Frustration/Renting a home - Page 3

[bmcneal]

Originally Posted by GarciaFamily 

You brilliant woman you! I've never thought of putting up my own little fence!!! My, you should see the smile on my face... now I just have to find a ground level place with a patio door. (And I just may have found something that will work... I don't know, we will see!)

SWEET!

I'm so glad you have (maybe) found a place! I have been sending good "finding a place" vibes to you, I know how hard it can be to find a place. *hugs*

And Tiredx2 is very smart to have thought about that!

I love MDC!

[NorthernFamily]

I love MDC too... 

Thanks for vibin' me 

[Poddi]

Originally Posted by GarciaFamily 

The thing is, DH won't ever really make more money. That was part of my curiosity. I know God provides and I am leaning on that. He is also the God of miracles and that is what it would take!!! Like I said, I am very blessed to have this place at the price we have it at, but I do ache for a home with a yard. Especially my own, but that is shooting for the stars and hey, sometimes you hit one right?! 

Anyway, eyes are still peeled! Still praying and waiting! I appreciate your response!

Is your DH a minister or missionary?  If he's a missionary don't give up hope.  He might got to other places that are cheaper.  I mean missionaries raise their own funds so moving to a cheaper place can really help.  My SIL used to be renting an apartment in the west, then they moved to the east and found housing prices incredibly affordable.  They have now bought a 1/2 duplex and very satisfied.  (They're both missionaries.)

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by Poddi 

Is your DH a minister or missionary?  If he's a missionary don't give up hope.  He might got to other places that are cheaper.  I mean missionaries raise their own funds so moving to a cheaper place can really help.  My SIL used to be renting an apartment in the west, then they moved to the east and found housing prices incredibly affordable.  They have now bought a 1/2 duplex and very satisfied.  (They're both missionaries.)

No, not a minister or missionary; warehousing. Hope will never go away!! Thanks for the response Poddi! 

[mar123]

We rent in a great area and rentals vary widely in price. We are currently renting a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with an air conditioned (!) garage. The house is older and the kitchen badly needs to be remodeled. We painted some of the rooms, but they won't let us touch the master bedroom (The 1980s called, and they want their bedroom back). We pay $1,250 a month. Other rentals for similair sized houses run all the way to $3,500. I can live with an ugly kitchen, as long as it works! The house is about 2,200 Square feet! I have even seem some as low as $600 and all of them have yards. You really have to look and the ones for rent by owner will be cheaper, IME.

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by mar123 

We rent in a great area and rentals vary widely in price. We are currently renting a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with an air conditioned (!) garage. The house is older and the kitchen badly needs to be remodeled. We painted some of the rooms, but they won't let us touch the master bedroom (The 1980s called, and they want their bedroom back). We pay $1,250 a month. Other rentals for similair sized houses run all the way to $3,500. I can live with an ugly kitchen, as long as it works! The house is about 2,200 Square feet! I have even seem some as low as $600 and all of them have yards. You really have to look and the ones for rent by owner will be cheaper, IME.

Nice point and now I really want to see photos of the timewarp 

I saw a 3br home for rent on craigslist today for $700 but my gut screams scam so, ah well. Some scams are obvious, the others, well well cloaked...

We will wait. 

[mar123]

I suck at pictures, but the owner's wife was really into accent walls; even the bathrooms have accent walls- and borders: big and flowery. So the bedroom is green and purple, with the green ivy border with purple grapes. Picture swag curtains (with gold fringe) on huge GOLD rods with the big leaf ends. I feel like my bedroom could be a bordello. The front room was pink walls with blue and pink curtains, with blonde wood floors- and the pink and blue border and wallpaper below the chair rail. We painted those walls a beautiful taupe. The curtains don't stand out as much with the neutral walls.

I'm envious that she can still fit in her clothes from the 80s, but she still wears them, LOL. This is not a financial issue either. She has an adorable figure and can really wear anything, but chooses high waisted jeans, sweaters with shoulder pads (and big, block color prints) and leggings. She is the sweetest person and our kids are friends. I just wish I had her figure and money to buy clothes!

[NorthernFamily]

LOL!

(I didn't really want you to take pictures of your private home, just saying, wow!)

[lisa landen]

I live in Minnesota, too, on my husband's salary.  He is a school teacher and I work very part time in my own business.  We own a home, but struggle to keep up with maintenance costs and put money into savings, and we currently live without health insurance. We looked into renting out our house so that we could move into a rental to save money, but discovered that staying in our current home is a better deal for us, even with the maintenance costs.  Our mortgage is 1,145 per month, and we have a 4-bedroom house in a working-class/non-ghetto suburb. Maybe buying is not an option for you, but if it is, now would be a great time to buy if you can.  You can buy houses that are in decent shape for very little, and your monthly payment would be lower than rent.

