Moving to Illinois and can't find rental please help (Dixon: equity, real estate)

[taterhaven]

My fiance and I are looking for a house to rent in the Sterling/Dixon area. Becouse he works for warner trucking and I live in Nevada we are having a hard time finding any resonably priced houses for rent. All I can find are houses for sale and we are not ready to buy yet. We have three kids between the both of us and need atleast a three bedroom home.

Please if any one knows a good place to look for houses or knows anyone renting that allows dogs and has a place to park a diesal let me know.

[jon_hpr]

craigslist.org.

do a search and look for the nearest newspaper website for the classifieds.Also search for realtors in the area and start making calls.

good luck

[taterhaven]

I am still not having any luck finding a house for rent in The Sterling area that allows dogs. If anyone has any more ideas please let me know. I have tried the classifieds and realitors. But the realitors want 250 per dog, plus 75 a month more per dog which is outrages.Please help!!!!!

[arpschneider]

Originally Posted by taterhaven

I am still not having any luck finding a house for rent in The Sterling area that allows dogs. If anyone has any more ideas please let me know. I have tried the classifieds and realitors. But the realitors want 250 per dog, plus 75 a month more per dog which is outrages.Please help!!!!!

Sorry to be a "reality checker" here, but the reason this is true is because most people who are landlords and rent to people with pets have had extremely unfortunate experiences. Most renters are not typically as conscientious as the typical homeowner will be if their pet urinates or defecates on carpet. Usually, after a renter has to move out after renting to someone with pets, all of the carpeting will have to be replaced and many scratched doors/woodwork has to be either repaired or replaced, and that is all EXPENSIVE!

I know! I've been there as a landlord and vowed to NEVER do it again. In fact, after THAT experience, we decided to just sell the house and get out of the rental business because of the hassle of it all.

Any possibility you can have another relative take your pets until such time as you can find a place of your own to buy? It may be also possible to get someone to consider a more reasonable price if you rent a rural property (like a farmette) and promise to keep the pets out-of-doors.

Good luck!

[CarolL]

Originally Posted by taterhaven

I am still not having any luck finding a house for rent in The Sterling area that allows dogs. If anyone has any more ideas please let me know. I have tried the classifieds and realitors. But the realitors want 250 per dog, plus 75 a month more per dog which is outrages.Please help!!!!!

We've just been thru this. We just sold our condo and are going to be renting an apt. We also have a pet, an 11-pound dog who is completely housebroken and has never once destroyed anything. (She's 7 years old.) It is not at all unusual in this area to pay a pet deposit of a few hundred dollars, altho I did not come across landlords who charge more money per month in addition to a deposit. (It apparently works differently in the Sterling area.) We were lucky to find an apt in a condo building. The landlord is not charging us anything for our dog, not even a deposit.

Sorry, but I don't have a lot of advice for you. You either pay it, or keep looking. Did you try craigslist.org? Do the realtors know of complexes that allow pets? They must exist somewhere in the area. You might want to just put an ad in the local newspapers, "Family of five plus dog wants to rent 3 BR house in Sterling-Dixon area."

[taterhaven]

I understand having to pay a pet deposit. I would be happy to pay a deposit. But it is the fact that they wanted to charge extra a month on top of it.That would come out to be 1400 a year.

[linicx]

The reality is most pet owners work full time and leave pets to their own devices which may include clawing, chewing, leaving "surprises and smell", digging, barking all day or all night, vomiting, etc.. A lot of pet owners do not treat forr ticks, fleas, keep the dog groomed, or provide clean water and food before they go to work. Not all dogs can "hold their water" for 12 hours.

As a landlord who rented for severnal years to people who brought pets in despite the contract, I have this much to say. I love animals but I don't generally like the people who own animals because the hapless dog always gets the worst end of the bargain. By the time I sold all my rentals, I was tired of the hassle and I was doubly tired of replacing carpeting and re-painting everytime a rrenter left. Renters are renters for a reason.

