Time to rent?

So we've been looking for over a year now hoping that the prices would drop but we haven't seen much movement.

And now that both our kids are elementary school age, we've decided we need to reside in the neighborhood with the school we want them to be in. Our friends highly recommend the school in their area but the prices there are outrageous. We also like Woodbury but as I've posted numerous times... the prices are just not worth the New Home Smell to me. And there is just nothing currently that we can see ourselves living in for the next 10+ years.

So plan B is something we've not thought about ever since our last disaster... and that's renting a home where we want to end up.  We are apprehensive about this because our last rental was a headache in regards to worrying about damaging the home and not being able to get back our full deposit (which is another story in itself) but at least this time around we can take more time to pick and choose instead of being under a deadline (we had to move out because we sold our house).

So what do you guys think? We like our current house but it's small, the neighbors don't have kids that match the ages of ours and we're not fond of the location. Our monthly expenses will increase based on current rental comps but not as much as if we wanted to buy that same type of residence.

I've posted in the past that I would never rent again... but other factors has us looking at this option as something that would fit better with what we are trying to do.

What would you do with your current place? Moving is a pain. I would avoid it unless absolutely necessary such as a home purchase.

T2 said:

What would you do with your current place?

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We would probably rent it out again, although that is also its own challenge.

T2 said:

Moving is a pain. I would avoid it unless absolutely necessary such as a home purchase.

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I think being here for over 6 months has shown us that we really would rather live in a different area and a different house. We would have stayed in our previous rental if it were not so expensive because we really do hate moving. We've done it 3 times in the past year but if I can point out one pro... it helped us get rid of excess junk.

We'll see... I think an ideal rental will have to pop up for us to do it... which currently there seems to be low inventory just like resale.

Yeah, I didn't think moving would this much trouble.  But I don't think I want to go through with it again.  Besides, people think the house that I am buying will just go to the crapper compare to the other homes in Irvine.  So we are in it for the long term.  As for you IHO, it's a tough decision indeed.  You guys are getting that itch to move and it's tough to resist. 

IHO,

It is not the right to buy yet so renting is a reasonable alternative. Moving can be a real pain in the a** but in the end if you are in a better neighborhood and home, then it is probably worth it. Just be careful you don't rent from some slumlord who isn't paying their mortgage.

Are you mainly looking in WB and QH/TR?

Probably QH first since we liked it when we rented there last time.

irvinehomeowner said:

Probably QH first since we liked it when we rented there last time.

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Good luck on your decision IHO.  I know that your rental costs are going to be a lot lower than your ownership costs of a home in most parts of Irvine, especially Quail Hill.  See if the owner would be willing to sign a longer term lease like CK did signing a 2-year lease.

usctrojancpa said:

irvinehomeowner said:

Probably QH first since we liked it when we rented there last time.

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Good luck on your decision IHO.  I know that your rental costs are going to be a lot lower than your ownership costs of a home in most parts of Irvine, especially Quail Hill.  See if the owner would be willing to sign a longer term lease like CK did signing a 2-year lease.

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I've thought about that and I think a 1-year lease is better because it gives us more flexibility. Usually, if a tenant is good, the landlord will usually renew for another year because being a landlord before, I am happy to keep renting to a trouble-free tenant even if it means not raising the rental rate (it would cost more to find another tenant).

The problem is, rental inventory is so low right now in Quail Hill SFRs. I used to be able to find a few Tapestry models, a Sienna here or there... but right now it's only Olivos and maybe a Linden and their ask price is high.

Hi Irvine Homeowner,

I just started reading this blog. We are in the process of doing what you are doing. Renting seems more cost-efficient and flexible (you can then focus on finding the right house instead of the good-enough-house-right-now), and keeping your current house may protect you if the market goes up eventually. We are also landlords, and the last tenant trashed our beautiful home, so we had it renovated and have a terrific tenant now. Now that we are looking at rentals, we can see that many tenants do not take care of the houses, so renting a nice home will be a challenge.

jbh said:

Hi Irvine Homeowner,

I just started reading this blog. We are in the process of doing what you are doing. Renting seems more cost-efficient and flexible (you can then focus on finding the right house instead of the good-enough-house-right-now), and keeping your current house may protect you if the market goes up eventually. We are also landlords, and the last tenant trashed our beautiful home, so we had it renovated and have a terrific tenant now. Now that we are looking at rentals, we can see that many tenants do not take care of the houses, so renting a nice home will be a challenge.

