[JohnKneedep]

Hi,

I'm looking to rent a place in/around Summerlin for about $1.2k/mo and I see a lot of great options. Most of these are houses, but some are apartments. I wonder, what would be the pros and cons of renting either one? The apartments look much nicer than houses, and the complex/community looks fancy, and many apts are just as big (in sq feet) as houses, but obviously a house would be more privacy. Anything else that I need to consider?

[Katie the heartbreaker]

I went from renting an apartment, to renting a room out of a house. I would much rather live in a house rather than an apartment. If you live on a ground floor, you will have noise issues from your neighbor above. If you live on the top floor, you will have endless stairs. Even in the top floor, you might have loud neighbors beside you. You also are not close to your car. If you neighbor brings in roaches, you now have them to in an apartment. You have more storage in a house. I could go on and on. Take the house, even if the apartment looks nicer.

[EA]

If I never have to live in an apartment it will be too soon. I would rather go to a trailer than an apartment. My apartment here was nice, and my utilities were almost nothing, it wasn't worth shared parking space and shared walls. The neighbor on my bedroom side had a boombox right against the wall my headboard was against. Made sleeping sooooooo awesome....
My upstairs neighbor was training, extremely hard, for the vacuum cleaning Olympics. I do not know what they did to mess up the carpets so bad, but that little woman vacuumed no less than 3 hours a day. 1100sq ft apartment.
My nice new truck got a 17 inch gouge on the fender from some kid's bike handlebars.
My assigned parking space was always being taken by someone who didn't even live there.


My biggest problem with my house is it's too big. Even when the neighbor's dog barks at night, I can't hear it over my bedside fan. No one has taken my parking spot. Kids don't ride their bikes next to my cars. A house is hands down better than an apartment.

[PinkString]

I think an apt is a good thing if you are not home very much. If you only come home to eat, sleep and leave again. Busy lives.
A house is so much better because of no shared walls, more space and probably better insulated like EA said above.

[Midnight Rider]

This is a great post for me. I am going to be in the same situation as the OP. When I was last in LV, I stopped into an apartment community (I think it was an Ovation property) and they quoted me 1050 or 1150 for a one bedroom. I am seeing lots of houses for 1050 to 1250 with 2-3 bedrooms (1100 sf to 1400 sf) and a 2 car garage. I know utilities will be more. How much more I don't know and if anyone wants to educate me, feel free. I am an information sponge now. But the house could help out with some of my concerns: Security for my car and a motorcycle that I will have, no adjacent walls with neighbors and other typical apartment issues. Besides, i will get more space and garage parking for not that much more money (depending on how utilities pan out) and maybe a small backyard (don't need much) that I can throw a cheap grill up. I am thinking that it is a no-brainer, but I may find out I am wrong when I get there....we will see. PS: I know there are cheaper apartments around but I also know you get what you pay for...and since I am moving to a new area, I am looking for at least a modicum of security...so a cheap place might be sketchy...

[lkmax]

I don't really think this is a Vegas-specific question...it's really a personal one.

Apartments are often a bit cheaper, if not in actual rent then in utilities and such. However, you have to worry about sharing walls, sharing parking spaces, dealing with more nosy (or noisy) neighbors, etc. You don't have to worry about lawn maintenance, which is nice. Some offer some pretty sweet amenities.

I've always preferred single-family residents, though. The increased cost and work (yard-wise) are worth the extra privacy to me. It's really a personal thing, though.

[Midnight Rider]

Just wondering...is their any maintenance to "desert landscaping"?

[lacrosse]

Don't forget about repairs in a house.

[BBMW]

Generally, if your renting a house, the LL is paying for repairs.

Originally Posted by lacrosse

Don't forget about repairs in a house.

[LVAllen]

Originally Posted by Midnight Rider

Just wondering...is their any maintenance to "desert landscaping"?

In true desert landscaping, as in Joshua Trees, yucca plants, and tumbleweeds? No. In urban desert-like landscaping? Absolutely. Weeds grow. Leaves blow into your yard and sink into the crevices in the rocks, and good luck using a rake in rock landscaping. The rocks eventually sink into the dirt and have to be replaced.