Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-28-2008, 01:24 AM
 
Location: in my house
1,385 posts, read 2,998,730 times
Reputation: 576

Advertisements

DH and I lived in apartment for 5 years and now we are about to rent a house for the first time (rent, not rent-to-own) anything we should know about?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-28-2008, 01:34 AM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,401,599 times
Reputation: 23222
Quote:
Originally Posted by arod0331 View Post
DH and I lived in apartment for 5 years and now we are about to rent a house for the first time (rent, not rent-to-own) anything we should know about?
The biggest difference I can tell you is you will generally be responsible for all utility services and yard maintenance...

Sometimes this comes as a surprise when the bills start to come in...

On the plus side, you will enjoy more privacy and will have less restrictions.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 02:18 AM
 
254 posts, read 1,179,519 times
Reputation: 189
Really, Ultrarunner? We've never been responsible for yard maintenance in CA. Utilities, yes, although occasionally the owner will pay for water. I think the only home where we had to take care of our own yard was in Massachusetts. Our current landlord, who is as cheap as they come, even pays for pest control. I have had to pay for that in other homes in order to keep the ants out of the house.

I think it's easier to think of the home as "yours" when it's a house and not an apartment. This can be good or bad. We often do repairs around the house without ever telling the landlord, just because it's easier. Plus, having been homeowners, it's just what we're used to. But it's also easy to forget that it's not yours- like a few days ago when our landlord was here and she mentioned that we had put a new sliding lock on the front door. Well, our toddler had opened the door and run down the street, and there is no way to secure the door, so of course we acted on instinct and went out immediately to Home Depot and bought a new lock for the door. It never even occurred to us that we needed to run it by the landlord first.

Other than that, all you need to know is that you don't need to worry about someone stomping their feet above you, or smoke coming in from the neighbor's apartment, or feeling like you have to tiptoe around in your own house. Enjoy it!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 07:36 AM
 
Location: Way up high
22,186 posts, read 29,160,495 times
Reputation: 31229
Before you move your furniture in, take dated pictures of the house. Every room. If there are any holes in walls, stains, etc, make sure you take a picture of that. Also request a walkthru sheet to be done with the landlord or if your going through a property management company, with their agent. This way at the end of the lease, you can prove that damages were already there and you won't be penalized for it.

If you have any further questions, you can DM me. I'll be more than happy to try and help you.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 07:52 AM
 
3,644 posts, read 10,907,656 times
Reputation: 5514
You'll need a lawnmower and weedwhacker. Utilities will be higher. As former homeowners, you should be able to handle everything else. You're less likely to get any deposit back from a house than an apartment... document everything. In addition to the dated photos, take a video throughout the house and yard - don't forget the ceilings, under the porches, etc. Sometimes a video will catch something you forgot to take a photo of. And do it before you move ANYTHING in. Follow up any and all maintenance requests with an email that you save. Do not let anything go verbally - again, anything they say "that's okay" to - follow up with an email recapping the conversation.

Enjoy the extra space and privacy!

PS Just a note:
Our new landlord has informed me that if we change the locks, we would be responsible for rekeying all his rentals... He has them all on a master key system. Food for thought.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 08:00 AM
 
Location: Way up high
22,186 posts, read 29,160,495 times
Reputation: 31229
I agree with what sskkc said unless lawn maintenance is included in rental price. IF you have any technical problems with house (ac not working, ovens not working, etc) put it in writing (not email) and send it certified mail and keep those postal receipts in an envelope somewhere. Don't throw them out. Always CYA.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 08:49 AM
 
Location: friendswood texas
2,489 posts, read 7,191,937 times
Reputation: 3102
If you are going to be renting in a neighborhood with Hoas make sure you get a copy of their rules along with your lease. There may be rules with the HOA that might not be included in the lease that you need to be aware of.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 12:46 PM
 
28,107 posts, read 63,401,599 times
Reputation: 23222
Quote:
Originally Posted by movingtohouston View Post
If you are going to be renting in a neighborhood with Hoas make sure you get a copy of their rules along with your lease. There may be rules with the HOA that might not be included in the lease that you need to be aware of.
Very GOOD point!

I have seen way too many 3-way problems between owner, renter and HOA. 99% of the time it has to do with something on the outside of the house... i.e. yard area. One case that got way out of hand revolved around the color of the window blinds the renter installed...

Everything from no motorcycles parked in public view to "Illegal" cactus garden
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 04:01 PM
 
Location: friendswood texas
2,489 posts, read 7,191,937 times
Reputation: 3102
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
Very GOOD point!

I have seen way too many 3-way problems between owner, renter and HOA. 99% of the time it has to do with something on the outside of the house... i.e. yard area. One case that got way out of hand revolved around the color of the window blinds the renter installed...

Everything from no motorcycles parked in public view to "Illegal" cactus garden
We got in trouble with our HOA for a 1 tuft of grass growing in the expansion joint in our driveway and for having a garbage sitting out front the day the stupid "inspector" drove by. It was crazy, we get this irate email from the landlady who lives in Ca by the way about how we need to fix this asap. (It took like 2 min. to pull up the grass and move the can) So silly.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-28-2008, 04:49 PM
 
Location: Tower Grove East, St. Louis, MO
12,063 posts, read 31,478,478 times
Reputation: 3798
HOAs can be such a PITA. I get their reason for existence, and they are a good organization in theory, but like many things in life, one jackoff lets the power go to their head and suddenly look out!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Real Estate > Renting

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top