housing choices, HELP!

[bmccasland]

So I'm still living in a hotel, me and the cats. Oh joy. One of which is sick.

A couple of weeks ago I posted on the e-bulletin board at work that I was looking for a 2 bedroom house to rent for 6-12 months. Heard nothing...

Last weekend I put a deposit down on a 3 bedroom 1245 sq ft apartment, at the $$$ going rate. I would have, and pay for space, lovely space. No more living cramped. Even if it is for a year. Still waiting for my house in Louisiana to sell, or rent out, silence on that front.

Then yesterday a gal at the office contacted me that she had a 2 bedroom 850 sq ft house, for $400 less per month rent, and it has a large garage. I went to see the house today, and it's pretty cute, but calling that second bedroom a "bedroom" is pretty generous, more like a nursery or a small office; the walk-in closet at my mother's house is bigger.

The gal is in the process of moving out, and there's still a whole bunch of *stuff* that needs to go. My concern is that she wouldn't be cleared out by the time I'm scheduled to move into something. Or maybe knowing she'll have a tenant will get her to get on the ball and hire a local moving company to help her.

One other consideration - the apartment is 15 miles from the office, and I'd be commuting by car. The house is 5.5 miles from the office and I have the choice to van-pool, take public transit - with vouchers means my transit costs are free, or drive in.

So do I go with the spacious apartment, further out, near my new wonderful vet (I have two high maintenance elderly cats) for $400 more per month?

OR do I go with tiny house where much of my stuff (sewing room/needlework things) will have to stay packed for a year or more? And yes, I am subject to cabin fever in small spaces - learned this living in a really tiny cabin one summer where it was nice enough to go outside to escape.

I can afford to pay the mortgage + house rent without dipping into savings if my Louisiana house isn't rented out. Not so sure about paying the extra $400 per month for the larger aparment.

I told the gal I'd give her my decision on monday. :confused:
The economical side of me says I should go with the house, but the part that wants space, really wants it's space. I have furniture for a 3 bedroom house (1 doublebed suit, 1 twin bed, and office / sewing room). Ooh, ooh, I could expand easily to a 4 bedroom, anyone want to subsidize me? :rolleyes:

[Pedal Wench]

I just sold my house -- after it being on the market for THREE years. So, don't make plans on based on selling or renting the other house anytime soon.

Why not rent the house, pocket the savings, and use it move to a better place if something opens up.

Moving from a house to an apartment was an adjustment for me. Hearing neighbors, being worried about making too much noise myself, not having a garage, having to unload my car every day, well... I miss my house!

I just think that in this economy, any chance to save without much sacrifice is a good thing.

[badgercat]

I'd go with the closer+smaller place, for what it's worth. My boyfriend and I rent a 2-bedroom house with similar square footage, and inside the house we have a total of 6 bikes, his huge computer setup (he's a comp sci graduate student) and a desk for me too, 3 bookcases for all of our textbooks and papers, my sewing desk and collection of craft supplies and costumes, and a piano, 3 wind instruments, and a formidable collection of sheet music between us (we have a lot of hobbies, none of which are very compact :p). We don't have pets like you do, but I have to believe you can make that amount of space work for a year. :)

Sure, a little more space would be nice, but to me it wouldn't be worth a 3x longer commute (we live ~3 miles from campus [where we're both full-time students and part-time employees] and bike-commute). I had also been one of those people who always liked to spread out, but I've adapted relatively well. If I get stir-crazy, I go for a bike ride. ;)

ETA: I can also appreciate that everyone is used to different things (I'm very much still a student and used to living in cramped quarters, I haven't had an opportunity to live anywhere roomier since I moved out of my parents' house), and there's the issue of what to do with your spare furniture, but maybe there's a reasonable storage locker you could rent somewhere? Anyway, good luck with your decision, I'm sure other folks will have good perspectives and advice here.

[ny biker]

I chose a 1BR with three closets because it's in a neighborhood I like and close to my job. I've found that I've been able to get rid of lots of stuff that I don't really need. I use storage chests as end tables, my coffee table is a storage ottoman, I keep linens and spare blankets in under-bed storage. I have patio benches on my balcony that double as storage. It's not ideal -- I would love a second bedroom to use as an office/bike room. But the convenient location is important, and worth it.

Just my $.02.

What does your gut say?

[KnottedYet]

In which domicile would you sleep better?

[shootingstar]

I have furniture for a 3 bedroom house (1 doublebed suit, 1 twin bed, and office / sewing room). Ooh, ooh, I could expand easily to a 4 bedroom, anyone want to subsidize me?


