The days of driving around Tampa or Orlando looking for an apartment, or worse, looking through the classified ads, are quickly disappearing.

Most people don’t have the time or patience for that and the best properties and the best deals usually can’t be found that way.

The internet has become a huge resource for people looking for a new home. But too often it has become a glorified ad, only telling you what the property wants you to know.

This is where an apartment locator can be a tremendous help. A true locator service differs from the sites that simply offer a searchable database. Again, these really are just ads from the apartment community. There is no one to talk to or ask questions about the property except the property personnel. Nothing against them, but their job is to sell you on their property not necessarily the best property for you.

A true apartment locator with personalized help should be able to offer both the database that you can search, but more importantly, an experienced local expert that you can talk to (or email). You can tell them exactly what your needs or wants are, what is important to you and what is not. They can often times make suggestions or properties or even areas that you may not have ever considered before.

Especially with the proliferation of the condo conversion and reversions back to rentals it can be difficult to know if a particular property is renting or not. Many private owners can offer significant deals but are difficult to find on your own.

It does not end up costing the renter any more to use a locator. They are paid by the apartment community out of their advertising budget and are under agreement to offer the same rates as to anyone just walking in.

Many times a good locator can save you a substantial amount of money by looking for specials that properties will offer at various times to try to quickly rent a particular unit.