Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Which do you think is better and why? Renting a whole private house or in an apt complex?

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Well, you'll have more room in a house, but you just have to make sure you get a great landlord who is responsive to any problems that may come up.

Apartment complexes usually have a maintenance crew who live on the premises, so they can be there to fix any problems that may come up rather quickly.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I only ever rented in complexes. I wouldn't rent in a private home.

I liked being anonymous. I liked having the same rights as every other tenant rather than an owner saying "it's my rules". I liked being able to call the super at 1 am if there was a problem. I liked that all repairs were done professionally and quickly without having to have my landlord try to fix it himself first.

It was more $$ but to me it was worth it.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I think it depends alot on what you are looking for and how much you want to spend.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

We rent a private house and previously I had always rented in a complex. The house is a lot more than we would pay in a complex here, but we have a huge yard and deck, which I love so we can entertain. We also have a garage and a finished basement, so a lot more storage than we had in an apartment.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Ive dont both. We are in the top of a huge two family now with 3 bedrooms, a dining room and a living room, walking distance to the LIRR and we have very low rent.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I liked being in a private house better. But its a personal pref. I hate being in a building with tons of other people cause you just never know what you are going to get.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I like private house better because I like houses rather than apartments.

I've had mostly good luck with doing that. We had wonderful landlords and never ever got a rent increase.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I think it really depends... I have been living in apartments for the last 13 years since I graduated college. I think that an actual apt can be "run" a bit better-- on call doormen, a super, maintenance, etc. Things can be fixed quickly and you get some amenities you wouldn't with a house-- i.e. doorman, gym, common spaces wit playgrounds, pools, etc.

But a home-- is completely different. It's your own space. It's not necessarily run by a management company. You are dealing directly with an owner-- which could be a good r bad thing. We were thinking of maybe renting our apt-- and I personally don't want to deal with being a landlord. YOu need to be really on top of things when someone is paying you a lot of money every month!

It also depends on what you are moving from-- I think you said this would be a temporary rental. If you need more space, and storage- a house would def be better. I am not kidding when I say I have been dreaming of the day I have a basement. Its the little things in life!

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

good question. we were looking for a 3 bed to rent, I don't want to be in a large building bc I'm scared of bugs! at least in a private house it's only you, or maybe one other fam if its a 2 family.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I've done both.. right now we're in a 3 bedroom townhouse in a smaller complex.. while I love my place my landlord is a little on the slow side- no maintenance "crew" at my place b/c it only has 13 units.. so there are often unresolved problems.. when I lived in apartments int he home, it was always w/ the homeowner there, and they never let anything slip.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I think if you are in a home, where the landlord is elsewhere, that is what I would say is the best scenario.

Before we bought our house, we lived in one of the nicer complexes, and then we left, and rented a house, where the landlord lived in Florida. Renting the house was MUCH cheaper.

Maintenance was taken care of faster at the complex, but you had to pay an amenity fee, and the rent went up 5% at the end of the lease.

at the house, they never raised it...

It depends on what you are looking for, and what is important to you...weigh the pros and cons..I would stay away from renting in someone's home, though.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

i've done both.

I felt more privacy in a home than a complex.

I'm currently renting a little house all on it's own.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

If I was going to rent an apartment I would want to go with an apartment complex. Some of them have very nice amenities

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I think it def. depends on your prefrences. I currently rent a 2 bedroom ranch...we have our own yard, own deck, own basement, etc etc. I love it. It's almost as if it truely IS our own place. Our landlord is awesome... very understanding and a great person. She may not fix things are quickly as a person in a complex might, but when he have an issue, she'll do her research to correct it as soon as possible...but I understand that it's money coming from her personal account, so we just deal with it. We never has any major issue, so it was dealable.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I wouldn't say there's a better option, just preference.

We rented a cottage on an estate prior to buying our home. We preferred the privacy, being able to pull up into a driveway and unload our car as we please, not listening to other neighbors' footsteps, music, even smelling their odors (whether it's from cooking to smoking) and not having to worry about the neighbors complaining about our footsteps, music or odors. Our landlord made sure the property was landscaped, plowed, etc.. We never had any issues.

If we had to do it again, we most definitely would rent a house.

Message edited 4/24/2010 12:01:44 PM.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

we rent in a complex. It has it's
ups- one phone call & anything will be fixed asap. The grounds are clean. We have a security guard @ night (& I come home late).
&
Downs- They show up whenever to test smoke alarms etc. They raise our rent every year. They charge us $50 per month for a 5lb dog. They shut off the the water at random, including my wedding day for some 'repair' utilities are never included.

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I rent in a complex and enjoy it very much. They let us know in advance if they are testing fire alarms or shutting off water, the super reponds efficiently, we have an outdoor space, our apartment has a nice open layout and tons of closet space!

Re: Better to rent a private house or in an apt complex?

I have done both and HATED HATED HATED being in a house shared with the landlord.

They make you feel like they are doing you a favor. They never fix anything. They don't worry about any kind of noise they make.... they own the place. They have a tendency to "look" into your place, change or lock the heat thermostat, etc..

I lived in 1 apartment complex because I could not take the apartments in houses.

I loved it. No personal agenda of "you need to move out, my sister will come move in with us", etc....

I find them cleaner too. The super always fixed anything I asked him right away.