Just for myself, I couldn't have that amount of stuff in a home to maintain. So you must be quite an organized, neat person to want to have this amount of stuff.

[XMcShiftersonX]

A year is a long time. My house is my sanctuary, and I don't do well with things displaced within it. They were doing construction in and around our condo for the last 3 months, and I thought I was going to have a mental break. For me, the questions would be, am I going to be happy with this living arrangement for X amount of time? Why live in misery just to make something work, if it's not really what you want? Are there other options available? I know you've been looking for some time now, and living in a hotel must be hard. I hope something works out soon.

[Trek420]

Location location location. I'd go for ease of commute, errands, shopping, close to public transportation options as well as cycling.

You don't want to spend your life driving to work. :cool:

What area feels best to you?

[bmccasland]

The apartment is up in the hills, and I'd have an end unit, but on the bottom. So there'd be people above me.

The house is one block from a freeway and near the airport - jets fly by on a regular basis.

Not knowing who my immediate wall neighbors would be, it might be a toss up on which would be quieter, but for ambient outside quiet - the apartment complex definitely wins.

[badger]

I personally hate communal living. I live in a condo now, and if I can do away with noisy/inconsiderate/unfriendly neighbours, I would. If you're not on the top floor, you'll hear people stomping around upstairs.

Another thing that you may want to consider is: I'm assuming your cats are indoor cats? if they were in a house, would they be tempted to go outside?

I suppose what you could do is try out the house and if you absolutely loathe it, maybe you can at that point look for a spacious apartment. $400/mo is a lot, that's $4,800 a year - you could get a pretty swanky bike for that kind of money! ;)

I feel for you, I hate decision making, too!!

[badgercat]

The apartment is up in the hills, and I'd have an end unit, but on the bottom. So there'd be people above me.

The house is one block from a freeway and near the airport - jets fly by on a regular basis.

Not knowing who my immediate wall neighbors would be, it might be a toss up on which would be quieter, but for ambient outside quiet - the apartment complex definitely wins.

I hadn't realized noise was a concern. I grew up in a house a few blocks from two expressways, a few blocks from train tracks, and basically on a flight path for planes landing at Chicago Midway airport... so ambient noise doesn't really register for me. Just another example of how it's all relative to what you're used to and what makes you (un)comfortable. My parents moved to a less densely populated area a little while back (after spending their first 60+ years in/around Chicago) and found it unsettling at first because it was TOO quiet! :o

Does reading advice from those of us who leaned towards the house give you "that sinking feeling?" If so--your gut is probably telling you to go with the apartment, and maybe you should follow it. If not, deal with the smaller space, put away that rent differential, and get yourself a fabulous place in a few months that makes both you and the kitties happy. :)

[ClockworkOrange]

For the sake of 12 months, the cheaper place sounds a good option, then with the money you save you could upgrade and go for a Specialized Allez Sport 27 2011 Road Bike or similar.......... :rolleyes:

Being realistic, it's only four walls, with the winter coming along it will be cheaper to heat and smaller means LESS HOUSEWORK! :D

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Clock

PS I shall be sending you my invoice for Consultation fees all in due course. :p

[pll]

Things I'd consider:

Location... a freeway and the airport do not sound appealing to me. That's the main downside of the smaller space, with the limited information I have. How is it in terms of windows / light?
It's only for a year... And Seattle is great -- even in the winter, you can spend time outside, hiking, biking, there is skying within a reasonable distance...
The opportunity cost. $400 per month is a lot of money. With those savings in one year, you could give yourself a nice vacation, say, biking in Italy... Or a new bike, as Clock suggested.


Simplifying life might be an outcome. The amount of stuff we have is positively correlated to the amount of horizontal space at our disposal. If I got a bigger desk, it will soon be covered with paper.

[emily_in_nc]

I would go with the house. My DH and I have been on a de-cluttering/downsizing and simplifying kick for the past year, and it feels SO good. We've gone from a 4 BR, 2.5 bath house with a 3-car garage and outside shed on 11 acres, but far from everything and a 59-mile round-trip commute for me daily; to a 2 BR/1 BA apt. with no garage, 21-mile round trip commute for me, on the busline, walkable/bikeable to lots of great places, stores, and restaurants, and I'd have to say that our quality of life has improved immensely!

