My fiancé and were recently engaged (vid) and as such, we started looking for a new place to be our own in the Missoula, MT area. Looking in the paper always seemed to offer dated listings and some newspapers favor some property management places over others which makes for a slanted view of what is available. The image that appears below is from the web application that I’ve been working on called Grūpthink. This is the results of users of the Missoula grūp rating some of these places. Just click on the image and you can see comments and ratings for the major property management places in Missoula. I found this to be the best resource to help me get started.

However, what I couldn’t find was a resource which listed all the different property management companies available with the necessary details such as the phone number, website, etc. In addition, some websites did not list their hours of operation so I had to call to find out. Hopefully this guide will help you out in your online search for the perfect rental in Missoula, MT.

I will list the top 10 in the order they appear in the Grūpthink topic as of Tuesday March 25th, 2008. Along with each listing you’ll find the phone number, a link to the address in Google Maps and a review of the listings on their website.

• Garden City Property Management
  Phone: (406) 549-6106
  Address: 422 Madison St, Missoula, MT 59802
  Hours: Mon - Thurs — 8:30am - 5:30pm
  Fri — 8:30am - 5:00pm
  Sat — 9:00am - 1:00pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  The listings are updated frequently and it lists them all in a very readable and understandable format. There are not photos available for every property and some of the photos are for other units. Overall it is a simple website that runs rather quickly. Ultimately, Bonnie and I decided upon this rental agency. The staff were helpful and friendly and the price was right.

• Grizzly Property Management
  Phone: (406) 542-2060
  Address: 1601 South Avenue West, Missoula, MT 59801
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 9:00am - 5:00pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  The website is usable and well organized. They have a lot of photos to go with their properties and good descriptions as well. However, you cannot view many different types of properties at the same time. You are, instead, confined to look at only 2 bedrooms or only studios. In addition, you have to click and look at a property to see what utilities are included rather than having them all listed out together. They have plenty of information about the company and the staff was friendly when I called.

• Biterroot Property Management, Inc.
  Phone: (406) 549-9631
  Address: 414 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 8:30am - 5:00pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  This is another website that is well designed and quick. It offers photos for many of the properties as well as an easy to read and understand layout. Here, again, you are restricted to only looking at certain listings rather than viewing many. Overall, the listings are helpful and up to date and the staff was friendly on the phone.

• Summit Property Management, LLC.
  Phone: (406) 549-3929
  Address: 500 N. Higgins Suite #208, Missoula, MT 59802
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 8:30am - 5:00pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  When Bonnie and I were searching last year, there were many more properties listed. However, this is no longer true. The website is informative and there are photos of the properties. However, as of this writing, there are only 3 properties listed in the 2 bedroom residential section. Overall the website could use a face-lift but it works.

• Lambros Real Estate
  Phone: 1-888-735-RENT
  Address: 3011 American Way, Missoula, MT 59802 (rental office)
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 8:00am - 5:30pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  The website offers some very detailed listings and the ability to modify your searches. However, you cannot look at only residential listings. You must choose a category of listings (1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, etc.) or include commercial listings in your search which is annoying. Overall, the website is pretty well done and very functional. The listings are usually full of detailed photos.

  The comments from the users of Grūpthink do not offer very good reviews of this rental organization. You can see what some of them had to say here. The person who I spoke to on the phone was helpful and friendly.

• Clark Fork Realty
  Phone: (406) 728-2621
  Address: 512 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59802
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 8:30am - 5:00pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  This website offers a list of all the rental properties with a photo if one is available. Overall, the design of the site is a bit clunky, but the detailed listings are informative. However, like some other sites, you have to click into the listing in order to find out what utilities are paid.

• Professional Property Management, Inc.
  (not to be confused with Professional Property Management Company)
  Phone: (406) 721-8990
  Address: 2685 Palmer Suite B, Missoula, MT 59802
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 9:00am - 5:00pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  The first thing I noticed about the site was PHP 3 which, is a bit dated. However, the site is not too bad. There are photos of a lot of the different locations. However, the big gripe that I have, is that many of their listings have no vacancies. This means that while searching, you might see a perfect property in the list, only to click on it and find out it is not available. In short: don’t list a property if it isn’t available.

• Caras Property Management (other site)
  Phone: (406) 543-9798
  Address: 125 E Main St, Missoula, MT 59802
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 8:30am - 5:00pm

  Online Listings: (link, link)
  The first problem is that they have two websites for the same properties. Both websites display errors on some of the pages. The listings do contain helpful information such as the average utilities, but then, it depends on what site you’re looking at. Overall, they should pick one website and go with it. Just have the other forward to one. Unfortunately, the websites alone make this property management company seem to be far behind their competition.

• Missoula Property Management
  Phone: (406) 251-8500
  Address: 2809 Great Northern Loop, Missoula, MT 59801
  Hours: Mon - Fri — 9:00am - 5:00pm

  Online Listings: (link)
  There are none. This is disappointing considering the necessity for most to utilize online listings for making a decision for a rental property. In addition, the site has visible areas and offers a great deal of information about the company, but little to do with their listings. In addition, the address listed on the site is not the address I was given over the phone (I listed the latter). Overall, you’d be better off giving them a call.

Well there you have it. The top 10 online property management places for Missoula, MT. I hope you find this guide helpful. If you enjoyed this post then be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed. If you would like your website to be listed here, then send an email to writer at ilovebonnie.net.

Sorry I haven’t been able to post as much as usual. Lately I have been busy finishing up a large project that my company is working on. The project is just about complete which is super exciting. However, there are other exciting things that have been going on in my life lately.

Here is a chance to see catch a glimpse at the biggest development. Following a day at work for the both of us, I canceled our previous arrangement of going and working out together. Instead, I offered a dinner of sushi with the promise of “dollar sushi night.” It was the place of our first date: Nara Korean BBQ and Sushi in Missoula, MT. However, Bonnie was completely unaware that I had signed the papers and made the purchase of an engagement ring before picking her up at work.

We arrived at the restaurant and it was pretty packed. There were only seats at the bar available. I knew that it would be hard to look up to her on top of a barstool from one knee, so I insisted we wait until a table was available. After we got a table near the back of the restaurant, we proceeded to order drinks and make small talk. When Bonnie got up to wash her hands, I quickly rushed to our waitress and interrupted her filling drinks in the kitchen. Quickly I said something to the effect of:

“Sorry to bother you. My girlfriend is in the restroom so I only have a minute. I am going to propose to my girlfriend tonight. When I hand you a camera, I’m just going to ask you to take our picture. However, the camera will already be recording so just point it at us.”

After many gourmet rolls of sushi, the check had arrived and I finished paying. Just before we were about to get up, I asked our waitress if she would be kind enough to take a picture of my girlfriend and I. Here is what followed:

I love her so much and can’t wait for all that life has in store for us.