Finding a house to rent is a pain

There are virtually no houses to rent in my area, especially ones that allow pets. Hell, there are barely any apartments pets or not.

This sucks because my wife and I are trying to get out of the E36 M3ty overpriced condo we're renting now.

I feel your pain.

I had to give up last month and sign another 13 month lease with my apartment.

What's out there that's worth a damn is so ridiculously overpriced it's almost comical.

Just 3 years ago there were tons of houses in the $600-$700/month range that weren't in the areas i'd be afraid to live without carrying a gun 24/7.

Yep. The wife and I are actually considering buying a house because it's such a giant PITA to find a good rental. To top it off we have a large-ish German Shepherd, which complicates things further. Due to his breed, we're pretty much blacklisted from a significant portion of the available properties.

SUX.

In reply to Matt B:

I hate those places that restrict pet size by weight. Large breeds are usually a lot more calm. I'm pretty sure the houses on both sides of mine are rentals, and their stewpot dogs are driving me nuts. YapYapYapYapYap. They'll actually bark at each other across my backyard if they're both out at the same time.

One of them wants at our Coonhound mix so bad. Bo looked at it like he was trying to decide whether he wanted soy sauce or Tobasco with it.

LOL - yeah our runt cat has cause WAY more damage to the house and furniture than the dog. He is the least of property owners' worries. Try telling them that.

Whatever, it was our choice to adopt him - knowing full well the ramifications of our decision. Never came close to regretting it.

The small dog vs big dog thing also amuses me. Sometimes I wish I could just let it play out when a confrontation happens, but considering my dog's history with things small and furry I'm too afraid of tragedy. As annoying as others' pets can be I wouldn't wish that upon anyone. Well, almost anyone.

I've got a house for rent(well, I will, as soon as I get all our crap out and do a bit of cleaning/fixing/painting), but I doubt "Middle-of-nowhere" Illinois is where you're looking?

petegossett wrote: I've got a house for rent(well, I will, as soon as I get all our crap out and do a bit of cleaning/fixing/painting), but I doubt "Middle-of-nowhere" Illinois is where you're looking?

"'Middle-of-nowhere' Illinois" wouldn't translate to "15 minutes driving time to Bloomington Normal", would it?

In reply to petegossett:

I live at the beginning of middle-of-nowhere Illinois, but I live 5 minutes from Indiana, which I have extended my search to. My commute is already long enough as it is and I need to stay within the Cable system, because that's one bill I don't pay.

The wife and I played with the idea of moving to B-N, because she went to school there and I can transfer offices, but she's got too much of an attachment to her parents and doesn't want to move any farther away from them, especially now that they moved farther from us.

MattB: Where do you want to live? We're considering renting out our place in Jasper, rather than trying to sell. We're exactly 60 miles north of ATL.

My advise to myself and to others has always been no pets until or unless you own a house.
Pets just too greatly limit your residence choices when renting.

JohnRW1621 wrote: My advise to myself and to others has always been no pets until or unless you own a house. Pets just too greatly limit your residence choices when renting.

For me, the only thing I'd worry about would be floors, and I'd plan on replacing or repairing those when the lease was up anyway. We rented with multiple cats with claws and never gave up a security deposit.

I agree 3 years ago it was so easy to find a house to rent, now even the junker houses are going quick. It looks like I might be buying a house here just so we don't have to look for a rental again.

I don't understand that either because I have a nice house for rent in Orlando that has been on the market for 2 months. I guess the market up there is different.

In reply to poopshovel: That'll be too far unfortunately. The main reason we're moving is to reduce our commute and we work in downtown & buckhead respectively. That, and I think Michelle is getting excited about the house purchase.

In reply to mguar:

That was an option that suggested to me a while back. My FIL knows real estate up and down. He will most likely help us out.

Matt B wrote: In reply to poopshovel: That'll be too far unfortunately. The main reason we're moving is to reduce our commute and we work in downtown & buckhead respectively. That, and I think Michelle is getting excited about the house purchase.

Gotcha. Best of luck!

jonnyd330 wrote: I agree 3 years ago it was so easy to find a house to rent, now even the junker houses are going quick. It looks like I might be buying a house here just so we don't have to look for a rental again. I don't understand that either because I have a nice house for rent in Orlando that has been on the market for 2 months. I guess the market up there is different.