Sure, there are things I don't particularly love about apt. living (having to dress to take our dog out each morning rather than just letting her out back into the fenced area in my jammies being high on the list), but overall, having a smaller place to clean and take care of is a huge plus, as is being closer to everything. Having a shorter commute to work has given me more time every single weekday to do things I'd rather be doing than wasting time driving and/or sitting in traffic. Having less stuff has been liberating and enlightening too!

In our 1100 sq. foot apt. we have 6 bikes, other hobby stuff, and the three of us (DH, doggie, and me), and we're doing just grand. If I were single, I'd live in an even smaller space. I feel like I used to be owned by "stuff", and now I feel much more in control of everything, somehow. But that's just me - everyone is different, and the noise of the house for you might indeed be enough of a negative to rule it out. Is there another apartment option closer to your work and less $, by any chance?

Like someone said, don't count on your house selling anytime soon. I don't think many people are moving to the Gulf these days. If Katrina wasn't enough, the oil spill has certainly depressed the market there even more. If it does sell; great, then you can get your dream place, but until then, I'd go for the less expensive option, even if it means living out of Rubbermaid containers for awhile.

Good luck!

[Trek420]

I would go for the smaller place too. Meanwhile de'clutter.

I did not think I have much stuff in the first place but I'm de'cluttering even more to sell. All I need is art, books, bikes and my dog after all.

In terms of your Gulf home I hope it sells soon but the market is ... well you know.

Maybe it's different down there (and in the PNW) but homes don't sell as much in winter. It seems here in sunny CA anyway that likely buyers go "OMG it's raining, let's stay inside". :rolleyes:

I'd want to see the property in dark or rain. Every home looks great in Spring or a sunny day, let's see it in bad weather.

But maybe that's just me :rolleyes:

More people look to buy in Spring and Summer especially if there are kids involved it's less disruptive to their school year. Hopefully you may find people planning ahead.

With banks taking longer to close a loan will people start looking earlier? Hmmmmm, everything is different now.

Either way you may have the Gulf house a while (hopefully not) so I'd go for the savings. Then if you find a qualified buyer who's planning ahead .... woot! New bike.

[JennK13]

DH and I moved at the beginning of the year. A little background, we moved from a 2600 sq ft house with three car garage in CA with 2 weeks notice 3 years ago. needless to say, we didn't have time to get rid of a lot of stuff in that amount of time. we rented a house that was 1800 sq ft, with a large unfinished basement in addition to that, and 2 car garage. It housed our stuff perfectly.
Last year, we decided to move to a cheaper place to save money. That meant "smaller". It took me a while to find a place within the area we wanted to live in our new price range. in the mean time, we got rid of a lot of stuff. I mean A LOT of stuff. DH thought I was a hoarder, but my thought was if it's been in the basement the last two years and we haven't touched it, it's gone! I actually sold a lot of stuff on Craigslist and made a couple hundred dollars. we found a 1200 sq ft condo with a BIG 2 car garage right where we wanted to live. Maybe we're lucky, as we've been here 9 months now and it's really quiet - we don't hear anything more than people outside like we would hear on a regular residential street. The design of these condos is great, though, as the garages are all on the first floor, with ranch style condos above them. Our "joint" walls are the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room, so we don't hear anything.
At any rate, it was refreshing to get rid of so much stuff. the only thing we miss, as stated by another person, is having to get dressed to take the dog out. By the way, we have 2 cats and a golden retriever and we all fit fine here. But we don't spend a lot of time inside the house anyhow.

[bmccasland]

Since starting out on my own again - I've had:

800 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment (2)

1500 sq ft 3 bedroom house, but I only used two of the bedrooms, while living there I took possession of the lovely bedroom suit that belonged to my grandparents (4 poster double bed, chest of drawers, dresser, vanity & bench, plus a cedar chest, and a quilt rack). House was on a fish hatchery, nice and quiet.

1160 sq ft, 3 bedroom/1.5 bath house - started aquiring lawn care stuff

960 sq ft, 2 bedroom/1 bath house - traded the push mower for gas. I should mention I felt cramped the entire time I lived there - not enough space for my sewing room creativity.

When it comes to pack-ratting I admit to two faults - books and fabric. Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, some of the stuff I've been hauling around is now in a dump in Louisiana - they were in boxes on the floor of my garage, which flooded, then the moisture wicked up, and then molded. Yucky. Does wonderful things to your psyche to see your childhood toys covered in mold.

