Since Covid-19 hit, many Washingtonians found themselves desperate for single family homes with privacy and outdoor space. Finding a house in DC can be a challenge. Houses aren’t as well marketed as large apartment buildings and it’s easy to get scammed. Here are a few tricks for finding a house to rent in DC.
Local Brokerage Websites
Often times houses are listed by real estate agents, which makes sense. Owners decide to rent their houses and call the agent that sold them the house to help them find a renter. Compass Rentals is a good example. Unlike Zillow, when you search the Compass website, you are only going to see properties listed in the MLS. This weeds out all of the large apartment buildings who pump tons of money into Zillow ads.
Boutique Property Managers
Again, going to the source of some of these listings is easier than combing through large, national search engines. There are a handful of small, local property management companies that usually have a few good rental houses to choose from. Nest DC and Yarmouth come to mind.
Search Engines
If all else fails, Zillow, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc. have the widest array of listings. Try filtering your search by using keywords like “townhouse, rowhouse, yard, etc.” You are also more likely to find single family homes for rent if you limit your search to more residential neighborhoods that don’t have many apartment buildings like Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Brightwood, Takoma, Brookland, Glover Park, and other Upper NW neighborhoods.