Consider $1400 a bargain, and IF you prove to be a responsible pet owner, the landlord just might give you a break in the future. Otherwise be kind to your pet and ask your vet to find a new home for im the end, it will cost more to kennel the animal than the $1400

[CarolL]

Originally Posted by linicx

...Renters are renters for a reason...

Hmmm...I agree some pet owners don't deserve the privilege of having animals, and it sounds like you have had more than your share of bad experiences, but please don't lump all pet-owners into that category. (I know people with multiple animals in the house, whose homes are so clean that, unless you were told they had a cat and four dogs, you'd never be able to tell until the animals actually appeared.)

I just can't let that last statement go, either. People have lots of reasons for renting rather than buying. DH and I have always been owners (bought first house at age 25; now 57.) Our "reason" for renting now is that we were planning our retirement when our condo sold and the closing gave us only three weeks to move. We have no choice but to rent since DH can't retire for another six months.

But not everyone can afford to buy. That doesn't mean they're "less than" people who can. And not everyone chooses to buy. Not everyone buys into the idea that real estate is a good investment: After 30+ years of buying and selling homes, I'm in no hurry to plunk my money down for it again for a long time, which means we'll be renting for at least two or three more years. It never occurred to me that some people will now label us irresponsible and assume we've made bad life choices because we rent.

[arpschneider]

Originally Posted by CarolL

Hmmm...I agree some pet owners don't deserve the privilege of having animals, and it sounds like you have had more than your share of bad experiences,

<snip>

I just can't let that last statement go, either. People have lots of reasons for renting rather than buying. DH and I have always been owners (bought first house at age 25; now 57.) Our "reason" for renting now is that we were planning our retirement when our condo sold and the closing gave us only three weeks to move. We have no choice but to rent since DH can't retire for another six months.

But not everyone can afford to buy. That doesn't mean they're "less than" people who can. And not everyone chooses to buy.

<snip>

It never occurred to me that some people will now label us irresponsible and assume we've made bad life choices because we rent.

Folks like yourself are obviously the exception, rather than the rule. I would agree that is unfortunate that renters are generally categorized as barely one tier up from (pardon this!!) "trailer trash", but most people's experience who are landlords bears this out. It is HIGHLY unusual for people of any economic means and that have any "class" to even WANT to do what you are doing. That's because the conventional wisdom is that renting is basically throwing money away, rather than building equity. Those who rent generally HAVE to because they're either on the bottom rungs of life, barely hanging on (and many don't even manage to do that!) Or else, they find themselves in a "temporary" situation and don't want to make a long-term commitment to an area. Yours is obviously the latter and I would expect that eventually, you would want (and be ABLE to!) buy again.

[taterhaven]

As a landlord who rented for severnal years to people who brought pets in despite the contract, I have this much to say. I love animals but I don't generally like the people who own animals because the hapless dog always gets the worst end of the bargain. By the time I sold all my rentals, I was tired of the hassle and I was doubly tired of replacing carpeting and re-painting everytime a rrenter left. Renters are renters for a reason.

Consider $1400 a bargain, and IF you prove to be a responsible pet owner, the landlord just might give you a break in the future. Otherwise be kind to your pet and ask your vet to find a new home for im the end, it will cost more to kennel the animal than the $1400[/quote]

I have tried to be polite and I am sorry that you have had such bad luck with renters. But you do not know me. My pets are very well taken care of. They reseive the vet care and anything else they need. If I was one of the people you have been talking about, I would not be on here asking for help to find a place that allows them. I would just do it. As for being a renter, wouldnt make much sence to buy in Illinois when we plan on building in Utah.
As for finding a new home for them, my pets are my responsiblity and I do not feel that pets are disposible. If I take a pet it stays my responsibility.
Please if anybody has any USFULL ideas and are not going to critisize me, let me know!!! Thank You