What I'm trying to say is, I haven't lived in large homes, or when I did, I didn't even occupy all the space. But given the opportunity to spread out I can. If I had floor-to-ceiling bookcases, I wouldn't need as much floor space!
And I would, one day, like to have a sewing room again. I had that in my California house, it was wonderful. (the 3 bed/1.5 bath place).

[emily_in_nc]

Just to add one more comment. When you said:

"I can afford to pay the mortgage + house rent without dipping into savings if my Louisiana house isn't rented out. Not so sure about paying the extra $400 per month for the larger apartment."

That to me is crux -- if you don't sell or rent your Louisiana house in a timely fashion, would you putting yourself into financial difficulty if you take the apartment? You should be able to work out a budget to determine that -- you need to be sure before you take the pricier apt., unless you can afford to dip into your savings without it being a problem. If the numbers don't look favorable, then rent the house and plan on finding a larger place once you do rent or sell your house. That's just practical. Yes, it's a pain to have to move twice, but it's also a pain to be broke.

Let us know what you decide to do....

[indysteel]

I agree with Emily. How confident are you that you won't have to bring money to the table to sell? Unless you have a fair amount of equity, that could be a concern as well--in addition to carrying costs. I sold recently myself, and while I got a small amount at closing, I did sell for less than what I bought the house for in 2002. It hurt.

If it were me, I'd sacrifice some space in the short term until you're able to sell.

[artifactos]

I'd go with the house and spend some of the money I'd be saving for the first month or two on getting some shelving units for the garage, nice bookcases, and perhaps some other storage solutions that would help you deal with the small amount of space.

[jessmarimba]

do you have the dimensions for the rooms at the house? If you can play around with it on graph paper it may not be as small as it seems. I mean, obviously the square footage is set, but some living arrangements can seem larger or smaller depending on room design built-in storage space. My house is something like 980 square feet but was built before closets were invented and has no attic, so it gets a little cramped. My old apartment was smaller but had more efficient storage and an open floor plan.

[ClockworkOrange]

So Beth, what have you decided on?

Whatever you have chosen to move to, I'm sure you will soon make it feel like home. :)

Clock

[bmccasland]

So Beth, what have you decided on?

Whatever you have chosen to move to, I'm sure you will soon make it feel like home. :)

Clock

The little house. The part about being able to pay both rent and mortgage without dipping into savings could become important. Just haven't told the apartment complex people yet - The apartment won't be available until Nov 5 anyway.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for the update, Beth. I think you made the most practical decision, and hopefully one you'll be happy with. Keep us posted as you settle in and form an impression of the new place. I'd give it three months to know if it's a good match or not. At least for me, the first two months in our new place, I felt kind of disoriented, and it didn't feel like home at all. It takes awhile to settle in, psychologically as well as physically.

[bmccasland]

Doesn't quite help my feelings towards the roller coaster ride that I now get to deal with a dieing kitty too. The Vet gave Herald days to weeks to live, as we have no idea how long the mass has been growing or how fast it will continue to grow. So this week I get to try to confirm with whoever actually has my belongings - I want to talk to a human, NOT look on some stinking website - to arrange delivery of my belonging to the HOUSE not the apartment. AND hope that Herald will at least live one more week. Oh and get utilities transferred to my name. And maybe, could the sun shine? Please?
:(

[PamNY]

Beth, I'm so sorry. So much to deal with at once. Hugs to you and kitty, too.

[KnottedYet]

(((((Beth))))))

I'm so sorry.
Hang in there, and call me if you need help. Heck, you have a whole squadron of Seattle TE'ers standing at the ready, don't be shy.

(And, no, the sun will not shine until February or so. You might want to buy one of those light-box thingies to get the light your brain will need, and take about 3-4x the daily recommended amount of vitamin D. I'm serious. Honestly, I'm not kidding at all. Costco has both the light-boxes and the gigantic bottles of vitamin D.)

[smilingcat]

Oh I'm sorry to hear about Harold. And all while moving. He has had a wonderful life with his wonderful mom. It's far more than most can ask.

I wish you get to settle down in your new house sooner. And I'll keep you and Harold in my thoughts.

Sincerely,

smilingcat

PS yes the light box is a wonderful idea.

[XMcShiftersonX]

I'm so sorry your kitty is not doing well. That's one of the hardest things to go through. Not to mention to juggle all of these big changes at the same time. Hang in there... things will settle in eventually. And your kitty is very lucky to have had such a great mom that has given him a wonderful life. Make sure to cuddle him lots in the time that you have left! Sorry that the sun won't be much help in lifting your mood until spring. :(