"The ultimate goal is to have every rental property in the state listed..."

I posted this website here on the blog some time ago; nice to see mainstream media finally got around to recognizing its value..... Web Site Created To Help Find Rental Properties

Posted: July 9, 2008 10:01 PM

Video Gallery <1> Web Site Created To Help Find Rental Properties 2:13

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Finding a new place to live is never easy.

But a new, free web site may make your next move more manageable.

The site could also play a critical role after a disaster.

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency operates the site. The ultimate goal is to have every rental property in the state listed, which is something that could come in handy for the casual mover or a disaster situation.

"Oh, it's a beautiful house as you can see," said Joanne Aronis, a property owner.

The northeast Nashville house has had some lookers, but so far, no takers.

"There's the upkeep and the renewals and the ads and the turning on and off utilities," she said.

She is optimistic she'll soon find a renter.

"Renting is really good right now. And people are happy to have a beautiful home for a reasonable amount of money. And Nashville's such an easy place to live economically"

She makes her property pitches in the classifieds and by word of mouth.

Now, she has another way to reach out to future renters electronically.

"All you would do is click there," said Ted Fellman, executive director of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.

The agency created the web site where landlords can list property and renters can research them for free.

"A database where we could go and identify rental housing opportunities for our citizens whether it be in the case of a disaster or just normal day to day life," Fellman said.

Fellman said the idea came about after Hurricane Katrina evacuees flocked to the volunteer state.

"And we didn't have a database. We didn't have one source that we could go to and say where can we put people? So it was sort of an eye opening experience for us as a housing finance agency," he said.

Now they do. Renters can search by location, monthly rent, and an apartment or home's size.

"Big help; advertising is very expensive," Aronis said.

She has put her property online. She said she's already seeing an impact. The new Web site was created in April.

There are 34,000 apartments and homes listed from across the state.

By the end of the year, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency hopes to have 100,000 properties listed.