The Woes of Renting a House

Sorry to hear the search is going to be a tough one. No wonder rentals are such a big business, as they seem to be able to charge as much as a mortgage.

Yeah they ALWAYS nail you on pets. It's def more a way to get income than actual damages, but c'est la vive. Owners are the owners. Good luck with your search!

People react differently to extra fees. Some folks think they are reasonable and others think they are ridiculous.
Probably it is the owners way of saying "I don't want pets".

Having been a landlord, I can tell you that it is not lucrative. We used to own an up down duplex. Had four different tenants over the time we owned it. Two were pretty good about paying the rent and two had no intention of paying. Eviction laws and certainly the practical application of the law varies from place to place. I got hosed each time I had to evict someone. I have three cats and I've had dogs. They can do a lot of damage, both scratching and of course with urine. I would expect most people prefer the least amount of risk when it comes to rentals, regardless of how then may feel about animals, or smoking for that matter, which is where I thought this was going. lol. I have always heard you need to get 1% of the purchase price/month for rent. So, a house valued at $150.000.00 should rent for a minimum of $1,500.00/month. Best of luck in your search.

Mike S.

I just finalized a new rental lease after much searching. The rental market is really hot in my area and most were going sight unseen as soon as they hit zillo. I have seen 350 per pet deposit and 40 per pet per month. Daughter was not very enthusiastic about getting rid of the pets so we kept looking.
To make things more stressful, they all have a 10 move in period after the application is approved, so unless you want to pay double rent you have to wait for the middle of the month and cross your fingers. We lucked out and found one the day it hit the market that was also willing to prorate the first month's rent and that helped a lot. The houses in my area are going from .85 to 1.05 per foot.
Last Sunday I had no place to move to, with no hope of finding anything, tonight I am sitting in my new living room. You will find something, I am sure, as you have an abundance of good karma built up.

Then again, you don't pay property taxes, home owner's insurance, repairs, maintenance, etc. If your roof leaks or your dish washer stops working, you call the landlord. Poof - all better! If you decide to relocate, no problem. You don't have to sell a house, just hire a moving van and off you go! Buying used to make sense as property values used to go up. Today it makes much more sense to rent. Now, if I could only convince my wife!

Our propert tax is $5,000 a year for a 3 bedroom two bath. Just saying, one way or another they get ya.

If your roof leaks or your dish washer stops working, you call the landlord. Poof - all better!

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I wish!

When I was first married to my late wife (I'm remarried after ten years) I remember how seriously I took renting our first apartment, I think for about $385 ... but that was a long time ago and a fair piece of change for a young person at the time. When I hear rents and house payments quoted today, it stops me cold. It makes me a more generous tipper in restaurants. There used to be tax breaks on mortgage interest. There used to be substantial subsidies by states for college tuition at state schools. No one gets a break for anything now. If you wait until you can afford children, you're too old to have them. It's not a good economic balance for most people, it seems to me.