Renting before buying...??? (Tampa, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor: apartments, renters, condos)

[devotedmom9603]

Hello and Thank you ahead of time for any thoughts, information, and comments.

My family and I are looking to relocate due to my husbands job. His Company is in Palm Harbor and we are looking there, Safety Harbor, Trinity, Westchase ( just from talking to others ). My thought is to rent first so we can truly "feel out" the area first. I'm not finding many rents?? We've spoken to a relator and she keeps guiding us to buy. My most important thing is Schools for my 9 and 15yr. old. so these areas seem to have the better of the pick if I don't choose Private.

We are coming from Connecticut, and have no family there. My husband has friends with family there within his company so we will have some "instant" friends, I however am nervous about buying and hating the area/community/etc. so I think renting is best. What are your thoughts??

Where's a great place to find rents?? We want at least 3 bed, 2 bath, home.. we would like it to have a pool, if not then access to a pool within community and walking distance. Maybe a home thats a rent to own if we really like it. I don't want to move down for rent and be uncomfortable like an apartment, maybe an oversized Condo? Our current home has 4 bed, 2.5 bath, and space to move about for a family of 4. (If we're crammed into a small place it might really put a bad taste in our mouth).

We could spend up to $2500.00/month, is that unreasonable for what we need? If anybody has done this please tell me the pros and cons. I know what a pain to move 2x, but my happiness is worth the move and the temporary home to be sure we like the area.

[Tampa Homes]

If you are not familiar with the area, I'd recommend renting first to get a feel and layout of everything. Learn your way around, find what you like and do not like. A quick search on the MLS (for 4/2 minimum in your immediate area) show 16 homes for rent between 1600-2400/month. Hope this helps.

[gulfer]

You will find that many like Safety Harbor here while I myself am a fan of Trinity, Odessa, Westchase (a little further North and more of the country feel).

Rentals are going fast. You are looking in very nice areas and rentals go QUICK there. If you are working with a Realtor that doesn't listen to you, GET ANOTHER REALTOR!!!

I looked at two rentals a few weeks ago for someone I met through here and they were both in Trinity. Nice places and only 6 miles from Sun Lake High School (my daughter goes there and we like it).

Your budget is MORE THAN ENOUGH to find something very very nice. But with your husbands job in Palm Harbor, I would think Westchase and Safety Harbor may be better for the commute. Odessa covers a very large area and is not that much further. If you would like some information on rentals available, send me a direct message with your e-mail address and I will send what I can see.

GOOD LUCK - There are places available for what you are looking to pay for. VERY NICE PLACES!!!

[algia]

Why not look IN Palm Harbor? schools are great, and there are a LOT of nice places to live too! Why have a commute if you don't have to?

[devotedmom9603]

Thanks everybody!! I tried to search Craigslist, alot seemed strange?? not sure if they were "true" rentals. I went onto relator.com and when I copied and pasted the MLS# to the relator that was providing the listing, it was gone.

I did find one still avail. my hubby is arriving tonight and will go check it out. It was Palm Harbor, 4 bed/2 bath $2350.00/mo.

Are there any nice Condo's in Palm Harbor or Safty Harbor? maybe I can go directly to their sites??

[gypsychic]

I agree with algia, look in Palm Harbor. Great schools there, no sense commuting if you don't have to.

Good luck!

[Kwanger]

Originally Posted by devotedmom9603

Are there any nice Condo's in Palm Harbor or Safty Harbor? maybe I can go directly to their sites??

If you don't mind condos/apartments, you can always try the apartment guide for rentals: http://www.apartmentguide.com/apartm...a/Palm-Harbor/ . I noticed you said you didn't want to be cramped, but you can get some pretty sizey units down here if you look, and the community features can often make it really great, especially for getting to know new people and for the kids.

It's nice over there, but if I were a new arrival I personally would want to rent first as well to feel out the area. Home prices are not going to rise dramatically any time soon, so no real pressure to jump straight onto the market as your realtor is trying to push you to. For sure it is a good time to buy down here now....but no urgency to, IMHO.

[devotedmom9603]

Thank you Kwanger.. I checked out the site.

Does anybody know which of the Condos/Apartments listed in Palm Harbor are of the "nicer"? 1. I found Bently at Cobb Landing, 2. Lanesbrook Village, 3. Sabal Point at Boot Ranch and 4. The Landings at Boot Ranch West.

They seem to offer 4 bedrooms, I need 3 and the extra one would be nice for guests/my husband's office for now.

Thanks again

[stpeteguy]

You should definately rent first before buying. Everybody has different tastes and until you live here a while, you can't know what areas you'll like and dislike.

[Kwanger]

Originally Posted by devotedmom9603

Does anybody know which of the Condos/Apartments listed in Palm Harbor are of the "nicer"? 1. I found Bently at Cobb Landing, 2. Lanesbrook Village, 3. Sabal Point at Boot Ranch and 4. The Landings at Boot Ranch West.

Sorry, can't really provide much input as I'm the inland side of Tampa. You can take a look at Apartment Ratings :: The leading source of apartment reviews by renters for renters. - there are reviews on their - but take everything you read with a grain of salt.
Hopefully someone who has actually lived over that way will pop along and comment.

That's why I'd always rent first - if you do make a bad choice, you can always move out. If you were to buy somewhere first and it then turns into "Neighbors From Hell" - you are kinda stuck!