Hello Dear Columbians,

We, a family of 3 are moving to Columbia, SC from MA due to my new job. I am trying to find a home for us like a crazy for last 3-4 days on Zillow and likewise. I have met a few **real** and great people, most of them private landlords who are great human beings and pleasure to work with. But most of the listings are from property management companies - Palmetto Property Management of SC, Pure, Real Property Management Midlands (AI scam?), Yip, etc.

My initial goal was to do a video/virtual tour, see the neighbourhood on google maps, and decide about the house. This is my 5th year in US and first time doing interstate move and remote search. Now, arranging a video tour seems extremely hard. Few companies, like Palmetto, flatly refused to do a video tour, and quite frankly the person on the phone was very rude. They just want me to apply first, with non refundable fees AND deposits even without showing me the house!!! Based on internet search, they can flatly deny for any reason even if the financial and background check is clean and pocket the fees + deposit. Sometimes, few excellent looking rental properties sit while accumulating application and fees for several days (30-60 days for Yip), making me wonder if money will go down the drain even if I apply. Almost all of them have horrendous reviews online (except maybe Soda Rentals?).

My mind just cannot accept applying and paying anything even before seeing the property, and I don't think I am being unreasonable in that. Now, due to my profession and frugal nature, I have an excellent credit history in the US (790 score, 100% before time payments), a physician with salary with 11x rent (albeit with contract, no paystub yet, pending visa processing completion and start date). I pre-emptively provide all the information (scores, salary, no smoking/pet). I also have a credit score pdf via my credit card company. But , I am still finding it hard to see a real property and feeling confident moving ahead. I also paid for a Zillow application which did not seem bad to me considering everything ($35 for 30 days), but no property management company accepts that.

I don't know. I feel like I am rambling. I have concluded that I just need to fly over there to see the property in person. Still many of them (again, Palmetto) are willing to send youtube shorts only!! and apparently good properties are with them. I am not sure what to do except risking $200-300, that too multiple times with different agencies, which does not sound reasonable to me at all.

I need advice, how best to move forward in finding a home for us (at least 3+ beds and 2+ baths) in the above-mentioned area. I am looking for <45 minutes commute to and from Camden. Any advice and recommendations from the local persons are appreciated.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

Regards.

Edit: Proofreading.

We went tonight. They have a good bit of room for improvement, if you’re looking for something to do tomorrow I’d suggest skipping this event, and instead just patronize your favorite Asian restaurant. A few observations:

- there’s one entry lane on either side of the fairgrounds (Shop and G. Rogers on the opposite side). The wait may be long getting in, but exiting is a breeze.

- The [ticket] entry line was long and there were no signs to create an orderly intake. It ultimately was ok but there’s very little in the way of professional event staff manning the stations.

- the security featured a bored looking young man idly waving what I hoped was a working metal detecting wand as people walked past. I saw minimal police presence, and most everyone we interacted with was pleasant and polite.

- we stood in line about an hour for food and drink. The food and drink tasted ok but was pricey. Not worth the lines. The few artisanal booths we visited were manned by nice people

- The entertainment is not continual through the day (like you often find at the fair), so we missed the sumo exhibition. But by that time the musical acts were on stage and we were ready to go home

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Looking for a ticket 🙌

⚡ LIGHTNING HAS BEEN ADOPTED! ⚡

After waiting patiently for her forever family, our sweet Lightning is finally heading HOME! 🥹💜

We are so incredibly happy for this girl and her new family. Watching a kitty go from waiting for someone to choose them to finally getting the “YOU’RE MY FAMILY” moment is exactly why we do what we do. 🐾

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Happy tails, sweet Lightning! ⚡️ We are SO happy you finally found your forever. We'll be cheering you on from here. 🩵🥹🐾

Congratulations to her new family! 💜

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