Going from a house to apartment... Bad idea?

[milee]

Without commenting on the financial aspect, you also want to consider whether apartment living fits with your family lifestyle. If your kids are young, loud and need to run around, an apartment can be tough. Same thing with an active dog or one that barks at every noise or when you're gone.

Also, even if you don't have any of those issues, other people around you might. Will it be OK if a neighbor upstairs walks around at 11 PM or will that wake the kids up and throw the whole family routine off?

Apartment living is nice in that you don't have to worry about maintenance and there are often more amenities than you'd have in a house, but unless you've done it recently, it's easy to forget that it also requires some compromise in both your family habits and living with the habits of others. Not necessarily a deal breaker, but something to consider.

[milee]

Another consideration is what type of dog you have. Many landlords are starting to only allow certain sizes and/or certain breeds. If you have a dog that is on the list that most insurance companies consider risky (pit bull, german shephard, rottweiler, chow, akita, etc.), it will be tougher to find a nice place to rent.

[milee]

I'm so sorry to hear about your neighborhood.

[Deleted]

Oct 6, 2012 11:50:01 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

I just don't want to live in my neighborhood anymore.

You could buy my house! I will sell it to you for $180K. Bargin price a tells ya!

[Tennesseer]

Why not rent a house (with a fenced in backyard) while you rent out your house until you find a buyer?

Or rent a condo.

[Phoenix84]

I would dispel this notion about "moving backwards." Try to remove emotion from the equation and just focus instead on the pro's and con's.

Apartment dwellers are not inherently worse people or not as well off as house dwellers. No one is going to judge you but you.

[Tennesseer]

Oct 6, 2012 13:00:35 GMT -5 @wrongsideof30 said:

Oct 6, 2012 12:56:52 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Why not rent a house (with a fenced in backyard) while you rent out your house until you find a buyer?

Or rent a condo.

The houses are really expensive -over $2k/m. The only condo's I'm finding so far are small 2 bedroom units. I'm not completely opposed to that. My kids share a room now anyhow. I'm not sure how a condo is better/different than an apartment?

If nothing else, no outside yard work on your part.

[Deleted]

Ok...Ok...JUST For you WrongSide, I will sell it to you for $176K cause I like you!

Are you only looking in Oakland County? Then yeah...you are going to be looking at more expensive houses and rentals. There are a lot of nice suburbs in the other counties that are cheaper.

*cough cough...like mine at the bargain price of $176k!*

[Deleted]

Yeah, Wayne County can be rough.

So can Macomb, but I lived in a non rough area.

[Deleted]

I don't think apartment is backtracking. How much difference are you talking for 235K mortgage and taxes, and rent? ... I certainly understand wanting to get out of dodge. What an apartment also does is help you wait out an interim in which things might change/or your 'dream place' becomes available.

On the other hand, interest rates and prices could go up and you'd kick yourself for missing an even bigger window...

Yeah, I'm no help here...

[susanb]

Concerning the difference between condos and apartments....Some condos only share side walls, no one lives above you because they are two story units and you get both levels or the whole building is a one story unit. It cuts down on the noise factor quite a bit and may be a good compromise for you. In my area about 70% of condos seem to be like this. The other 30% are indistinguishable from apartments.

Concerning renting out your house and renting an apartment....
1. How healthy is your EF? You are going to need to increase the amount based on your rent + your mortgage.
2. Do you have any friends who are realtors? Getting some comps would help you see how accurate your rental projections are.
3. Do you have a team of plumbers, A/C and handymen that you trust and can call or do you plan on using a property manager?
4. Are you familiar with the landlord/tenant laws in your state as well as national laws? If not, do you have the time or inclination to learn about them?

[Deleted]

How much equity do you have in your current house? Enough to avild PMI?

I understand not wanting to stretch yourself thin on housing. However, the rent you are looking at is not exactly low... does it include any utilities? The ammenities sound nice...

... and if you are renting and things go down hill again, you can always move...

[Deleted]

We live in a 1010 sq ft 2 bedrooms apartment. We have neighbor in 1 side (end unit) and no one above or below us. Perfect for us now and the next 5-10 years or so.

I wouldn't see moving to an apartment as moving backward but more so doing what is right for your family NOW!

Doesn't have to be forever or long term, but long enough to get you :
a) out of the bad neighborhood and your house rented
b) situated enough that you can calmly with no pressure look for another house

Because as long as you stay in this neighborhood, the urge/desire to move out of your neighborhood might push you to make rash decisions and buy a house you might have under other circumstances not purchase. I saw that happened to a lot of my parents friends during the boom, they were so afraid to miss the opportunities and priced out of the market that they got into the first house they could get or offer was accepted only not to like it so much at the end.

[Deleted]

Apartment sounds good to me ! I would not be sleeping near Rats that scare Bikers....

[tloonya]

Got to think very carefully about being a landlord in this kind of area!
Will you be willing to go there if they don't pay you rent? Will you return?
So maybe this is all not a good idea after all?
Maybe you should SELL your house a.s.a.p and buy whatever you can or rent whatever you can right after. Just my 2 cents.
And I am totally with you. I am in opposite cituation. Thinking. Not even ready to make a move back to the appartment.

