[Appias]

People I know rented apartments, condos or in multi family houses.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Yankeerose00

I know! I've been looking for a rental for my parents and can't find anything. It seems like it's either these 5k a month executive homes or these dumpy rentals or really old apartments.
I guess I got spoiled in Florida where there were new townhome and condo complexes on every corner. Do people just not rent here?

I have to say, thank God we don't have these types of places on every corner. They are just down right ugly.

There are many rentals in the area. There are many nice apartments around, just look. It may not be shiny new but they are still very nice. As my father always said "Just because it is old does not mean it is no good".

As for iscolduphere's comments, I can not believe that you can not find a decent rental in Connecticut. It is a pretty large state with a lot of housing. I know you have posted this before but do not remember what specifically you are looking for. It just seems very odd IMHO, Jay

[goldenband]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I have to say, thank God we don't have these types of places on every corner. They are just down right ugly.

Not to mention that the build quality is usually several notches below that of older housing stock! To build a new house with the same quality is very, very expensive. I'm always mystified by these Chinese drywall monstrosities, but then again I'm mystified by a lot of people's behavior these days. I'd far rather renovate an older, smaller home than feel as if I'm living in a time-share or a cheap hotel (which is basically what a lot of newer housing stock looks like to me).

I understand that dealing with mold is frustrating, as I'm battling it now in my own home. But in all honesty, if a mold-free existence is a top priority, perhaps the best thing to do is to move to drier country like Texas or Colorado, rather than keep looking in the Northeast. You're always going to have mold issues in New England houses -- or if you're anywhere near water -- and there's really no good way to keep it permanently at bay. Where there's moisture, it's ubiquitous.

[itscolduphere]

Originally Posted by JayCT

As for iscolduphere's comments, I can not believe that you can not find a decent rental in Connecticut. It is a pretty large state with a lot of housing. I know you have posted this before but do not remember what specifically you are looking for. It just seems very odd IMHO, Jay

Everything we looked at below $3k/mo. in the Farmington Valley in the small timeframe we had back in March was gross. One had a leaky roof. One in a nice neighborhood in Windsor for $2500/mo. was obviously abandoned, with half the furnishings there, the garbage still in the garage, and the inside was full of flies. There was one high on a hill in Simsbury that had severe water damage to the floor by the refrigerator (obviously leaking). And maybe I'm just spoiled, but the other one in Simsbury had filthy dark green carpeting and hadn't been updated in at least 20 years. For this budget, I expect more. Maybe Goldenband is right, I don't belong in CT.

I'm looking for something that is newER, CLEAN, 3+ bedrooms, central air (home business with many computers that need to be cool), 2 car garage, paved driveway (arthritis and cannot shovel easily, husband travels frequently). We looked at other houses which were fine, but one had no garage, several had no central air. Quiet is also an issue. There is a brand new const. home in E. Granby, but there is more construction there to be done, and we work at home and cant be around that kind of noise. There is also a gravel drive and no refrigerator. I forgot to mention the deadbeat realtor was not timely in getting us into see other homes on our list when we needed a place quick, and too lazy to show us ones in outlying areas. So that was part of the problem.

No one should have to live with mold Goldenband... esp. tenants in a rental home. Yes mold spores are everywhere, all the time. But not fixing bad water damage is not normal. To expect a tenant to live with it is absurd. If you're a homeowner, at least you can fix it and aren't at the mercy of the landlord. I don't think its any more of an issue in NE than in the Midwest where I'm from, and it was not a common thing there (and people's attitude was not to expect to find it or not remediate it). Midwest climate is similar. To imply that I shouldn't look for a home in New England and not expect mold is pretty silly, and not very nice IMHO. I will shut up about it now on this board, but despite your comments I will keep looking and expect to find something nice in New England, where I have a right to expect something without mold. I may not find it in CT, but there's a landlord up there in NE someplace who gives a flying about how their tenant's experience is... I'll find them :-)

[itscolduphere]

[renovating]

I own a 4 bedroom/2.5 bath with central air in Trumbull that I rent out. I know of a few other people that do as well. There is no mold and we keep the house in excellent condition. As are the other rentals I know of.

My dh and I are very picky about who we rent to...and we have been very lucky as we have had the same tenants for the last 6 years. Our friends that are landlords are in similar situations.

Our rentals have been a win win situation for all involved.

There are a lot of decent rentals in the state....I agree with JayCt, it is very odd that you couldn't fine ONE. There are also always NEW condos for rent in many towns. Very strange indeed.

[itscolduphere]

Yeah it is odd we couldn't fine ONE. Wish someone had a rental like yours avail. when we needed it, renovating. Shared walls are not an option when you do professional software engineering for large companies, so condos are out unfortunately. But maybe I'm also spoiled in that I don't want to rent something that's depressing to be in (very outdated) until I'm ready to buy. Which may be a long time in this market. We wanted to stay in the Farmington Valley, that made a huge difference. Why live all the way down in New Haven co. when your CPA, Attorney, etc. are all in the Hartford area. Maybe the universe was trying to tell us we don't belong in CT...

Like I said, half the prob. was our realtor "was never avail." when we wanted to look at something out of the valley... or the lock box wouldn't unlock... it was "always something". What I really think is happening is all the bad experiences there have wrecked my spirit about even looking, I'm convinced now that everything's a dump because all I saw back in March were dumps. I suppose the market right now doesn't help and rentals are even more sparse. But then again, there are others who agree that things there are sparse for renting.... especially when you consider what you get for a rental vs. what you get for a mortgage... BIG difference, same money. The gap is larger in CT than many other locations, in that respect. I'm tired of wondering if it's worth it again.... I'm leaning towards not.

[renovating]

Originally Posted by itscolduphere

Yeah it is odd we couldn't fine ONE. Wish someone had a rental like yours avail. when we needed it, renovating. Shared walls are not an option when you do professional high end software engineering for large companies, so condos are out unfortunately. But maybe I'm also spoiled in that I don't want to rent something that's depressing to be in (very outdated) until I'm ready to buy. Which may be a long time in this market. We wanted to stay in the Farmington Valley, that made a huge difference. Why live all the way down in New Haven co. when your CPA, Attorney, etc. are all in the Hartford area. Maybe the universe was trying to tell us we don't belong in CT...

The house we rent out is 30 years old and we have updated the kitchen and baths. Some of the house is very dated...some light fixtures and some crown molding for example. Our renters truly feel it is their home and treat it as such. We are so lucky. In turn, we give them a lot of freedom to make it their own. It may be too dated for your tastes.

I am sure there are other landlords in the Farmington Valley area that rent out similar homes in good condition. Or builders that can't sell their newly built homes in this market? Maybe you need a better realtor.

As for the bolded...this is where you story becomes "odd". North Carolina is much closer eh?

[itscolduphere]

Because we didn't plan to be here long.

[itscolduphere]

You are trying to make me appear to be asking too much which I'm not. Your house sounds fine to me. I haven't found a nice home like that in the valley for under $3k.