Tell me about renting

[Aubrey]

Other than apts & this house from the seminary, I've never rented before. Our move is pretty certain now, but we're not sure when--sometime between Aug & Dec.

 

1. Other than realtor websites like Ebby Halliday, I'm not really sure how to find rentals.

 

2. Will anybody rent to us? A few yrs ago, our credit was close to perfect, & while we haven't missed any pmts on anything since then, our debt-income ratio skyrocketed when we came to seminary. And, fwiw, the threshold rental prices in the area are nearly doulbe what we're paying for this house.

 

3. If nobody will rent to us, hypothetically speaking, where do we go?

 

I'm feeling...a bit panicky at the possibility of #3 combined w/ the actual theme of the post. I just looked down the table last week, & the littles were actually playing together. For an hour, w/out a movie or a big kid or anything. Ds can cook a little & wash dishes. I just got through telling dh that we may be able to hs *for real* this year. It would have been the first time.

 

Dad died Sept of ds's K yr, & the ins co said we had to live in the house we'd just bought (& planned to finish remodelling before we moved into, for speed & dh's allergies), so we moved/remodeled/"hs'ed."

 

1st g was awful AM sickness, & dh was diagnosed w/ his chronic illness. We lost both of my great-grandparents.

 

2nd g, we moved--to storage/mil's, then to seminary, where we were immediately expecting #4, & where dh was not able to find the employment he expected.

 

3rd g, we had 2 littles 2yo & under. Dh still un/underemployed.

 

Now we're starting 4th g in the next mo or so. (And 2nd w/ a 3yo & almost 2yo.)

[Barb_]

First off :grouphug:

 

Now to the practical stuff. Realtor.com will pull some rentals, as will Rent.com and Craigslist. But this is my favorite go-to place for searching for rentals: Hotpads.com. You put in your requirements and the site maps out the results for you. Also Padmapper is similar, but it even includes the Craigslist posts.

 

Hoping life settles down in your corner soon.

 

Barb

 

ETA: A lot of people are desperate to rent in this market because they either got caught trading up and couldn't sell their original house/condo or they are transferred and can't sell. Many offers specifically say, foreclosure/short sale on the books okay. As long as you aren't showing late payments or defaults, I doubt a high debt ratio is going to keep you from renting a house.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Barb F. PA in AZ

[Crimson Wife]

DH had a ridiculous amount of student loans when we rented our last place. All the landlady cared about was income & that our payment history was clean. We looked on Craigslist, Rent.com, and the alumni lists of our college & DH's grad school but at the time ('06) the rental market was ridiculously tight and we didn't have any luck finding a decent place on our own. We ended up using a realtor and she was able to get us in to see the townhome we ended up renting before it hit MLS.

 

Maybe try tapping your church network? I see "housing wanted" notices from time to time at the bulletin board in our church's community center.

[....]

I'm renting right now - I also own a rental house. Yeah, weird, I know.

 

I listed my rental house on Craigslist. I also found this house on Craigslist. Realtors are also a great way to find a rental. They also get a small commission (I think it was $100).

 

I see you have 4 kids. Me too. Would you all fit in a large apartment? We had rented a townhouse about 7 years ago that was huge. If there are credit issues, apartment complexes are pretty used to that one. I think we had horrible credit at that time and we had no problem getting a place. The rental manager told us that as long as you had a score over 500, you were good to go! :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie: (Yeah, those were good times)

 

Good luck! And there's nothing wrong with renting. Renting this house was a gigantic weight off my shoulders. No running out to Home Depot to buy cr%p that the neighbors have...no worrying about when the air conditioner is going out...no taxes or HOA fees looming in the horizon. I can leave whenever I feel like it and don't have to rehab the entire darn house when I go!

[Kari C in SC]

I always advertise our rental house on Craig's List. I look at income as the biggest thing. My house is expensive to live in (that's why I don't live there anymore). A lot of people think they can afford it because they can afford the rent. They don't think about how expensive electric and water are in that part of Florida. I also look at rental references.

 

Having said that... I can screen all I want. My first renters I used a management company. Found out later, they really didn't have enough income to pay the rent. My second renters paid on time, etc. They just left my house so disgusting that it took a week of cleaning by a cleaning company to get it done. I just rented to new tenants this past week. They are moving from NY with no job, but just sold a house after 40 years. I asked for an extra month security because of the lack of employment. They offered to pay the whole year of rent up front. I chose them because I don't have to worry about collecting rent for a year. My point is... I am sure you will find somebody to rent to you. It is sort of a gamble when choosing tenants and somebody will definitely choose you!

