Boston Apartments | Finding Apartments on a Budget in Boston

Renting an apartment is easy. It's making the apartment feel like a home that's tough. OK, maybe it's not that black and white. After all, securing an apartment in the right neighborhood for the right place can be hard work as well. But, when you search for your new place using a trusted rental company, the job is made easier. Then all you have to decide is where to put the sofa, how to hang your favorite lamp. It's a big deal. And for the most part, an enjoyable one, especially when the search is made easy.

The idea of buying into the South End for less than $200,000 back during the boom would have seemed unthinkable.

But in another example of how the real estate downturn is now starting to hit even the top tier neighborhoods and towns, the developers of the 1850, a loft complex in the South End, plan to put more than half their units up for auction on June 28.

And yes, the minimum bid for some units will start below $200,000, actually $175,000 to be exact.

The auction phenomenon has been sweeping the country, with developers using these one-day sales extravaganzas to unload big blocks of unsold units in new condo projects.

Ironically, the trend got its start with the auction of dozens of units at the Folio complex in downtown Boston nearly three years ago.

But after that big splash, the auction concept never caught fire here, even as developers in cities across the country latched onto the idea to cut their losses and move unsold units.

Still, a lot has happened during those years, with even the seemingly once impregnable downtown Boston luxury condo market finally seeing both prices and sales fall.

Anyway, here’s the scoop. Thirty-five of the 60 units of the 1850, a piano warehouse converted into lofts by the Cresset Group, will hit the auction block on the 28th, a Sunday.

Minimum bids range from $175,000 for units that were once listed for more than $300,000, up to just under $800,000 for the top units. The units range in size from 679 square feet to more than 1,500.

Cresset has teamed up with Wells Fargo to offer mortgages for qualified buyers with FICO scores of more than 700. The loans are 90 percent, requiring 10 percent down.

So there you have it, Boston apartments are available. Some even at unheard of rates. If you're planning to rent, do it soon. And be sure to use a rental company that works.

Michael Russell writes about a variety of subjects. This article discusses Boston apartments. For more information, visit Apartment Finder.