If you are flexible about location, try looking for rentals in Crystal or New Hope. I've seen some houses for rent on Craigslist that run about what we pay for our house, or maybe a bit more.

Best of luck to you.

[gro1974]

Consider prayers said!  I was going to suggest urban, as we live in North (bought a house here for pennies 3 years ago during the foreclosure boom and are blessed with great supportive neighbors- though it totally depends on whose renting across the street).  BUT it sounds like you've been-there-done-that, which I totally understand.

My next thought was maybe look into partial houses for rent, like a basement apartment where the land lord lives in the other half of the home.  I saw quite a few ads like this in the paper, a few years ago, when I was looking to rent.

Finally, I have a cousin who lives in East St. Paul.  If you'd like, I could ask her for any "leads" she might know of, or I could put you in contact with her.  You can email me offline, if interested. 

Good luck!

[e-mail]

[AnaB]

We live on one modest income and I've started my own at-home business last year that brings in a part-time income. It's hard, taking care of the kids all day, cooking, cleaning, and then working at night online for about 5 hours when they are asleep, exhausting. But we pay $1, 600 for a place we 'own' (well, the bank really), a condo with no land (north of Boston), in a not-the-best neighborhood. That's without utilities, but includes condo fee. Another $200/month in the winter for electric. I hate not having a yard for our 4 and 1 year old. It's about 45% of our income, and we realize that for the 1,200 sq ft we have, we would be paying even more in this area for rent. 

Ultimately the dream is to buy land up north that isn't expensive and build our own. How? No clue, we can't even save anything right now. Hoping the business will take off, but you never know. Sometimes we wish we were renting, we're spending so much money fixing stuff in our own place, there is always a project going on, money drain. 

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by AnaB 

We live on one modest income and I've started my own at-home business last year that brings in a part-time income. It's hard, taking care of the kids all day, cooking, cleaning, and then working at night online for about 5 hours when they are asleep, exhausting. But we pay $1, 600 for a place we 'own' (well, the bank really), a condo with no land (north of Boston), in a not-the-best neighborhood. That's without utilities, but includes condo fee. Another $200/month in the winter for electric. I hate not having a yard for our 4 and 1 year old. It's about 45% of our income, and we realize that for the 1,200 sq ft we have, we would be paying even more in this area for rent. 

Ultimately the dream is to buy land up north that isn't expensive and build our own. How? No clue, we can't even save anything right now. Hoping the business will take off, but you never know. Sometimes we wish we were renting, we're spending so much money fixing stuff in our own place, there is always a project going on, money drain. 

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by gro1974 

Consider prayers said!  I was going to suggest urban, as we live in North (bought a house here for pennies 3 years ago during the foreclosure boom and are blessed with great supportive neighbors- though it totally depends on whose renting across the street).  BUT it sounds like you've been-there-done-that, which I totally understand.

My next thought was maybe look into partial houses for rent, like a basement apartment where the land lord lives in the other half of the home.  I saw quite a few ads like this in the paper, a few years ago, when I was looking to rent.

Finally, I have a cousin who lives in East St. Paul.  If you'd like, I could ask her for any "leads" she might know of, or I could put you in contact with her.  You can email me offline, if interested. 

Good luck!

[e-mail]

Congrats on your house!!!

Thanks for the offer! I will talk to DH. 

[bluedaisy]

Just a few suggestions -

Could you buy a house with one more bedroom than you need and then find a renter?  If you live near a University, there are always students or grad students that are looking for a house.  You could advertise with some of the University Christian organizations if you would want a student that would be in line with your family's values.

Or, do you know any other local families in a similar situation?  You could rent a house together - maybe a 2 bedroom and you could take one floor and they could take one floor.  The community aspect would be a bonus for you as a SAHM

Also, is there any way you could earn some income to be able to afford a house?  When my DD was born I watched another baby a few days a week.  It really helped financially and I still got to be at home with my DD. 
 

Hope you find something soon!

[Iktomi]

My DH makes 75k for a family of 6, so we are doing OK.  We bought a 3 bedroom house with 46 acres in rural Wisconsin.  The mortgage is tough, but we don't spend much money on extras.  It's about $1200 per month, which is about as much as renting closer to the Twin Cities.  So, we bought a place that was basically a dump, an hour away from DH's job.  (It's a decent house, but the land is infertile and garbage-ridden.)  He bought a used hybrid to save on gas, and commutes.  Renting houses are cheaper in small towns or rural areas- in my town (Baldwin, WI) a 3 bedroom is around $850.  (But you can find equivalent houses for sale with a $400/month mortgage.)  But there's that pesky commute.  If you have a low gas mileage vehicle or can carpool, it would be worth it to go rural.  However, if you rent and use public transportation, that's probably cheaper.  It's obviously safer in my neighborhood as well, and we can garden and keep goats and chickens.

