When looking for a place to rent, what is the better choice? (apartment complexes, rentals)

[vabuda1]

As most of you know we are a small family..my husband, myself, and our 2 young children...also 2 kitties Should we look into renting a single family home, townhome, apartment in a complex?? The apartments look pretty nice from what I can see online but idk how that would be?? We would need something with a garage because he has a work van with a lot of expensive tools for his work so we would want that protected...also def want a pool..I would like to have something where a lot of the maintenance is taken care of by owner/landlord like bug spraying, lawn care etc. Also when living in the apartment complexes what type of people usually live in those, do families with kids live in those? Are they usually decent people or are they usually problematic types?? See up here if you lived in something like those you usually get really 'ghetto' type people that reside there..ones that don't care about much, incl their kids which you will find up at 1 am on school nights, music blasting with parties going on all night on a work/school night, FIGHTS!! S o idk if that is not the case down there because Florida seems to have more of those type of dwellings.. Any opinions on what would sound better for us would be great

[vabuda1]

hahaha I think people are getting tired of answering my questions lol 'sorry guys' !!

[Not_liking_FL]

Apartments range from upscale to ghetto, it really depends on your budget. The same goes for houses and townhomes.

[algia]

I cannot recommend apartments here.
The quality of ppl is low, and paying premium for a tiny box is just not feasible.
Find a house to rent.

[071402]

Originally Posted by vabuda1

As most of you know we are a small family..my husband, myself, and our 2 young children...also 2 kitties Should we look into renting a single family home, townhome, apartment in a complex?? The apartments look pretty nice from what I can see online but idk how that would be?? We would need something with a garage because he has a work van with a lot of expensive tools for his work so we would want that protected...also def want a pool..I would like to have something where a lot of the maintenance is taken care of by owner/landlord like bug spraying, lawn care etc. Also when living in the apartment complexes what type of people usually live in those, do families with kids live in those? Are they usually decent people or are they usually problematic types?? See up here if you lived in something like those you usually get really 'ghetto' type people that reside there..ones that don't care about much, incl their kids which you will find up at 1 am on school nights, music blasting with parties going on all night on a work/school night, FIGHTS!! S o idk if that is not the case down there because Florida seems to have more of those type of dwellings.. Any opinions on what would sound better for us would be great

Just my honest opinion, after having babies, the condo, town home, sharing walls just did not work out. Having a single family home, again my experience and opinion, 10,000x better.

[brucerby]

Unless you are paying top dollar, most apartments will inevitably attract less desirable neighbors.

Even the nicest, most expensive apartment communities I've lived in have had many problem people.

Sometimes, the newer complexes start off quite nice. They're picky about who they rent to, and strictly enforce rules. But as time goes on, the apartments lose their attractiveness, newer properties are built, and the property managers are forced to compete on rental terms and specials, and low deposits, and easy qualifying etc.

Result: The riff-raff start filling up the place. Plus, apartments have a built-in disadvantage no matters who lives there...."Party or Common Walls". I've never lived in a place you couldn't hear your neighbors to some extent.

[vabuda1]

Thanks, I figured that would be the case, as it is up here too...but where I saw so many I figured maybe it was different??? I prefer a single family seeing we have that now..makes sense. Does the single family rentals have specific web sites aside of Craigslist that you can look at??

[algia]

Originally Posted by vabuda1

Thanks, I figured that would be the case, as it is up here too...but where I saw so many I figured maybe it was different??? I prefer a single family seeing we have that now..makes sense. Does the single family rentals have specific web sites aside of Craigslist that you can look at??

Use a property management company like Sun Cove Realty, Dennis Realty to name a few. I don't trust Craigslist 1 bit. The ONLY trick is to have a starting work date here. That tells them you're serious being over 1200+ miles away...otherwise it will be tricky.

[vabuda1]

Originally Posted by algia

Use a property management company like Sun Cove Realty, Dennis Realty to name a few. I don't trust Craigslist 1 bit. The ONLY trick is to have a starting work date here. That tells them you're serious being over 1200+ miles away...otherwise it will be tricky.

Good tip!! Thank you

[algia]

Originally Posted by vabuda1

Good tip!! Thank you

No problem. Rather be safe than sorry.

Also, once you DO find a property, go check it in public records and see if they stopped paying their mortgage. Lots of thief's around here, and too many unclosed loopholes allowing them to steal your money the "legal/lease" way.