For about the last year we have been on the house hunt. Well, when I say hunt I mean watching marathon viewings of House Hunters and Love it or List It on HGTV. It also means that I have about every house hunting app available on my iPad.
In the late fall, we seriously explored buying a new place. However, we found what we qualified for and what we really wanted long term didn’t quite match up. The fact still remains, our place is too small. Now that we work both work a lot more from home, the 700 square footage is creeping in. We joke that we bought our one bedroom condo the day before the market crashed.
Our pride keeps us from selling it at a loss, so renting it out is our best option. That frees us up to rent something larger for this next year. The goal is after this year we’ll jump back into finding our ‘dream home,’ if that is even possible in Los Angeles.
Here lies the next debate: single family house vs apartment complex rental?
Like any good list maker, I’ve got my pros and cons to compare. I also found an article from Street Directory that broke it down:
The Benefits of Renting a House:
1. More space, including outdoor space.
2. Parking. While many apartments come with a parking spot, a large number of urban apartments, particularly older buildings, don’t. If you have a vehicle or two, you may want to look at renting a home with parking.
3. Privacy. Typically, a house is going to afford you a lot more privacy. With no neighbors listening through the walls or complaining about your footsteps in the morning, you have a lot more freedom in a home.
The Benefits of Renting an Apartment:
1. Low maintenance. Depending on your rental agreement, renting a house may also mean taking on shoveling the walkway, mowing the lawn, maintaining the garden and general upkeep of the house. In an apartment, the grounds and outdoor maintenance are all taken care of for you.
2. Professional management. Typically, homes are rented by individual property owners while apartments are managed by a building supervisor and a property management firm. This means you have on-call support that’s professional, business-minded and knows and follows the tenancy laws.
3. Location. If you’re looking for a prime location right in the downtown are, in the heart of the city, you’re most likely going to be looking at an apartment. Single-family dwellings are usually found in more suburban or outer-city regions.
Good considerations on both sides. For us, we’d like more space, pet friendly, secure parking and a walkable location all within budget. All of these fall within both categories of a house and an apartment.
Wish us luck, as this week we head off to endless tours and open houses to find our own version home sweet home.
What do you think? House or Apartment?