[eaglei]

Will you have the opportunity to visit the new area before moving there, and perhaps over a Sunday (or even a Wednesday)?

 

Does your current pastor know anyone in the new area - perhaps another pastor?

 

If you visit the area first, can you make contact with a pastor (or even call beforehand)?

 

The purpose of these questions is to consider getting assistance through a pastor. When we made our last move, it just *happened* that our current pastor put us in touch with the pastor of a church in the new area - he didn't really know him, just knew there was a church in our denomination, got the info for us, he even called the preacher and gave him our names. Anyway, this man and his wife knew the area very well and were able to show/direct us to places not necessarily advertised and that were more cost affordable. We found a very nice townhouse at a very reasonable rate.

 

I tend to be rather upfront when I feel it's necessary, so we made it clear that we couldn't promise attendance at the church. But a good minister isn't going to care about that as much as he will care about helping someone out. (Especially if it is already clear that you share the same beliefs - ministers know folks church-shop:001_smile:)! As it turned out with us, this family remains among our best friends - we gladly chose to attend the church - but even before any of this happened - this preacher actually got helpers from his church and drove to our old address (about 2+ hours) to help us pack the moving van and make the move - all with knowing we may not go to his church or really ever have anything to do with them again.

 

Years ago, when dh and I were newlyweds (about 2+ months), a minister of another denomination but same beliefs helped us in our quest to find an apartment in the area we were moving to. We didn't really know him at the time - he was just glad to help. We attended his church for a time, but it wasn't a *fit* for us, and we moved on, while maintaining a good relationship (small community - saw him often).

 

Anyway, just an idea - usually preachers desire to be helpful and are trustworthy, and knowing the area and the needs of various people, can sometimes put together a good *match*.:001_smile:

[Aubrey]

I'm renting right now - I also own a rental house. Yeah, weird, I know.

 

I listed my rental house on Craigslist. I also found this house on Craigslist. Realtors are also a great way to find a rental. They also get a small commission (I think it was $100).

 

I see you have 4 kids. Me too. Would you all fit in a large apartment? We had rented a townhouse about 7 years ago that was huge. If there are credit issues, apartment complexes are pretty used to that one. I think we had horrible credit at that time and we had no problem getting a place. The rental manager told us that as long as you had a score over 500, you were good to go! :tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie::tongue_smilie: (Yeah, those were good times)

 

Good luck! And there's nothing wrong with renting. Renting this house was a gigantic weight off my shoulders. No running out to Home Depot to buy cr%p that the neighbors have...no worrying about when the air conditioner is going out...no taxes or HOA fees looming in the horizon. I can leave whenever I feel like it and don't have to rehab the entire darn house when I go!

 

Oh, I didn't think there was anything wrong w/ renting. We've rented this house, a couple of apts, & owned 1 house since we were married. Selling the house was a huge relief, so much stuff can/does break, lol. At the time, though, buying was cheaper than renting. Of course, that's just looking at monthly pmts & ability to resell...I think that was still cheaper, but there's no reason to go back & look at the math. :svengo: :lol:

[Aubrey]

Will you have the opportunity to visit the new area before moving there, and perhaps over a Sunday (or even a Wednesday)?

 

We're not moving to a new area; staying in the metroplex, probably the same town. Good ideas, though. :001_smile:

 

Actually, after a little pep talk from you guys last night, I checked CL (why had I forgotten CL?). There's actually plenty of stuff decently-sized w/in a $200 range of what we're paying. Our rent will go up about that much if we stay here (not in seminary) anyway. So I'm feeling *much* brighter now.

 

I've also been worried that we're doing the wrong thing, but after talking to dh last night--he's adamant about leaving seminary & moving & says he should have come to that conclusion a long time ago. That's reassuring, too. (In that I don't have to worry that I've pressured him into something that's going to be a disaster.)

 

He's been thinking about taking 2 more classes here this semester, to keep the house w/ lower rent until we can get housing elsewhere. But he'd be taking 3 classes at another university (online) at the same time. He can't do it, & I've been freaked out that he'll try. (He's decided not to do that!)

 

So we're definitely moving, & there are rentals in our price range, & y'all have convinced me that we're not dead in the water on debt-income ratio. If we can get refs from the seminary (I don't know why not), that will be good. Rent's on time, & they were so happy w/ the way we left our apt, they gave us $ back on the deposit transfer to the house. And in helping friends move out? Wow. Our house is pretty sparkling! :lol:

 

If we can find something quickly, we'll be moving in Sept. (Ugh. Sept's my dad's bday, dday, & the last time I saw him. Always a dark mo. for me. Always involves major life changes, too.) :glare: