The Chase: Couple looks for rental house in NoDa or Wesley Heights for $1,600/month

Shannon and her partner Tim moved to Charlotte from San Diego in October 2020. Here’s what it was like finding a rental home in Charlotte.

Who: Shannon is 27, a copywriter and content strategist for embodied fem CEO’s. Tim, 28, is a server at The Bottle Tree in Belmont.

The house: The couple was on the hunt for a rental in NoDa or Wesley Heights for around $1,600 per month. A gas stove, bathtub, in-unit washer, dryer and hardwood floors were on the top of their wishlist.

• Yard space, a fireplace, tons of natural light and an open layout fell on the nice-to-haves list.

Timeline: They moved to Charlotte in October 2020 and stayed in a short-term, three-month rental in Wesley Heights. The pair moved to a month-to-month shared rental in NoDa until they found their dream, long-term rental home this May.

Option 1: Walkable condo

Monthly rent: $1,394 (rent Zestimate)

Neighborhood: NoDa

Specs: 2 beds, 2 baths, 1,006 square feet

Why it made the cut: Shannon and Tim loved the walkable location and price of this condo. It was comfortably within their budget and in their preferred location.

Option 2: Smallwood stunner

Monthly rent: $1,600+

Neighborhood: Smallwood

Specs: 2 beds, 1 bath, 1,306 square feet

Why it made the cut: Though slightly over budget and a pretty good ways outside of NoDa, this house had just about everything on their wishlist, including a fenced-in yard and fireplace. Plus, they loved the look and neighborhood.

Option 3: Adorable bungalow with Airbnb

Monthly rent: $2,200

Neighborhood: Ashley Park

Specs: 3 beds, 2 baths, 1,471 square feet

Why it made the cut: It checked a lot of boxes, including a bathtub, in-unit washer and dryer, hardwood floors, large backyard, quiet neighborhood and lots of light.

• While this spot was quite a bit over budget and again fairly far from NoDa, there’s a separate studio space they could use as an Airbnb to offset the rent.

If you chose Option 3, you’re correct.

How it went: The rental market, much like the for-sale market, moves quickly; homes are snatched up within hours of being listed on Zillow, Shannon said. They were ready to find their dream home and didn’t want to select a spot out of desperation.

• They finally found their ideal house when Shannon got on Zillow, deleted her filters (including budget) and searched Wesley Heights.

Even though the home was over-budget, Shannon was drawn to give it a chance. Once they took a closer look, they realized they could offset the rent by running an Airbnb from the private attachment  — a long-term dream the twosome shared.

• “A week later we toured the place, sat with our decision overnight, and signed,” Shannon said.
  
• They rent the Airbnb for around $78/night now.

No. 1 piece of advice: Be patient, Shannon said. “The market felt cut-throat and stressful but we remained patient and trusting an aligned home would come our way  — and it did.” 

If you are house (or apartment) hunting right now, we want to follow your journey. Email me at [email protected] with what’s on your home wish list and your budget. 

• This series was inspired by the New York Times. If you’re curious what home-buying in New York is like, take a peek at their series, The Hunt.

Editor’s note: We have removed the house hunter’s last name for privacy reasons.