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I rented a house for 10 years, its a great way to find out if you want to ever own your own. I felt perfectly safe in the neighborhood even though it was low income. I do NOT equate low income with criminal activity. Most low income folks are good people just trying to live their lives in peace, like everywhere else. Criminals tend to hit people with higher incomes, whats the point of trying to rob someone who has nothing? lol
After 10 years I bought a house in an even lower income neighborhood and became a member of the neighborhood advisory committee. And felt perfectly safe there, though I did have it fenced in for my dog, that helps a great deal with the feeling of safeness.
Some places provide for yard care, if the landlord lives close by and does it themselves, or if its figured in the rent for a professional. The house I bought and lived in is now a rental and I do not pay for or provide lawn care, there is a lawnmower left from the last tenant, or you can hire your own. I have given up on thinking that tenants would keep the weeds at bay (it backs out onto a wild area, and if you don't stay on top of it the jungle will take over). I am now hacking through 2 years of overgrowth and vowing that I will do quarterly checks and spray the roundup myself, (how hard is that REALLY!?)
Sorry, I did not mean to imply that all lower income areas are bad.
That was just my experience while looking for homes in Fresno, Calif.
It seemed like all the older homes I liked & could readilly afford were in high-crime areas. I didn't find this out until I was days from closing on a home & from what I later learned about the neighborhood it would have been a mistake living there.
I found the cutest house. 1930 bungalo completely refurbed from top to bottom at an amazing price. My agent said it was a good area but the local news & crime stats painted a different story. The police even recommended I not move there due to all the gang activity & burglaries. There were also 41 registered sex offenders living nearby.
I was just so taken with the house that I overlooked everything else.
I'll never make that mistake again.
The house I ended up buying is in a nice area of Clovis. It sat empty for 6 months it & noone bothered it at all.
The house I've been renting past 16 years is in an affluent area of San Jose & I've never had any problems here either.
Yet, just a few blocks over in a less expensive area I hear gunfire, sirens & helicopters all the time.
It just seems to me that the nicer the area, the less crime there is but that's just been my experience.
I hope I did not offend anyone. Just saying don't make the same mistake I almost made.
When you commit to a house you're also commiting to the neighborhood & you know what they say:
Location, location, location!
Its just a misconception I'm trying to overturn IOsilver. The quality of the neighborhood has to do MORE with deadbeat landlords, then actual homeowners, usually. If you have landlords that don't care about who they rent out to, thats what you're going to get. The area where I bought my house WAS crime ridden in the past, but in the past before that it was a great waterfront area, after crackdowns and people like me taking the chance and moving in, it has become and continues to become closer to the cute waterfront community that it once was. I hate to see good people turn away from a place based on the past.
I could hire a gardener in the summer, I guess -- but I'd rather the landlord do it, lol.
You might get lucky, but many landlords require the renter to mow the lawn, etc. Mine did when I was renting; it was a condition of becoming a tenant. He provided me with the lawnmower and the gas, but I had to do the work. In exchange, I was free to dig up wherever I wanted for vegetables, herbs and flowers.
Good point Wire. In the neighborhood I'm in now I'm the only one who rents. Everyone else owns their homes & have for years & years.
It's very family oriented & not many young people around which is probably why it's so quiet.
You've received excellent advice in all areas so I've not much to add except that I've been a single house renter many times and have always preferred it to apartment living. The privacy is great, I'm perfectly capable of doing basic maintenance and I'm always happy to have a garden to putter around in. Not to be left out of the equation of course are my felines (OH NO, another crazy Cat Lady!) although I've had dogs over the years too.
I recently moved again after almost 15 years in the same place and no way could I find anything freestanding in my price range. Fortunately I quickly found a really nice apartment in a house where the landlady (gone several months a year) lives upstairs and where another tenant also has an apartment upstairs. Everybody is, like me, VERY quiet and the huge yard is awesome. Generally I don't like apartment living at all and have always preferred being in a house. Good luck!
A few things to consider, make sure they are addressed in your lease and you understand your obligations, which are usually more then you would have as an apartment renter.
Lawn and yard maintenance: lawn maintenance has already been addressed to some degree in other posts, how about shoveling snow, keeping the sidewalks safely cleared? If someone slips on an icy patch you could be liable if it is your responsibility. Is there a sprinkler system? If you don't water enough the grass and plants will die and you could be liable for the removal and replacement costs. If you or your lawn service damages a landscape sprinkler head, it could be your responsibility to pay for the repair.
Utilities: You may be responsible for watering the yard adequately to keep the plants healthy and paying the utility bills for that water, which can be expensive in some places. Especially this year in Texas where we are having a drought.
Exterior: With an apartment your responsibility is pretty much limited to the interior. With a house you could have additional responsibility for cleaning and caring for the exterior. Such as cleaning the sidewalks, driveways and patio areas, which can include pressure washing annually to remove mildew, soil accumulations. If leaves pile up on the roof and gutters, they can cause water damage to the structure. Who is responsible for removing and cleaning them?
Mechanical, Heating and Air Conditioning equipment: Who is responsible for changing the air filters, cleaning the lint collector on the clothes dryer and occasionally cleaning out the duct, cleaning the fireplace and chimney. Failing to do any of this can result in damaged that you could be liable for.
Plumbing: Who is responsible for replacing the water filter on the refrigerator (if it has an ice maker or water dispenser), or recharging the water softener, and in some cases paying for the monthly water softener account fee? In my area, the exterior hose bibs usually require some form of freeze protection during cold weather months. If you don't and the pipes freeze and break, could you be liable?
Garage: Most houses include a garage. Garages can collect significant amounts of dust, leaves, dirt, oil, etc. The tenant is usually responsible for cleaning these areas.
Trash: The tenant is usually responsible for setting out the trash carts to be picked up on collection day, and paying the collection fee.
Pest Control (Ants, roaches, Fleas, etc): In my experience this is often provided for apartments, but is less common to be provided for houses.
Pets: If you have pets that defecate in the yard, it is your responsibility to clean up after them and repair any damages they do to fences, doors, screens, etc.
I would love to rent a SFH. I hate apartment life, but SFH's cost more to rent, of course (given the same area). I think the only additional expenditure you might have would be lawn care. In my apartment, I have to pay trash/water/sewer, pet rent, plus all other regular expenses (cable, electric, etc).
Thanks for bringing this one back Eeko. Lot of great info here.
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