[weltschmerz]

Call me crazy, but I'm actually looking forward to having rental property.
----------------
Are you going to tell any prospective tenants about the giant rats? I think you have to.

[Deleted]

Color me stupid, but can't you get an exterminator to get rid of the rats?

Loony has a great point ... who will rent your house? Will you be willing / able to deal with them? Collect rent? Go "tough" on them when you need to?

If not, you need to find a property manager. We have had one for years. Frankly, she sucks. We only keep her on because she's a "filter" who deals with things first. When she messes up (ie neglects things), we inevitably have to take over.

I understand that some people would argue we shouldn't have her at all. They are probably right LOL. But, she gives us time to choose the right time for us to deal with "whatever".

If I were you and I could afford it, I think I'd just sell.

I really hope you don't take this badly ... if you had a fantastic studio or 1BR apt in NYC or San Francisco and you were vacating it for a bigger place, that would be one thing. But, that's not the case. Your house has "issues". So even if you get out, your renters are inevitably going to be people who have decided to deal with those "issues" too, probably because that's the best they can afford.

There's nothing wrong with doing that, but, you need to keep that in mind.

You can make it work. But, it could be a bumpy ride. Also, we are hanging in there for our expensive rental because that neighborhood is going UP. If your neighborhood is going DOWN, you may want to get out sooner rather than later.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...imo, a cozy home is a cozy home... house, flat, or yurt... there's nothing "backwards" about any of them if they work for you... although I suppose one can erect their yurt inside out?

[zibazinski]

I'd do it if I found the right place to rent. So what if it seems to some people you are going backwards. What the worse that could happen? You do it for a year, hate it, and move back. So what? Do it. You're so unhappy, it can't get worse.

[Deleted]

Wrongside, I don't think there is anything wrong with living in an apartment. I know there are some nice apartment complexes in the area you are looking. My cousin lived in one and I was jealous! She had all these wonderful amenities...and no worries when things broke.

I wish we would have rented during our time in Michigan. My house is in a really safe area. It is known as Mayberry. But now we are stuck with having a rental property that we never really wanted to have. It has worked out for us so far. We have had it rented out pretty much the entire time we have been gone. I think only 1 month it wasn't rented...

So I think renting could be a really good option for you. You can rent while you research your dream house.

[raeoflyte]

Nothing really to add but I wish you good luck.

I'm in a similar boat. I don't think my neighborhood has gone down, but it wasn't all that nice to start, and we wouldn't have bought here if we thought kids were going to be in the picture.

We will probably move back to our triplex before our oldest hits kindergarten unless we manage to buy before then. I dread the idea of sharing walls with small kids, but we'll deal with it if we have to.

[hurley1980]

OP I could swear you were talking about my neighborhood, right down to the rats, but I'm in Northern California, and I think you are Midwest or East for some reason. My fiance and I are planning on doing the same thing if we cannot find a suitable home to purchase after the wedding. We have been in the neighborhood for 3 years now, and while it was okay when we moved in, renters have taken over and its gone really downhill. We are going to rent it out, because the mortgage is so cheap we can make money on it. But if we need to, we are going to rent a duplex or townhouse in a better neighborhood. I don't consider it taking a step back at all. Sometimes, you gotta move. Doing whats best for your family is never a step back.

[Sam_2.0]

Wrongside - are you my neighbor? At least we don't have rats here, just raccoons.

I don't think renting is going backwards at all. I would LOVE to rent! Nothing to maintain other than basic cleaning. Can you get a townhouse (or is that what you meant by "condo"?). Some have fenced yards and you just share a wall or two with the other units. What about garages & parking?

As for missing a window on buying a house, there are always deals to be had no matter what the market is doing. Don't rush into something just because you think the "perfect" window is closing.

[DVM gone riding]

I personally wouldn't sell when you can get double your mortgage in rent. Plus the "price" has gone down, rent for 5 years then move back for a year or two and then sell.

[Deleted]

From your description, it sounds like you live in my sister’s neighborhood. (She lives on a very furry, woody street.) Have you thought about St. Clair Shores? I grew up there and spent a lot of time there this summer (at garage sales, mostly). I was happy to see that the neighborhoods looked very well kept and the city seems to be doing fine. No night life for a single, but good schools and activities for families. It’s about the same commute time whether you’re going downtown or out to Oakland County.

[zibazinski]

I'd look at Harper woods with grosse pointe woods schools. Lots of rentals there and nice neighbors.

[Taxman10]

you've got to live somewhere

[Bob Ross]

Oct 6, 2012 19:34:12 GMT -5 @debthaven2 said:

Loony has a great point ... who will rent your house? Will you be willing / able to deal with them? Collect rent? Go "tough" on them when you need to?

Pfft. Landlording is easy. You just snap your fingers and acquire an awesome rental property, snap them again and fill it with awesome tenants, and snap them a third time and start walking to your mailbox to collect fat monthly checks...which are also awesome.

Those who don't believe me should come to my seminar.