Searching For Pet Friendly Apartments

Picking the perfect place to live for you can be hard enough. If you happen to have a four-legged best friend, finding just the right rental among all the Fresno apartments out there can be even more difficult. There are some things you should look for to make certain both you and your furry buddy feel right at home in a rental.

Photo By: Mr. T in DC

Tips For Searching For Pet Friendly Apartments

It’s important to keep in mind some rentals that bill themselves as pet friendly apartments might not really be so. Others that don’t make the claim might even be friendlier than they realize. To help you sort through it all, consider these apartment search tips as you look for a place to call home:

Look for a rental with a low pet deposit – Yes, apartments will charge a pet deposit. They really have to. While you know Fido would never do any damage to a home, your landlord just doesn’t. The lower the pet deposit, however, the better.

Easy outdoor access – If the Fresno apartments you’ve been looking at require you to run down stairs and snake through corridors to get outside, you’re probably not looking in the right place. If your friend happens to be a dog, you’ll want a place with very easy access to the outdoors. If you can’t find a place with a private backyard, the next best thing will have such features as sidewalks, back patios that open to green spaces and a lack of stairs. Two to three stories are fine, but try getting a dog to hold it going down four or five flights!

Photo By: Dgphilli

Lots of green space – Speaking of the outdoors, the best Fresno apartments for dogs do have a lot of green space. Walking trails, dog runs and even park spaces are all excellent features to look for. When it comes to tips for pet owners on the hunt for an apartment, this is one not to ignore if you have a pet that likes to stretch his or her legs a bit.

Breed allowance – If you happen to have a puff ball of a dog, this won’t likely apply to you. If you have a larger breed, however, it could be very important. The real test of a pet friendly apartment is the kind of breeds that are allowed. The more diverse, the more genuine and evident the landlord’s commitment to pet owners is likely to be.

Other common pet-policy stipulations:

• Dogs not accepted. Some complexes only accept cats and other smaller animals like birds, turtles, etc.
• Weight limits. Complexes that do allow dogs often allow them up to a certain weight, essentially excluding certain breeds.
• Aggressive breeds. Dogs with aggressive reputations are often restricted. This list usually includes Dobermans, Rottweilers, German Shepards, and Pitbulls, to name a few.
• Number of Animals. Pet owners are usually only allowed two dogs when living in apartments.

Apartment search tips for people are one thing, but if you have a pet in your life, don’t forget to consider his or her needs, too. You’ll be very glad you did when both you and your friend feel right at home in Fresno apartments.

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