Renting in the Tri-Cities

By in Buyers with 4 Comments
Published on November 18, 2009 / Last updated on November 18, 2009

It’s nearly impossible. Apartment occupancy rates are high, and homes for rent are snapped up the moment they hit the MLS, IF they even get there, which is rare.

Here’s why – people have moved here because we have jobs. They’d probably like to buy a home here and settle in, but they can’t buy if they’re still trying to sell their home back in the town from which they’ve just moved. Sooo, they’re renting. And there are a lot of people like that, which makes the rental market pretty tight.

I suppose in some areas of the country, real estate agents help people find rentals, instead of places to purchase. I don’t do that. My colleagues don’t do that. If you call me and want to know about renting here, I will encourage you to call Alan Kowalski … he is our property management guru, and he can be reached at 509-521-3494.

I get a lot of calls from people wanting to rent a place, or lease-to-own, and I really wish I could help them, but I can’t. I focus on finding homes for people to purchase within the next few months, not rent and then purchase.

This is my blanket apology for everyone who calls and wants me to help them find a rental. I’m sorry. I really wish I could help you, but I can’t.

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About The Author
Cari McGee

My husband and I came to the Tri-Cities in 1994, and we thought it would be a temporary stop on our way to larger cities. He was a television sports anchor at the time, and we planned to go wherever the "next step up" took us. Twenty-plus years later, we're still here and we've loved every minute of it! We have two children now, and we've found the Tri-Cities area is a wonderful place to raise a family. It's a great place to do outdoorsy things -- I like to hike Badger Mountain or run along the river path. I also love reading ... by a cozy fire in the winter or a beautiful picture window in the summer (with the A/C on!). I've been a licensed Realtor since 2004. I earned my managing broker's license in 2016, which means I can run my own brokerage, or create a team of real estate agents and supervise them, which is exactly what I did when I formed the Cari McGee Real Estate Team in 2018! We have administrative and marketing personnel, as well as additional agents to serve you. I became a director of the Tri-Cities Association of Realtors Board of Directors in 2016, became Secretary/Treasurer of the organization, and was elected to Vice President in 2019. Want to talk about real estate? Click here to schedule a meeting with me!

4 Comments

  1. Ben says:

    That’s kind of funny — I got a wrong number call yesterday and the guy was asking me if I had anything for rent…. even after I told him I was a wrong number and not the real estate people he was trying to reach.

  2. Cari McGee says:

    Ha! Illustrates my point perfectly, Ben. Thanks for commenting!

  3. […] is a big problem for anyone looking to rent and not buy. As I detail in this post from almost a year ago, when the problem was the same, there is just nothing available. The problem is compounded when you […]

  4. […] As I have posted before, it’s near impossible to get a rental here.  Apartments are at 99% occupancy.  Finding a house to rent is like finding a needle in a haystack. […]

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