To Move, or Not to Move?

When we went apartment hunting back in January of last year, we were originally looking for a place where Nathan could stay for 6 months. Then, when we were married, we would get a two bedroom apartment somewhere about halfway in between my work and Nathan's. However, every apartment we looked at charged so much extra for a 6 month lease, or even transferring to a two bedroom apartment halfway through the lease term, that we decided it would be best to just get a 12 month lease for a two bedroom apartment. I figured I could handle a 20 mile commute for 6 months until we could move somewhere in between. Well, those 6 months have passed, so we're now free to move...or not move.

Reasons to Move

• As I mentioned, I drive 20 miles both ways to work. It could be worse, but that's still 5 hours a week (or more) spent in the car.
• We don't have a washer and dryer in our unit, or even hookups. The apartment laundry facility is far enough away that I can't walk there while carrying two loads of laundry, so it's a hassle. And a lot of quarters.
• We have limited counter space and extremely limited cabinet space. I know this is typical of most apartments, but my last apartment had a pantry that could hold all the food I had and more. 
• Since we live on the second story, it's a little inconvenient to let Nenya out. The residents in the first story apartments here have a small fenced-in area and can just open the door for their dogs. (There were no first story apartments available when Nathan moved in.)
• Parking can be a bit limited at times. The apartment I had in college was much worse (I once parked in the only available spot in the entire complex, a visitor spot, and got ticketed), but sometimes it can be difficult to find a spot.

Reasons to stay put

• Moving isn't fun, especially in January. Just look at how Nathan's move went last year. Renting a U-Haul is a bit of an expense, but the time involved is the worst part. After living in 4 different places in the past 2 years, I'm not in a hurry to move again.
• Other than being 30 minutes away from work for me, we're in an excellent location. Nathan gets to work in about 10 minutes. We're also really close to multiple grocery stores, other shopping, a library, and a fantastic walking/biking trial.
• Our apartment complex pays the gas bill. We have a gas furnace, water heater, and stove, so that's huge, especially this time of year.
• We have plenty of square footage in a layout that works for us. All our furniture fits without it feeling the least bit crammed. We have a living area long enough to basically be divided into the living room, office, and dining room, and it doesn't even look that weird.
• Finally, the price. Our rent, including the pet fee, gas, water, and trash is around 15% of our take home pay, and all the slightly nicer places I've seen would cost a lot more. While we could afford to spend more, it's nice having the extra money to attack our debt with a vengeance.

Can you tell what we decided? What would you do?

The Toilet "from Hades"

Nathan sent this picture of our bathroom to my phone this afternoon. A little scary, huh? Our toilet hadn't stopped running in several weeks, and our limited knowledge of toilet troubleshooting didn't lead us to any solutions. We finally called maintenance about it. I figured the maintenance guy would come in and make some adjustment with a wrench that would be so simple that we'd feel stupid for even calling, but apparently this was a little more serious. The maintenance guy thought he just needed to replace one part, but while he was doing that another piece broke because it was so brittle. Long story short, we ended up with the scene above, and he had to replace the entire back part of the toilet. He told Nathan our toilet was "from Hades."

 

When I came home today to a perfectly functioning toilet, with no cost or hassle for us, I was reminded once again that renting does have its advantages. Dealing with malfunctioning toilets and similar situations is one part of home ownership I'm not looking forward to at all.

Any home maintenance horror stories you'd like to share to make me never want to buy a home?

The Downside of Renting

Renting can be better than owning a home for many reasons. Although I fully believe that renting is the best option for us right now, there are some times when living in an apartment can be difficult. This past Wednesday was one of those times. While I was driving home from work, I got a call from Nathan. He asked me, "Do you want to see if you can do a take your dog to work day on Friday?" What?!?

Apparently, one of our neighbors saw fleas in their apartment, so an exterminator was scheduled to fumigate all the apartments in our building on Friday. It would be safe to return home by the time we got off work, but we still had to figure out what to do with the other member of our family.

Nathan had already spoken with the property manager and the exterminator before he called me. The exterminator told us that they wouldn't have to treat our apartment but that we should put a towel by the bottom of the door if we left Nenya there. We decided that didn't sound too safe. I probably could have gotten permission to take her to work with me, but that wouldn't have been the best situation for either of us.

We ended up taking her to a doggy daycare. The place had good reviews, and it was only $15 for the day with the coupon they had on their website. 

Here's a screen shot Nathan took of their live webcam. On the right you see three workers and a big group of dogs, and on the left you see Nenya. What a crazy girl! We think she was probably trying to tell them that she needed to go out.

Even though it was an inconvenience and extra expense for us, it was good for Nenya. She normally sleeps a lot during the day and is ready to play as soon as we get home. She had such an active day that she was worn out by the time Nathan brought her home.

So, this wasn't really  a horrible experience. It's just frustrating that we can be told we have to leave our home since it's not really ours. And since we share a building with several other people, the actions of one of our neighbors could cause some really awful consequences for us. For these reasons, I do look forward to the day when we can be homeowners.

What's your opinion on renting versus buying?