by Claire
Right after my last post I got a call from the leasing agent with the management company. She seemed irritated that she found out from the owner’s agent that I was moving out. I explained to her that I had not yet agreed to move out before the contract termination date of September 24, 2013 but that I was not interested in buying the house. She wanted to be sure to remind me that I do not have to agree to showings on the house until the last 30 days of the lease. She then advised that the owner’s real estate agent asked for my number so that she could set up a time to come take a look at the house to determine what needs to be done to get it on the market.
I then received a text from the owner saying April 30 could be the new exit date. Showings would begin March 1. I responded I needed to think about it and I’d be back in touch.
I’ve spent a lot of time today doing research and while the rental pickings are very slim if I want to keep the kids in their schools, I am encouraged by the money I will be saving! As a reminder I currently pay $1795 in rent. I have two options right now that I plan to look at tomorrow. One is a rental house for $1,250. It’s roomy with 3 bdrm/2 bath and 2,600 square feet. That is a lot of house but it’s a very good area and a decent price. It would be a $1,250 deposit and another $500 for the two dogs (and yes, I have given thought to the fact that I have two dogs and don’t need two dogs and could emotionally handle adopting one of the two out but for now I am planning on both of them moving with us–otherwise I feel irresponsible and like the grinch). The other option is a 2 bdrm, 2 bath apartment. The rent is $1050, $500 for the pets but both are permitted and there’s a $49 deposit special going on right now. The kids would have to share a room but that doesn’t give me much heartburn. And DD still likes to come hang out with mom anyway.
Right now I am leaning toward the apartment. We’ll see how things look when I visit tomorrow. The other thought starting to gain momentum in the back of my head is to sell my bedroom furniture and my too large breakfast room table for 8. The bedroom furniture and that table will not fit in an apartment or a smaller house and I simply want to downsize my life! I won’t rush out to list anything on craigslist but I’m definitely thinking!!!
I really can’t believe all of this is unfolding now and in this way. I’m doing okay with it all but truly amazed. I’ll take it as a helping hand from the universe to get me out of too much house and, hopefully, too much debt!
Born and raised in Texas. I’ve at least driven through every state in the US courtesy of a roadtrip loving Dad.
I’m single with two children and a good parenting relationship with their father.
I am a “life is just half full of funny” kinda gal. Humor is my saving grace and I am thankful for it every single day. I have a strong Catholic faith and am thankful for that foundation.
I read a lot for a living but still enjoy a good book. I love biographies but in recent years have found the need for fun fictional books–sadly, for a long time I just didn’t enjoy fiction!
I love live theatre of any kind–from local productions to Broadway.
I love to scrapbook and pride myself in my kids’ albums.
I love being a mom but also love my career. I’m blessed to have found a balance allowing me to be at everything my kids need and want me to be at–while also having a career.
Favorite Quotes: Well behaved women rarely make history.
Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. -James Bryant Conant
I love those $48 deposits! Sometimes, those offerings are a “look and lease”, meaning you have to make your decision on the spot. Therefore, you may want to look at the house before the apartment. Perhaps it isn’t one of those, but I’ve used that tactic so it jumped to mind. Good luck! 🙂
Sales tactics like that make me want to run away. It implies that changing your mind is something you are bound to do. And maybe there is a good reason for that?
I have to admit – when you first started this project I was a doubter. I didn’t think you would make it and figured this would be a short term gig for you. But now I am in utter awe of all you’ve accomplished and everything you’ve been through in the process. You are a snowball! Even though you’ve already picked the easy things to reduce your debt – the longer you do this the more and more momentum you find. I am so happy for you and love ready about your journery 🙂
My thought is to go for the apartment… It’ll drastically speed up your debt reduction and later you can take you own sweet time finding the right place for you in the long term…
Can you imagine what an extra 700 a month will do for your momentum? And reduced utility bills? And the fun with having craigslisters pay you to take away your big uneeded furniture. Girl. This could be HUGE!
I just wanted to comment on the dogs: When you make a decision regarding the house/apartment choice, you need to take them into account. Sorry, I have a million questions.
Is the apartment on an upper floor? Does it have thin walls? Will their footfalls/barking create a problem with the neighbors? Is there an area where they can be walked? Can your kids walk them? How often will they need walking? Would it be a problem if they were on an elevator with other peoples’ dogs (assuming there’s an elevator)?
I am a 2 dog owner and adore my pets. I just know that other people find them less charming than I do! Be sure that you’re not going to add to the stress in your life by putting yourself it a situation where you’re fighting with neighbors or forced to get rid of your kids’ dogs. They’ve lost a lot recently. Assuming that they feel about your dogs the way my kids feel about mine, it would be a blow. Best of luck. You’re doing great.
For $200/month more, I would definitely go with the house over the apartment. The kids would have their own bedrooms, which is important. Some states have laws with maximum ages that children can share a bedroom with another child of a different gender. It is also much easier to have dogs in a house vs. an apartment and they are part of the family too.
The apartment will be less of a good choice if the construction is not good. Thin floors and walls conduct sound.
Get rid of all furniture that you can before your move. Sell it during the spring if you can. The less you have to move and pay a mover to move. Declutter the rest of your possessions also.
If the apartment building is concrete, this is much less of an issue. Actually not an issue at all. But that’s easy to check on before renting.
I’d be really hesitant if I were you. Get IN WRITING exactly what the landlord expects from you to let you break your lease early. 1-month into my last lease the landlord decided to sell and I had to go through 11 months of hell. Texts all day long for showings and on Saturdays/Sundays. Demeaning emails telling me I was living like a slob because I didn’t do the dishes before I went to work. Asking me to take down personal items, clean out closets, and move furniture for inspections that went no where.
People showing up without any notice.
