Long-term renting in Madison? With kids/pets? (Middleton, Waunakee: apartments, leases)

[foilgirl]

Hi,

So, my husband and I finally made it out to Madison in late April (we were in MKE for a wedding and took a day to come out). I must say, y'all have a beautiful city. We drove through Verona, Waunakee and Middleton and had lunch at Monty's downtown. We also walked around downtown. The east side is definitely our favorite area.

We also checked out the worst neighborhoods we could find (Allied community, the area around Warner park). While I can see how those neighborhoods would be considered undesirable, I would likely feel safe living in any of them. We were especially impressed by the lack of graffiti. Then again, I lived in Oakland when I was younger, so YMMV.

Right now, we're looking at moving early next March w/ our kid, dog (7 yr old Golden retriever), and 2 cats. We'll be staying with DH's parents in Delafield until he finds full-time work. My only concern left is that we will likely be lifelong renters. I am totally turned off by the idea of home ownership, always have been. I guess you could say I have a fear of commitment when it comes to housing.

Ideally, we'd be looking for some place where we could live for the next 10+ years. Do people do that in Madison? Do landlords raise rents yearly if you want to stay, to the point where you end up "priced out"? Does anyone offer leases for longer than a year? I've seen lots of threads on buying, but nothing about renting long-term.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Meghan

[FozzyB]

I will add my 0.02, sense no one else has reponded to your question.

I just recently moved to the Madison area and found it really difficult to find a place to rent/buy that would accomodate 3 pets (total combined < 50 lbs). The area is pet friendly, however some places will tolerate an 80 lb dog, but not multiple smaller pets. There are so many pet restrcitions with regard to the places I was looking at, that this became my #1 screening tool on my home/rental search.

[foilgirl]

Hi,

Thanks, Fozzy. I expect we'll have a harder time than folks w/o pets, and I understand landlords being reluctant. I will say we've been renting w/ multiple pets for almost 10 years now and have never had many problems, but WI seems to be less pet-friendly overall than CA? At least we'll be able to live w/ DH's parents while we look for a place. I'm sure we'll manage.

Thanks again,

Meghan

[FozzyB]

In my short experience here in WI, the area is pet friendy (read "one" pet) which is surprising given the UW Vet school and all the pet care stores, etc. However, more than one pet - good luck

[beenie38]

Not an exhaustive list, but the Dane County Humane Society has a list of pet-friendly apartments.

[ranger17]

you may have better luck in a duplex then an apt; especially if your thoughts are more long term. Then you'd have (potentially) a better yard, and likely at least a 1 car garage if not 2 ( coming from CA, you'll see the benefit come Nov or so ).
When we were up there, we actually were in 1 duplex for 12 or so years before we built our first home, but that was a lucky situation in that it was owner occupied and the owner worked with my wife and was a famnily friend. So we had a great relationship, and as such the costs were quite a bit lower. But eventually the renting did grow old.
At least you'll find some nice dog parks up there, to let 'em run if you get stuck in an apt.
good luck

[foilgirl]

Hi,

Thanks, ranger and beenie! We would definitely prefer a flat/duplex to an apartment community, I'll keep that in mind. And yes, I do have the Dane Co. Humane society link.

Thanks again,

Meghan

[firefly119]

My daughter lived in a fairly decent apt complex called Brighton Squares that allowed two dogs and one cat. They did not have any breed restrictions other than the normal Pit, Rottie ect. I have heard that Deforest allows more and I know that Edgerton is also more lenient. Just depends on how far you want to drive.

[ranger17]

we actually lived in the Deforest area for years; there are not a lot of apts there, but seemed to be plenty of duplexes. And some nice areas close to interstate if access is needed; good schools as well. The drive from Defo to Madison ( east side or perhaps downtown area ) was not bad except hard winter/snow days; but i'd highly suggest not moving there if the jobs will be more on the far west or south side of Madison. Dealing with the "beltline" ( my wife did it for 17 yrs ) can, how do i say this nicely...., add a bit of a damper to one's transit times and mood!

[foilgirl]

Originally Posted by ranger17

we actually lived in the Deforest area for years; there are not a lot of apts there, but seemed to be plenty of duplexes. And some nice areas close to interstate if access is needed; good schools as well. The drive from Defo to Madison ( east side or perhaps downtown area ) was not bad except hard winter/snow days; but i'd highly suggest not moving there if the jobs will be more on the far west or south side of Madison. Dealing with the "beltline" ( my wife did it for 17 yrs ) can, how do i say this nicely...., add a bit of a damper to one's transit times and mood!

Hi,

not sure yet about DH as he doesn't have a job lined up, but my job will be on the near east side. And idea how much time for a commute? I'm currently traveling 45-60 min, but the weather is always good.

Thanks,

Meghan