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by Iktomi 

My DH makes 75k for a family of 6, so we are doing OK.  We bought a 3 bedroom house with 46 acres in rural Wisconsin.  The mortgage is tough, but we don't spend much money on extras.  It's about $1200 per month, which is about as much as renting closer to the Twin Cities.  So, we bought a place that was basically a dump, an hour away from DH's job.  (It's a decent house, but the land is infertile and garbage-ridden.)  He bought a used hybrid to save on gas, and commutes.  Renting houses are cheaper in small towns or rural areas- in my town (Baldwin, WI) a 3 bedroom is around $850.  (But you can find equivalent houses for sale with a $400/month mortgage.)  But there's that pesky commute.  If you have a low gas mileage vehicle or can carpool, it would be worth it to go rural.  However, if you rent and use public transportation, that's probably cheaper.  It's obviously safer in my neighborhood as well, and we can garden and keep goats and chickens.

We are looking in SE WI right now too. I see one in Somerset, which isn't far from where we are, and it looks just perfect except no pets, which sometimes can be rescinded.

Thanks for the tips Iktomi!!

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by bluedaisy 

Just a few suggestions -

Could you buy a house with one more bedroom than you need and then find a renter?  If you live near a University, there are always students or grad students that are looking for a house.  You could advertise with some of the University Christian organizations if you would want a student that would be in line with your family's values.

Or, do you know any other local families in a similar situation?  You could rent a house together - maybe a 2 bedroom and you could take one floor and they could take one floor.  The community aspect would be a bonus for you as a SAHM

Also, is there any way you could earn some income to be able to afford a house?  When my DD was born I watched another baby a few days a week.  It really helped financially and I still got to be at home with my DD. 
 

Hope you find something soon!

Hey bluedaisy,

Those are some wonderful tips for sure. I can't implement them currently but, I bet they'll strike a cord with someone reading that's in the same boat. Thanks for taking time to offer your suggestions!!

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by lisa landen 

I live in Minnesota, too, on my husband's salary.  He is a school teacher and I work very part time in my own business.  We own a home, but struggle to keep up with maintenance costs and put money into savings, and we currently live without health insurance. We looked into renting out our house so that we could move into a rental to save money, but discovered that staying in our current home is a better deal for us, even with the maintenance costs.  Our mortgage is 1,145 per month, and we have a 4-bedroom house in a working-class/non-ghetto suburb. Maybe buying is not an option for you, but if it is, now would be a great time to buy if you can.  You can buy houses that are in decent shape for very little, and your monthly payment would be lower than rent.

If you are flexible about location, try looking for rentals in Crystal or New Hope. I've seen some houses for rent on Craigslist that run about what we pay for our house, or maybe a bit more.

Best of luck to you.

Yeah, buying a house is not an option currently, I was just wondering how people do it I guess...  and yeah, those are the going rates of rentals, which we can't afford by any means! I saw a tiny little 1 br home in Marine St. Croix, in verrrrrrrry bad condition for sale at about 40k... wowza! I mean I wouldn't mind putting in the work... perhaps it's the location which is sought after for that one, I don't know... but thanks for your input Lisa, much appreciated!

[cristyrn]

I know what you mean!!  We are a family of 4 living in Santa Monica, CA.  We felt that we needed to live in Santa Monica for the good schools because LAUSD is terrible!  I am the "bread winner" for lack of better phrase, and don't make that much money.  It's very challenging being the mother and the one financially responsible as well.  We live in a 2nd floor, 700 sq ft apartment for $1750.  And that's a great price for the location.  Have to walk a block away to laundry facilities, and we have no yard.  We have 2 BDRM, but use the family bed, so the 2nd room is more of a toy storage/play area.  We have no health insurance (and I work in healthcare, how sad is that??), and we buy used clothes for the kids.  The least expensive home to purchase in our area is 850,000.  Chances of us ever owning are nonexistent, so we are just thankful for what we have.  We had to find new homes for our 2 little dogs when we moved into this place.  I miss them, but I must say, my life is way easier w/o them, and they are both in loving homes.  We have had sleepover playdates w/ the dogs for the sake of my 5 year old.  Fortunately, our neighborhood is very safe and we have 2 parks that are walking distance.  Summer nights are frustrating b/c our bdrm is by the alley, and lots of young smokers sit around chatting until wee hours of the morning.  We use a box fan to help drown out the noise.  In all, I can empathize and wish the best of luck to you!  I want another baby so badly, more than I even want a home and/or yard, but just don't see how this is feasible given our financial situation.  :(    Anyway, other posters had great advice so hoping you will find something that will work for you!  Hugs!

[alaskanmomma]

We rent from my in-laws, a pretty decent sized condo, for a lot less than it could rent for... and we still have money problems. It REALLY frustrates me when people say things like we should buy a house or get a bigger place, we CAN'T afford it.