Basic information

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It has been less than a week since I started this blog and now I think it is time to start with some background and basics that will be mentioned within my posts. Throughout the communities there are different criteria that is used to qualify a potential tenant for an apartment. Some use a standardized credit bureau report, and others utilize a proprietary reporting company.

Here in Columbus, there is one main company that is used within a lot of communities, it is called FABCO. The FABCO report is a combined credit report as well as a landlord/tenant database. This database, when utilized by communities, can contain information such as any 3-day notices given (required in the state of Ohio before an eviction can be filed), evictions, late payments, past due landlord based utilities, and other pertinent information for rental communities. It will also search for criminal background and return the results.

In my experience a misdemeanor will not disqualify you for an apartment but a felony conviction will(not that I have either but from what I have talked to people about).  FABCO is also a collection company that collects on evictions, broken leases, and skip out tenants. They have a website at https://www.fabcogroup.com/ . While this system is pretty good, they do not make the decision on if someone is approved, they only provide information and it is up to the management company to approve or deny the application.

We have lived in apartments from a one bedroom one bathroom up to a two bedroom two bathroom luxury apartment. We have lived on the Southwest, West, East, and Northeast sides of town, and I have lived in Merion Village which is just south of historic German Village. We have rented from an individual, and from major companies as we do now. We currently reside in a community in the Hilliard area.

The major apartment companies in Columbus and the surrounding area are; Ardent Property Management(Formerly Triangle), Crawford Communities, Casto Communities, Oakwood Management, Lifestyle Communities, AIMCO, Edwards Communities, Roger C. Perry & Co, Schottenstein Real Estate Group, T&R Properties, Village Green Company, and Wallace F. Ackley.

Each company has properties scattered throughout the metro area, the nicer apartments are owned by Crawford Communities, Casto Communities, Village Green, and Schottenstein REG, Lifestyle Communities, and Edwards Communities. Each company has their perks for being a resident, although sometimes it does come with a hefty price tag.

When shopping for an apartment in Columbus the nicer areas are Dublin, Muirfield, Hilliard, New Albany, Pickerington, Blacklick, Powell, Lewis Center, and Polaris. In the following areas there are parts of the cities that are good and others that are not as good, Grove City, Reynoldsburg, Canal Winchester, Worthington, and Westerville.

If you are into the urban areas and like to live near all the action, there are many places in Victorian Village, German Village, Clintonville, the Arena and Brewery Districts that will probably fill that need. There are some very nice lofts in and near downtown Columbus, HOWEVER I do caution you that there are still some dangerous areas just outside of the downtown area.

The area just West of downtown is technically named Franklinton, but for many years has been known by local residents as "The Bottoms."

Just East of downtown is Old Town East, it has some nice older homes but there are many areas that are slums and many people are not comfortable walking there after dark.

To the South you will find German and Merion Villages, both communities are very old and German Village is on the National Register of Historic Places. Once you pass German and Merion Villages it tends to get rough as well as once you cross over Parsons Avenue.

To the North of Columbus is the Arena District, Italian and Victorian Villages and Short North. These areas are generally active areas with many trendy shops, restaurants, coffee houses and bars. Just beyond this area you will find the Campus area that is home to The Ohio State University. This area is generally very busy and during football season parking can be scarce, but when the Buckeye's are playing parking can be a problem anywhere that fans meet.

Utilities are generally easy to manage in Columbus, I do caution anyone to watch out for sub-metering companies with rental communities. American Electric Power(AEP Ohio) and City of Columbus Electric are the main providers of power to the residents of Columbus. (To the best of my knowledge City of Columbus Electric is only available close to downtown) There are a few communities out there that will provide electric through a sub-metering company and the companies they use that I am aware of are Nationwide Energy Partners(NEP), and American Power and Light(AP&L). I have had experiences with each of these utility companies and AEP, and the City of Columbus are the best for rates. From personal experience I would AVOID NEP at all costs if possible!

Water is supplied through the City of Columbus Water Department of Public Utilities, and is usually sub-metered within apartments. There are several sub-metering companies for this however I would once again avoid NEP on this one.

To find crime information you can use the local police department and the Columbus Police have a website that is very useful. I will add it in the links below.

Here are some websites to use to find information on the communities mentioned as well as some areas of Columbus and the services available.

Columbus Police Website: http://www.columbuspolice.org/
Crime Reports Map for Columbus, Ohio: http://www.crimereports.com/map/index/?search=Columbus+OH

Columbus Government Website: http://www.columbus.gov/

Immediate Urban Areas:
German Village: http://germanvillage.com/
Merion Village: http://www.merionvillage.org/index.php
Arena District: http://www.arenadistrict.com/
Short North/Victorian Village: http://www.shortnorth.org/
Italian Village: http://www.italianvillage.org/
Franklinton Info(Wiki): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklinton,_Columbus,_Ohio

Utilities:
AEP: https://www.aepohio.com/
NEP:http://www.nationwideenergypartners.com/
AP&L: https://www.electricapl.com/

City of Columbus Division of Public Utilities: http://utilities.columbus.gov/

Apartment Community Property Management Companies:
Ardent: http://www.ardentpropertymanagement.com/
Crawford Communities: http://www.crawfordcommunities.com/
Casto Communities: http://www.castocommunities.com/
Oakwood Management: http://www.myplacecolumbus.com/corporate/
Lifestyle Communities: http://www.lifestylecommunities.com/
AIMCO: http://www.aimco.com/
Edwards Communities: http://www.edwardscommunities.com/
Roger C. Perry & Co: http://sites.google.com/a/rogercperry.com/rcp-co-webpage/
Schottenstein Real Estate Group: http://www.sregroup.com/
T&R Properties: http://www.trprop.com/
Village Green Company: http://www.villagegreen.com/
Wallace F. Ackley: http://www.wfaco.com/

Thanks for stopping by and I will start listing my apartment experiences and adventures in my next post!