it would in July.

Finding a single family for rent, just like finding any other rental could be done the easy way or the hard way.

The easy way:

Use GrandCentralApartments.com

The hard way:

Don’t use GrandCentralApartments.com

That said, there is an exception to this rule when it comes to houses.

If you see a house that is currently on the market for sale and you approach the owner asking “Would you consider renting?” You might be surprised how many yes’s or maybe’s you will get.

The longer the house has been on the market the likelier it is for the owner to consider renting. (You can check the length of time on the market using websites like Roost.com or Zillow.com or you can contact the listing agent)

Another tip to increase your chances of getting a deal done is making your rental offer more than or approximately equal to the mortgage payment for that particular property.

The most important thing to be aware of when renting a house, in my view, is the heating and cooling cost. Check to see what system heats the house and how well-insulated it is. Houses are typically bigger than apartments and so is the cost of heating and/or cooling them.

A couple of other items to consider that might affect your cost of living in a house:

• Driveway clean up/plowing if you live in a snow bound area. Ask the landlord who is responsible for that expense.
• Landscaping e.g. mowing the lawn if the house comes with a yard.
• Trash removal if you live in a more rural area.

Overall, the average three bedroom house would be roughly 35% more expensive to rent then a three bedroom apartment.

Happy holidays,

IG

Now offering a one month free rent special pro-ratated over the lease terms.

***STARTING PRICE AND SQUARE FOOTAGE FOR THIS FLOOR PLAN***

PHOTOS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF UNITS WITHIN THE COMPLEX, ACTUAL UNIT MAY VARY.

Spacious apartment home with a fully applianced kitchen stocked with a self cleaning range, refrigerator, and large sink with garbage disposal. All of the appliances, including dishwasher and microwave, are sleek black. The kitchen will be finished with superb granite counter tops and beautiful cherry cabinets. Apartment will have wall to wall Berber-style carpeting, and floor to ceiling windows making the sunlight stream in. Your apartment will also be equipped with a full sized washer and dryer; have walk in closets so that you will never feel cramped or crowded. Ceramic tile floors in bathroom. Individually controlled heating and cooling. Linen closet, mini blinds, and Cable TV and high-speed internet. The apartment community offers beautifully appointed club rooms with fireplace and flat screen televisions, fitness facilities with state of the art cardiovascular and strength equipment, business centers with high-speed internet access, printer, copier and fax equipment, an elegant conference/dining room, billiards table, furnished outdoor terrace adjacent to both club rooms, indoor bicycle storage, underground parking, numerous on-site conveniences, restaurants, and entertainment outlets, and Zipcar services. Cats, dogs, and fish allowed. $50 per month per pet. Within minutes you will be able to walk to the MBTA tram taking you directly to the train (Orange line, Wellington station). You will be into Boston in no time at all! Great centralized location, with easy access to Interstate 93 and Route 128 (I95), along with Routes 16, 28, and 38.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments two-bedroom apartment in Medford, MA.

ScreeningWorks.com provides property owners and managers an easy to use immediate screening analysis for any tenant who applies for your rental. Simply create an account, plug-in the tenant’s info and get the following:

• Eviction Statewide
• Criminal Statewide
• Credit Evaluation
• Address Search
• National Sex Offender
• OFAC – US Treasury Dept. Database
• Social Security Number Fraud Check

The screening check is competitively priced and you get a discounted rate by using our promotional code RentalBeast.

Owners can use the reports nationwide. (Product package offerings vary by state)

Enjoy
IG

Call ScreeningWorks for promotional code.

***PRE LEASING FOR BEGINNING TO MID SEPTEMBER*** ***STARTING PRICE FOR ONE BEDROOMS. SQ. FT. RANGES TO 1028*** There is a washer and dryer in unit and 9-10 foot ceilings. The kitchen features granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and unique two tone cabinetry. Cultured marble bath vanity, as well as ceramic-tile floors in the kitchen and bath. The building amenities include a 24 hour concierge, 2,200 sq. ft. fitness center, clubroom with fireplace and bar, movie/theatre room, business center/conference room, indoor heated swimming pool, underground parking garage, and courtyard with patio seating area. Located two blocks from the MIT/Kendall Square T stop. Close proximity to the Charles River, the Esplanade, Cambridgeside Galleria, Museum of Science, Harvard University and MIT. Convenient to Memorial Drive, Storrow Drive, Interstate 93, and the Massachusetts Turnpike. Cats ok. Deleaded.

Click here for more pictures and details on this Grand Central: Boston Apartments Apartment for Rent in Cambridge, Kendall Square, MA.

I apologize for not adding to the blog in so long but we are working tirelessly on a few exciting things:

1. We hope to launch our new website by the end of this month (fingers crossed).
   The result of which will revolutionize the way people find apartments for rent on the internet by creating a very easy and simple user experience.
   Stay tuned.
2. We have also accelerated our national expansion efforts; hoping that we will be helping renters find great apartments, save time, and money throughout the U.S.
3. There are some exciting partnerships in the works that would add even more value to both our users and to the listing owners/managers.

Back to the rental market:

There are new or at least a much larger group of entrants to the rental market, namely:

• Home owners whose property got foreclosed.
• Tenants in foreclosed multi-family buildings that are getting evicted by the banks.
• First time home buyers or just buyers in general that now can’t get a mortgage because of the much stricter guidelines and full doc’ loans.
• Buyers that are scared about prices going down even lower who are still waiting things out.
• You have more students that require more apartments due to the new law that limits the amount of students in each apartment to 4.

As a result, we are noticing an upwards trend for prices of rentals this Spring/Summer season.

IG

If any of you ever wondered what makes this group of extremely wonderful and generous people donate their time and expertise for free then here is your answer.

A broker or real estate agent gets paid the equivalent of 1 month’s rent in virtually every transaction in which an apartment is rented.

There are 3 ways that they get paid:

1. You, the renter, pay them a full month’s rent fee.
2. You split the month’s rent fee with the landlord so each party pays a half-month’s rent.
3. The landlord pays the full month’s rent fee.

Scenario 3 is better known as the “No Broker Fee” apartment.

From my experience, if the landlord is willing to pay such a high incentive, the fee ends up being passed down to you anyway in the form of higher monthly rent. For example, a $1200 a month apartment with a one month’s fee would end up being $1300 a month ($1200/12=$100 extra dollars per month) so the landlord recovers his expense. Your rent is higher than it could have been if you rented the unit directly through the owner/property manager.

Also another point worth driving home – no matter who pays the broker fee, the more rent you pay, the more fee they get. That relationship usually leads to you seeing apartments that are at the top if not slightly over your price range.

Bottom line is this: if you want to avoid paying a broker fee you should not go around with brokers. It doesn’t matter whether they classify them self as Fee or No Fee; there is no free lunch.

IG