New Couple Starting Out...is Tennessee the place for us? (Knoxville: rental, mobile home)

[gardengirl10]

Hi. I am soon to be graduate of Mississippi State University in Starkville, Ms. I plan to hopefully get accepted to the Master's degree program at the University of Tennessee. My fiancé and I are looking for a change in scenery and have been thinking a lot about Tennessee. We have no children and are looking for a place to live that is within 20 to 30 miles from UT campus. Unfortunately, I realize that what I’m looking for may not exist… But I have to ask in order to know.
Warning: In the following, I am being completely honest and upfront. I’m probably giving more information than is needed, but I’m seriously looking for a place that will accept us and mine.

I have 8 pets, 2 cats and 6 dogs. All of the pets are well-behaved and spayed or neutered. My dogs are very different – three are dachshunds (all under 15 lbs) and three medium size dogs (all under 50 lbs). Because of the number of pets that I have and/or the weights, it is extremely difficult to find a place to live. These pets are our family, and, I can’t give them up – we need them with us…

So, what am I looking for? A place that will let us keep all my pets. Preferably a place with a fence for my dogs, but if not, maybe a place that will let me put up a fence before moving in. The dogs will never have free range of the house. We are obnoxiously clean people.

We love the house that we’re in now and have made updates and improvements to it. Our landlord was thrilled when he had all his rental properties in the neighborhood appraised and ours appraised for $15,000 more than all the rest! We love to landscape the yards and throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls to suit our tastes (no weird colors! We promise!) We ask for approval of paint color before we paint anything. With the economy the way it is, we would like to keep our monthly rent around $650 dollars.

From there, our other requirements are as follows:2 bedrooms or more bedrooms. (Need to use one for studying). Washer/dryer hookups – I have a nice washer and dryer already that will be coming with me. stove/oven (already have refrigerator) central heat and air
Rent of $650 or less – of course, the lower the better… A decent neighborhood. We are good clean country folks who respect our property and our neighbors and want to receive the same consideration, so I don’t want to live in a place where I have constant concern that I’ll be harmed or my property vandalized. Within a 30 minute drive to UT would be nice. Large yard is extremely important!!

The following are our strong preferences, but not absolutely required: A dishwasher. Within a 20 minute drive to UT. Again, an existing fence would be wonderful for our dogs. We would like a little “elbow room”…hate being able to see right into neighbors house and yard and vice versa. Don’t want to sit on the back porch with a glass of sweet tea and be able to hear the neighbors’ television.

The following are also preferences, but far reaching, I know: A carport/garage would be nice, as we have a chest freezer. Storage shed, as we have a lot of gardening tools because we are avid yard workers.

Now that you know what we’re looking for, I can tell you the following about us: We don’t have any children. We don’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or party. We’re quiet people who just prefer the serenity of being at home. Our current landlord will be happy to be a reference for us if necessary.

Please, if you have a home that you can rent to a newly married couple, or if you know of a home like this for rent, can you please contact me and let me know? I have no strong preference about the home – I’m perfectly fine with a mobile home. I just need to be located somewhere where my pets can stay outside on a beautiful day in their own backyard and be safe, so a trailer park is not the place for me, but if you have a mobile home on some land (That would actually be ideal) please send me your information. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions that you have!

Thank you so much!!![

[jabogitlu]

I see you posted this in the Knoxville forum, as well, which is good. Living on the western fringes of the Tri-Cities metro (technically western Washington County aka Limestone) is still going to put you a good 1:30 from UT campus. Even living in western Greene County is a long haul.

[gardengirl10]

Yikes! So where would be an alternative if we didnt want to live in Knoxville persay?

[rccrain]

Seymour, Strawberry Plains, Farragut, Alcoa, maybe Jefferson City or Dandridge but the latter two are over 30 minutes out from UT. Knoxville itself is like a 30 minute drive from end to end.

[starwitness]

I would recommend Strawberry Plains or Alcoa as well, but not sure how successful you'll be in finding a house to rent at the price stated. I think you'll find something but it may not be the most gorgeous home in the world. Knoxville area properties are higher than those in the Tri-Cities and I can tell you that the average rental HOUSE in Johnson City, TN is between $700 and $800 and even some of those are older homes. I've been looking for a house to rent and I've found that anything under $600 is pretty much crap or in no-so-savory neighborhoods. Sad but true. I think your best bet would be to look for a modular/mobile home in one of the suggested neighborhoods. The only other difficulty you may encounter is finding an owner that will allow pets. Sometimes you'll find people that will allow a couple of pets but may object to multiple pets (or require an additional pet/damage deposit). The other thing to consider is city ordinances regarding pets, primarily dogs. I rented a house a few years back, bought a dog who turned out to be a nighttime barker, and had to get rid of her due to complaints from my neighbors. The only other option was to keep her inside, which I couldn't because I couldn't get her house-trained. Hope this helps some and good luck on your move and with school. UT is a great university!