Needed: rental house

My family - husband, 2 children - are hoping to join me in NJ for my last year at Drew, this fall. Does anyone know of a house/duplex/lasrger apartment for rent, suitable for four people AND TWO CATS (cats are people, too!), that will be available for rent from mid-Aug through mid-May, 09? Madison/morristown/chatham area preferred, but flexible.

This may be delusional, but we're looking for someplace that rents for $1200/mo., or less.

Thanks!
Susie T

[Yuko Unehara]

Have you checked craiglist.com?

[Paul R. Coen]

That's going to be tough at $1,200 - the Craigslist suggestion is a good one, rental agent fees around here are usually 1 month's rent, and the security deposit is typically a month and a half. Decent one-bedroom apartments in Madison and Chatham are often in the $1,200 range, $1,500 for two bedrooms, $2100 for three. Morristown, depending on where you are, might be a little cheaper. On the multi-bedroom units, that often does not include utilities, at least not all of them (in a garden apartment, it might include heat and water, but not gas for the stove or electricity). The garden apartment complexes in the area usually only have one or two bedroom units. In a house, duplex or townhouse you're likely to pay all utilities.

There's a lack of pet-friendly rentals, as you've probably noticed. I suspect if you can find a 2-bedroom that takes pets and includes heat, you might be able to keep it under $1,800, but less than a year is going to make that tough, unless you're house sitting.

[Esther A. Walter]

I think your best option would be student housing through the university.

Thanks to all of you all for your suggestions! I appreciate your good and helpful thoughts. Wish me luck!

Susie

[Dennis P. Coyle]

Susie,
If you're still on the hunt, stop by Annabel's office. HCH keeps a running book of opportunities people call into Drew specifically.
Also, Grad Admissions (Caspersen School) does an apartment hunt aid that would atleast give you an idea of how rates compare at various complexes. Not sure it's been updated recently. I updated it a year or two ago when I was work study with them.
-Dennis