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Welcome to TI, jbh.

We actually rented before when we sold our other Irvine home and while we enjoyed where we lived, we had problem with our landlord that turned us off from the whole renting thing. But now that we can probably be more choosy with who we rent from, we may have a better experience. The issue now, as I've mentioned, is there is not much available out there.

Funny story... back when we were first looking for rentals, the current tenant left their house in a disarray on purpose. You can tell they were trying to keep others from wanting to rent their place as I imagine their landlord wanted to raise their rent and so they were trying to make it so no one would so he would renew theirs. They put their clothes everyiwhere, hung them on the balcony and stairs and just left everything strewn all over the place. You could see their balcony from the back street so you would know when there were prospects looking as clothes would magically appear on the balcony and then disappear.

irvinehomeowner said:

Funny story... back when we were first looking for rentals, the current tenant left their house in a disarray on purpose. You can tell they were trying to keep others from wanting to rent their place as I imagine their landlord wanted to raise their rent and so they were trying to make it so no one would so he would renew theirs. They put their clothes everyiwhere, hung them on the balcony and stairs and just left everything strewn all over the place. You could see their balcony from the back street so you would know when there were prospects looking as clothes would magically appear on the balcony and then disappear.

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This sounds like some of the foreclosures I've seen.  In one home, there were holes in the drywall, the cabinet doors were removed, the stairs had pee all over them, the house smelled really bad, and they ripped the bathtub from the master bath out of the wall and put it in the middle of the master bdrm.  And that's not all!

irvinehomeowner said:

We are apprehensive about this because our last rental was a headache in regards to worrying about damaging the home and not being able to get back our full deposit (which is another story in itself) but at least this time around we can take more time to pick and choose instead of being under a deadline (we had to move out because we sold our house).

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We are in the process of moving out of our rental (thanks to the help of IrvineRealtor on our first house purchase), and we are having nothing but grief with our landlord.  Just curious what your experience was that led you to never want to rent again.  You said it was a story in itself...I would like to hear it!  Also, any advice on how to deal with a not-so-trustworthy landlord?  We are getting ready for the possibility of small claims court, but we would really like to be ready for that if it actually happens.  I am trying to educate myself on the rights of renters right now.  Seems that our landlord is not up on these rights!    It seems so unfair that we took excellent care of the home for four years, and the landlord did almost zero work on the place during that time, and now he wants to make our lives difficult upon moving out.  Then you hear about these tenants who trash the place...and seem to get away with it (because they didn't pay their last month's rent, etc).  Frustrating!

chilenita said:

You said it was a story in itself...I would like to hear it!

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Let's just say we didn't get all of our large deposit back... and we would have had to go to regular court (not Small Claims) to fight for it.

Also, any advice on how to deal with a not-so-trustworthy landlord?

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Don't be like us and trust the landlord will do the right thing. Make sure you get that estimate/receipt of repairs within 21 days of moving out.  Remind your landlord that Cali law requires they furnish that to you with the difference in the deposit (regardless of whether repair work has been completed) or else he/she owes you the FULL deposit regardless of damage. In some cases, you can get triple your deposit amount if they don't comply (I'm not a lawyer but I was advised of that in my case).

I would take pictures and if you have access to whichever realtor did your rental in the first place, have them do the move out with you so there is a 3rd party present. That's the one thing I wish would change about leasing using Realtors, they should also be there for the move out as well.

We are getting ready for the possibility of small claims court, but we would really like to be ready for that if it actually happens.  I am trying to educate myself on the rights of renters right now.  Seems that our landlord is not up on these rights!    It seems so unfair that we took excellent care of the home for four years, and the landlord did almost zero work on the place during that time, and now he wants to make our lives difficult upon moving out.  Then you hear about these tenants who trash the place...and seem to get away with it (because they didn't pay their last month's rent, etc).  Frustrating!

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I totally understand. We actually had the place professionally cleaned, steam vac'ed etc on move out and his claims were ridiculous.

I would suggest trying to work it out with him as civilly as possible as you don't want to get tied up in court. Sometimes in would be better to concede some of his deductions than having to spend time fighting for what could only be a few hundred dollars. Good luck.