Relocating from Roanoke va to va beach for work (Virginia Beach: real estate, oceanfront)

[Kylenegibson]

My husband is being transferred to Sunbelt in VA beach. We are looking for a house for rent. Our max price is 950-1000. We have 3 children (ages 3.5, 2.5, and 5 months) so we want to be in a safe neighborhood. We would like to be near the beach. And he doesn't want a large commute. 15-20 min at the most. We are young 21 & 22. So we would like to be near things to do. I'm also a stay at home mom so I would like to be near things to take the kids to do during the day.

My questions are:
1. What neighborhoods are safe?
2. We want to keep our rent low as possible but what would you think would be in our range?

Apartment complexes are most likely out for us being that our credit sucks. And probably rental companies with houses are probably out to. That leaves us with Craigslist.

3. Are there any companies that you know of that will rent to people with not so good credit?




Thank you in advance.

Ky

[Spazkat9696]

Good luck! Cost of living is high here. You'll need to get a job or your husband a second job and increase that rent budget.

[TN Lily]

Craigslist is not that bad. You just have to be careful, but isn't that true even if you're renting through a property management company, a real estate licensee or anyone else?
Are you coming to Va. Beach to look at rental properties? If so, and you post the streets where some are located that you're interested in, I'm sure someone here will be able to offer some advice.

Good luck.

[stva]

I hate to be negative but that budget won't get you very far here for safe neighborhoods, even for an apartment. Credit will definitely be an issue too.

This area has a lot to offer but cost of living is above average.

[thesolution]

You will be very hard-pressed to find a rental property in a safe neighborhood and suitable for 5 with that kind of budget, especially in VB. I was renting a 3-bedroom home in the Suffolk area (far from VB), albeit in a decent neighborhood, for $1650 a month. I ended up purchasing an even larger home in a nicer neighborhood and pay hundreds less on the monthly mortgage. The exorbitant amount of military personnel in the area has a lot to do with the high rental prices.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by Kylenegibson

My husband is being transferred to Sunbelt in VA beach. We are looking for a house for rent. Our max price is 950-1000. We have 3 children (ages 3.5, 2.5, and 5 months) so we want to be in a safe neighborhood. We would like to be near the beach. And he doesn't want a large commute. 15-20 min at the most. We are young 21 & 22. So we would like to be near things to do. I'm also a stay at home mom so I would like to be near things to take the kids to do during the day.

My questions are:
1. What neighborhoods are safe?
2. We want to keep our rent low as possible but what would you think would be in our range?

Apartment complexes are most likely out for us being that our credit sucks. And probably rental companies with houses are probably out to. That leaves us with Craigslist.

3. Are there any companies that you know of that will rent to people with not so good credit?




Thank you in advance.

Ky

You can find property in Virginia Beach for that budget. In fact, a place in Virginia Beach on that budget will be a lot safer than a property in Norfolk on that budget. Chesapeake will get you a place in South Norfolk that isn't that much better than what you will find in Norfolk on that budget.

My credit sucks too, so I went with private owners most of the time. I'm not sure you will get close to the beach on that budget though; probably a lot further into the city. Oceanview, which is the beach in Norfolk, might be affordable on that type of a budget; it has undergone a lot of gentrification, so prices are rising, but you can still find property for less than $200,000 there. A friend of mine just found a place for $138,000 out there. The beach in Virginia Beach is all hotels anyway, though you might find some stuff out on Shore Drive where it is quiet in comparison to the tourist area. The area is known as the Oceanfront, and is about 5 to 10 roads that run parallel to the Beach. Tourists run up and down Atlantic and Pacific; Atlantic is the closest road to the Oceanfront, Pacific is right behind it. People actually live on the other roads headed further into the city. There are condos starting at around $300,000, going up from there.

One thing to keep in mind about this area, it is several times larger than Roanoke. A short commute is a luxury, but it is not a necessity. You're either going to pay a larger amount to be close to work, or find a cheaper place in an area that could be unsavory to get closer to work. Either way, neighborhoods in this region are relatively safe in the working class neighborhoods. It is the housing projects (or areas that rent to people with a lower income that someone that works full time would not want to live in) that you have to worry about.

$950 to $1000 is tight though. Two people making $20k, or one person making $40k, is ideal, so you're not house poor. So your budget should be that your income is 40 times your rent. Figure out what you make annually after taxes and divide that by 40. If your number is like, 600 or 700, you should probably just stay in Roanoke, though there is still the option of renting from someone that lives in a different part of the house, or taking on roommates.

Public transportation isn't good in this area, particularly in Virginia Beach. Though there are rumors of light rail being spread out to VB, it is years off. As far as things to do, the more urban areas, like Town Center, or any of the other downtown areas in the cities in Hampton Roads, will have something to do. Norfolk in particular has a lot of museums, bars, "clubs" (depending on your definition or if it meets your standards of a club), more urban, adult options. You shouldn't be bored.

This is a decentralized area, more like an LA, or Atlanta, so it doesn't really matter where you live, as far as things to do, shopping, etc. because you don't have to travel that far, and you do not necessarily have to go downtown (particularly in Virginia Beach). Long story short, you may have a short commute to work, but a long commute to play, shop, etc. Kids can't walk to school in most cases, particularly in Virginia Beach, it is just too far, so that is another consideration, so you'll have to figure out busing.

Virginia Beach is safe though. Again, if that is your budget, I would just stay in Virginia Beach, where the worst you'll have to worry about is theft or property damage, and no real crime like what you might find in some of the other cities. Chesapeake is nice too, not as urban as Virginia Beach, but not that far from it either.