List Only - what's the best and cheapest way to find an apartment?

what's the best and cheapest way to find an apartment?

I have a list of must-haves: 1. dishwasher 2. parking 3. Gas heat Would be great if most utilities are included but I know that's rare. Looking for this in Boston. Need a 3 or 4 bedroom... hopefully for around 2,000 per month. What websites out there, other than apartment finder or the basic ones off google are out there for me to search these criteria and find a place? Don't really want to pay a fee to anyone for finding me something, I see that as a waste of money.

Public Comments

My favorite way - newspaper classifieds. Older people tend to advertise in these. And they are not as aware of inflation and charge less (it may be a myth- but I think it's true) Give that newspaper a try
You don't say where. Where I live, that's impossible to find in an apartment. You would have to go to a real estate agency and rent a house. I have that arrangement, but I live in military housing.
I used http://www.rent.com/?mpch=ads and found a perfect place for my needs, so don't rule out the online services yet....in fact I got a $100.00 after signing my lease for locating my apt. on that site. Even if you don't want to go through them, you can certainly get an idea of places and even addresses to do a drive-by. Some Landlords even post video tours of the grounds and a few units. This is just one of the many FREE sites. The FEE companies do a favor by knowing the properties that aren't generally advertised with info and getting listings that are not generally advertised because the tenants are screened....been there, done that...also didn't like it!
Most apartment finder places are free for the renter. I used one to find my second apartment. I told the person I wanted 1) work proximity 2) a pool big enough to do laps in 3) something near a lake 4) first floor etc etc. They found me exactly what I wanted and showed me some other alternatives too.
have you been to trademe.co.nz? you van find an apartment or a flatmate(s) quite easily...thou with the RWC coming up the prices are soaring!