Get the available times you are opening up your home. What condition you will provide it in. Specific notice you require for showings. AND DON’T DEVIATE TO BE NICE. Also, whether or not they will allowed to have a lockbox on your house. And who has to accompany people into your home (you can require the seller’s agent to come also if you feel more comfortable). Remember they are selling the house but YOU are the one who will be doing all of the work and dealing with the hassle.
After almost a full year I was glad to get it over with. But the relationship with my landlord went awful. She stole all my security deposit too because she thinks I was the problem she didn’t sell too fast. Not the way high price and saturated market.
You didn’t try small claims to get the deposit back?
At times I ended up having to live with a sign on my door that said. “The tenant is home and no showings are scheduled. DO NOT COME IN”
After 3+ times of people coming with the lockbox key and walking right in while I was in my apartment. Not even giving me time to answer their knock. I could relax at home any more being a woman at home by myself. Which is crazy because I was paying for the security of a condo building!
Also, make sure in writing you specify whether or not you are allowed to be there during showings. And understand what impact that has on you and your budget. I found we ended up spending a bunch more money because in the beginning we’d leave and just needed somewhere to go. We’d go out to eat or for a drink when we normally wouldn’t.
Sorry, last thing. Make sure your rental insurance is up to date. You have no idea what people will do in your home.
I would probably go with the house if it is in good repair. The extra expense every month would be worth it for the kids to have a place of their own, rather than sharing and for the additional space for your pets. I know it isn’t quite as cheap as apartment living, but I think the freedom it would offer would be a great benefit to a relaxing, family atmosphere. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best!
I’m not sure if the utilities are included on the apartment, but if they aren’t I’d expect there would be a huge difference in the ongoing costs of 2600sqft house vs a 2br apartment. Also investigate the difference in insurance costs. You may need additional coverage (beyond contents) on the house for liability if the owner doesn’t provide it (eg. visitor trips on front steps and it badly injured). Keep in mind with the house you’ll also have to deal with lawn maintenance (either time + mower + gas, or a lawn service). I’m not sure how you handle the lawn at your current place, but when comparing the two options, keep in mind it’s not just a difference in rent.
Angie…sounds like we rented from the same people. Only difference, in the middle of all this they decided they wanted to raise the rent too. Oh and then the house went in to foreclosure, we found out at 10pm when a rep. for the bank showed up to tell us. We moved a few weeks later and it took them a few more months to sell.
Anyway for Claire…In your position having gone from a house to an apt I would go for the house. We went from a great house (minus the issues above) to an apt. with no sound proofing between apts. I can hear my downstairs neighbor’s phone conversations & her “adult” activities clearly. There is also a shared laundry room but my neighors have no idea how to have common courtesy (like not removing my WET clothes from the dryer when I still have an hour left on the timer just cause you’re in a rush).
I’ll put in another vote for getting the house for $200 extra. We had this exact decision this year, sublet a condo from an out of town owner, or rent a house for a few hundred more. 6 months later, I am so happy we paid extra. I’m forgoing nightly wine drinking to make up the difference. Not a problem.
emmi! You had me until you said I had to forego my nightly glass of red wine!!! 😉 Is NOTHING sacred?!? Kidding…sort of…the timing of this is funny though as I just logged on to post another update. That house isn’t an option after all. I’ll fill ya in on the next post.
It’s funny. I sleep so much better without the wine. Well, just half a glass with dinner, none after that. I feel years younger in energy getting better rest. Otherwise I would not have stuck with it, I don’t think.
I wish you luck finding the cheapest option possible. Keep looking. It’s always good to generate more options rather than choosing something immediately. And use multiple search options… online (craigslist, whatever is used in your area), walking around to look for rental signs (lots of folks, especially those who aren’t tech-savvy, don’t post online, and put word out through friends and church. If you let all of your contacts know you’re looking to rent, you might find an affordable place before it ever goes on the market.
I was reflecting on how very American it is (in the bad sense!!) that so many people to encourage you to GO BIGGER because “it’s just $200.” There are many reasons that smaller is better – the base price is less, the utilities are less, lots of other maintenance costs are less, you need less crap to fill it, you are limited in what you can accumulate, some people find it more peaceful to clean and maintain less space, it’s sometimes nice to just have what you need instead of tons of extra. Bigger is not always better.
Finally, the reference to getting rid of your dogs is absurd. I’m sure you know from my previous comments that I can be hardcore about getting out of debt, frugality, being financially responsible, and ditching entitlement. But animals are living creatures!! They are living beings that are totally dependent on us and that we should adopt for life when they come into our homes. They are not expendable. I’d literally give up every non-necessity in my life to provide for my animals. And I’d even give up some of the necessities – would rather live in a car than ditch an animal at a shelter. (Also, both in terms of frugality and ethics, I hope everyone gets their pets at shelters rather than from breeders or stores.)
Clare,
As a former single parent -I say former as my dd is noe grown-so there is just me(now in my own home,not apt or other). I think I would lean to the apt. There’s lots of pros of being in house but lots of cons. As I look at your situation the pros of an apt are much larger than a house-less cost in terms of money and time even as a rental such as lower rent,lower utilities, no maintenance whatsoever(here in Alberta many house rentals expect you to do the basic yard stuff like cutting grass or shoveling and in the majority of home rentals provide your own washer&dryer). The time and money you can save frees you for better things like getting totally debtfree faster and quality time for you alone and with the munchkins. (And you get to reduce and unclutter your life-such a freeing experience once you do it-as you mention getting rid of things that won’t work for an apt in terms of furniture,etc). I have a feeling it is start of a whole new Clare who will look back in a few years but not with remorse but with dismay it didn’t all happen sooner !
Have you looked at the two bedroom/den apartment options? Some apartments have small dens that are quite private and might solve the problem of needing a separate space for each of your children.