So, as much as I love my current apartment, my lease will be up in a couple months and I’m sure my landlord will raise my rent. The apartment was slightly overpriced (and a teensy bit out of my price range) when I first rented it, but since it’s so awesome (an Art Deco building meticulously restored!) I chose a cool apartment instead of cable. Either way, I can’t justify paying higher rent than I am now.
One of my BF’s stipulations for the new place is that it must have somewhere he can work on a car- he’s a bit of a car enthusiast. Well, that virtually guarantees it must be a house, since very few apartment complexes around here offer garages.
I’ve never rented a house before, so I’m just looking for advice from non-home-owning or apartment-dwelling Dopers. I know that there will be more utilities to pay, like water/sewer/garbage. I also know I’ll have to factor in things like lawn maintenance into pricing considerations, too, so that 2 bedroom house that’s $25 bucks a month cheaper will work out to be more expensive, but it’s a 2 bedroom house, not a 1 bedroom apartment.
What other expenses haven’t I thought of? What other advice can you offer when looking to rent a house?