The market sucks up here. Nice houses go for $1500+ if you want to get something that was built in the last 12 years. Old E36 M3ty houses are going from $800-$1500 if you are comfortable living with mold and having a 100 year old crooked house.

Right now I pay $1400 a month for a 6-y.o. 2 bedroom condo that has absolutely no storage, is falling apart, and an HOA that has been up my ass since the first day I've been here. I also have annoying landlords that live nowhere near here, so it takes an act of congress to get something fixed.

I want to have something relatively the same for less. My wife's health will not allow for an old house, because as I said, most of them are trashed and moldy. I'm not looking for a house to live in the rest of my life, but I need something to get into for a couple years until I can actually purchase a house. For crying out loud, I'm virtually paying a mortgage now.

My friend lucked out and they are renting a 3 bedroom, 2-bath ranch, with a basement, two minutes from me that they are paying $850 a month. They found it in the local paper. I can't tell you how much it pissed me off.

There does seem to be something going on in the rental housing (as opposed to the apartment) market around here (N Metro ATL). When I bought this place, half the houses on the street were empty (foreclosed). We moved in in Feb. and actually enjoyed the extra empty space around us. Wasn't much like living in a subdivision at all.

Then, during a single week in July, three were sold. They were cleaned up, and placed on the rental market. Two of them were occupied in the first two weeks after the signs went up. I don't know what they're paying every month, though. We're kind of in the "good fences make good neighbors" camp. I don't know any of them well enough to ask.

You need to move to my area. There's houses for rent out the wazoo, and nice ones. Many cheaper than apartments.

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

Well, I live 4-miles from Indiana, but it's a bit further than that to anything beyond corn/bean fields.

In reply to mtn: I'm just over an hour to the B-N airport, but that's a fast hour, because it's somewhere around 70-miles. Only have to go through one town though.

friedgreencorrado wrote: There does seem to be something going on in the rental housing (as opposed to the apartment) market around here (N Metro ATL). When I bought this place, half the houses on the street were empty (foreclosed). We moved in in Feb. and actually enjoyed the extra empty space around us. Wasn't much like living in a subdivision at all. Then, during a single week in July, three were sold. They were cleaned up, and placed on the rental market. Two of them were occupied in the first two weeks after the signs went up. I don't know what they're paying every month, though. We're kind of in the "good fences make good neighbors" camp. I don't know any of them well enough to ask.

I'm no mguar, but I'd speculate that:

1. Banks aren't lending at 0% down and 600 FICO anymore. These are the folks who traditionally rented, and it's somewhat back to "normal."

2. If you've got the cash, property ain't gonna get any cheaper (unless the REAL financial collapse hits sooner than later,) so people are "buying low," generating income with the property until: A: The market comes back around and they make a killing selling the house or B: They pay the house off and the rent is straight income.

Pure speculation. I am not a real estate expert. I AM investing in cheap real estate right now.

If/when I get on full time here, I'm gonna give it a year and I'm going to be looking at buying a house. No reason not to, the payment will be lower than rent.

mtn wrote: If/when I get on full time here, I'm gonna give it a year and I'm going to be looking at buying a house. No reason not to, the payment will be lower than rent.

Assuming you've got decent credit and 10-20% for a down payment, as it should be.

mtn wrote: If/when I get on full time here, I'm gonna give it a year and I'm going to be looking at buying a house. No reason not to, the payment will be lower than rent.

Yeah thats the boat i am in. Although now we are looking at nicer houses than our rent because I want a 3 car garage and she wants a fancy kitchen.

mguar wrote: In reply to friedgreencorrado: you do understand that the statement "Good fences make good neighbors" comment was said in irony don't you?

I don't give a berkeley. There's a reason my preferred charity is Planned Parenthood. If I'd had more money, I would have bought something sitting in the middle of 20 acres of land. Good forest makes good neighbors.

jonnyd330 wrote:

mtn wrote: If/when I get on full time here, I'm gonna give it a year and I'm going to be looking at buying a house. No reason not to, the payment will be lower than rent.

Yeah thats the boat i am in. Although now we are looking at nicer houses than our rent because I want a 3 car garage and she wants a fancy kitchen.

Me too. I am hoping housing values stay low for about around year and half.