Brilliant or crazy idea?? (Austin, Post: RV parks, apartments, leasing)

[burlshoe114]

I had an idea, but I'm not sure if this is smart or stupid.
Instead of renting an apartment and dealing with rent money, trying to find a perfect home right away, dealing with "no pet" policies, and deposits, etc...
What if we put all of our worldy goods in PODS storage, buy an RV and just live in it until we find the absolute RIGHT place for us?
What do you think???

[RowdysMom]

I think that is a great idea - as long as you planned to buy the RV/trailer anyway. If you plan to sell it after you live in it, you'll find the depreciation in the first year is tremendous. But if you buy used, or plan to keep it for recreation, then I think that's a great idea. I don't know anyone who has done that when moving, but i do know several people who lived in RV's while their existing home was being remodeled. I would do it in a heartbeat.

[Acuda]

Why don't you just live in the PODS?

It really isn't that hard to find a place to rent until you find the "right" place.

[centralaustinite]

Where are you going to park it? RV parks can have pet policies etc too.

Plus, can you imagine August in Austin in an RV!

Just rent an actual apartment.

[TheyCallMeDerek]

Yeah, the RV is do'able if you're going to hold on to it. I'm sure resale value on an RV is probably dismal. Some apartments will do short term (3-6 month) leases but they're usually more expensive than a 12mo lease. If you're going to bite the bullet and purchase get preapproved for a mortgage before you start your search. If you like what you can afford and the area you can afford it in (and you're ready) go for it. Leasing is a waste of $$ unless your main concern is only time.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by burlshoe114

I had an idea, but I'm not sure if this is smart or stupid.
Instead of renting an apartment and dealing with rent money, trying to find a perfect home right away, dealing with "no pet" policies, and deposits, etc...
What if we put all of our worldy goods in PODS storage, buy an RV and just live in it until we find the absolute RIGHT place for us?
What do you think???

It is an entirely workable idea, depending on how you execute it. I don't know how hard it is to find openings but there is a Shady Grove trailer park near Zilker Park downtown that would be fun, but perhaps noisy when bands are playing.

Out here in OakHill there is a decent trailer park with an excellent location between the Nations Bank and Post Office on the South side of 290/71. Next to WestCreek subdivision, great schools, good shopping and restaurants close by. There are several public storage areas close by for access to your stuff. This is a low crime area, with excellent access to the highways for commuting. You may actually like this area so much you end up buying here.

Patton Elementry School and Small Middle School are right down the street, and they have great recreational fields the public can use after hours. There is a child care center right on the corner. This google maps link shows several empty parking pads in the lot when it was taken.

school - Google Maps

Just FYI, I know all of this because I bought my first home in Westcreek, and liked the area so much I kept the house as a rental property after we moved on. Mine is leased up thru Nov, but You can find other 3Bdrm, 2Bath leases for around $1,200 in this area. There is one on Honey Dew Terrace that I drove by last week, with a sign up in the yard.

[bpvarian]

PODS are expensive - especially the storage charges....

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by CallDerek

Yeah, the RV is do'able if you're going to hold on to it. I'm sure resale value on an RV is probably dismal. Some apartments will do short term (3-6 month) leases but they're usually more expensive than a 12mo lease. If you're going to bite the bullet and purchase get preapproved for a mortgage before you start your search. If you like what you can afford and the area you can afford it in (and you're ready) go for it. Leasing is a waste of $$ unless your main concern is only time.

The resale on an RV these days probably is dismal, but with the current economy you can probably also pick one up really cheap with so many people being strapped for cash.

[milytaylor]

I'm not sure where you're moving from or how many pets you have but I'm hoping this will be helpful.

I relocated from KC and I found PODS to be one of the most expensive options to move my stuff. Plus their schedule wasn't going to work with what I needed to move here. You might have better luck with cross country movers.

There are plenty of storage places here and some only charge $1 for the first month.

I have a dog and two cats. I rented before buying and when I was looking at apartments, there were plenty of places that didn't have dog size restrictions. They did charge for pets, but it seemed pretty reasonable. Austin is a very pet friendly town.

I used a relocating service and she had great luck in finding me a 3 bed 1 bath home for around $900. It was an older home, so it didn't have the newer amenities but it was what I needed at the time. I had a pet deposit but I wasn't charged extra rent for pets.

I would just do some cost comparisons - it could be that by the time you pay for the RV, it would be cheaper to rent a home or apartment and have the extra pet deposits.

[eichlerfan]

We moved here from CA last month and decided to rent an apartment for the first year or so till we decide which area we want to buy in. Finding the apartment and moving in was very easy. It cost us very little to move in, just a small pet deposit and we pay just 10.00 per month to have our dog here. This complex has a lot of dogs too. We just found the whole process very easy, and now we have lots of time to get to know our new city and the luxury of time in finding the right area for us. Besides, after 25 years of owning a home, we are enjoying the ease of no home maintance for now. It kind of feels like we are staying at a nice hotel (with no maid service of course).