Where am I gonna live?!?
My lease is over on June 15th. Naively, I just assumed that month to month would be at an increased, but reasonable rate. In my rental past, month to month or short term extensions have cost $35 per month at one place, and 10% more at another. At the beginning of March, I asked the office about the rates. They told me I'd be getting a letter. At that point, my floorplan was advertised at $50 less than I pay, so I figured I could get a pretty good deal on my renewal. I think it sucks that the leasing office did not send me my renewal options until the very end of March, and they require a 60 day notice. So, I have to either renew or give notice to move out by April 14th.
What REALLY sucks is the shitty prices they are trying to stick me with- if I sign a new 12 month lease, I'll have to pay $12 more each month. Well, that's not so bad, except the apartments are $50 cheaper now for new leases! And the worst is month-to-month... $170 more per month, on a one bedroom. The rates vary, they gave me a "choice" of 1-16 month lease. The 12 month is cheapest, but still more than I pay now, with the one month rates being the worst.
So, I'm pretty frustrated by all of this. And I go talk to the leasing office, hoping that maybe I can point out that with several empty units in my building, and current new rental rates for the units less than my current rent, it is pretty stupid for them to push me out when I am willing to pay them and stay until August when schools start and they can rent the apartment for more. The woman in the leasing office is both a huge bitch and apparently a moron. She tried to talk down to me; or shes just really, really dumb. She tried to explain to me that the advertised rates were for new residents only... like it was something I didn't understand. Of course, I'm trying to be nice, and just politely make my point, that a CURRENT resident paying MORE than a new resident would is probably better than a NEW resident who will be paying LESS. Not even mentioning that maybe the apartment will sit vacant for a week while it is cleaned and painted, or maybe it will sit vacant for 2 months like a couple of units in my building have. But EITHER way, there will be a period of time that nobody is paying rent if I was to move out. So, this bitch tries to act like she's just being ever so patient, and I am ever so dumb, and I can't possibly understand the intricacies of being screwed over by a leasing company. Well, fuck you too.
And that'd be the end of it. Infuriating and kinda shitty, but simple enough. Except, I have been thinking about buying a condo or townhouse. With the new tax credit (essentially an $8000 rebate), I'd be able to buy a 2 bedroom place in the neighborhood I'm in now for only a fraction more than it costs to rent my 1 bedroom. I'd really like the extra space, but it just seems silly to pay rent on a bonus room when I'm home maybe 3 nights a week. Well, the tax credit is only available for homes that close by December 1st. That is 4.5 months from when my lease ends. So I'm bouncing ideas around in my head, with no idea what to do.
Do I frantically try to buy a place in 9 weeks? That seems like a big thing to rush.
Do I try to sign a 3-5 month lease somewhere to buy myself some time? From pricing this option, it seems silly. It would cost almost as much as the shitty deal my complex is offering me, plus the pain and suffering of moving.
Do I sublease a room for the summer, putting half my crap in storage? This seems like a big pain in the ass, but reasonable.
Do I just bend over and take the screwing of a 30% rent increase to stay exactly where I am? I hate that I'm considering this, and it'd be hard for me to afford it, but it is one of the least stressful options.
Do I just give up on the whole tax credit thing, hope that I won't regret it, and postpone becoming that much of a grown-up for a little longer? In this scenario, I could find a new apartment pretty easily if I'm willing to sign a 12 month lease.
I kind of hoped that by the time I wrote all this out, things would seem a little more clear. But they don't. If anything, there are more options than I had considered. However, there are much worse problems to have. I mean, I could move back to Pittsboro for a few months if I really had too. If I really, really had to.
What REALLY sucks is the shitty prices they are trying to stick me with- if I sign a new 12 month lease, I'll have to pay $12 more each month. Well, that's not so bad, except the apartments are $50 cheaper now for new leases! And the worst is month-to-month... $170 more per month, on a one bedroom. The rates vary, they gave me a "choice" of 1-16 month lease. The 12 month is cheapest, but still more than I pay now, with the one month rates being the worst.
So, I'm pretty frustrated by all of this. And I go talk to the leasing office, hoping that maybe I can point out that with several empty units in my building, and current new rental rates for the units less than my current rent, it is pretty stupid for them to push me out when I am willing to pay them and stay until August when schools start and they can rent the apartment for more. The woman in the leasing office is both a huge bitch and apparently a moron. She tried to talk down to me; or shes just really, really dumb. She tried to explain to me that the advertised rates were for new residents only... like it was something I didn't understand. Of course, I'm trying to be nice, and just politely make my point, that a CURRENT resident paying MORE than a new resident would is probably better than a NEW resident who will be paying LESS. Not even mentioning that maybe the apartment will sit vacant for a week while it is cleaned and painted, or maybe it will sit vacant for 2 months like a couple of units in my building have. But EITHER way, there will be a period of time that nobody is paying rent if I was to move out. So, this bitch tries to act like she's just being ever so patient, and I am ever so dumb, and I can't possibly understand the intricacies of being screwed over by a leasing company. Well, fuck you too.
And that'd be the end of it. Infuriating and kinda shitty, but simple enough. Except, I have been thinking about buying a condo or townhouse. With the new tax credit (essentially an $8000 rebate), I'd be able to buy a 2 bedroom place in the neighborhood I'm in now for only a fraction more than it costs to rent my 1 bedroom. I'd really like the extra space, but it just seems silly to pay rent on a bonus room when I'm home maybe 3 nights a week. Well, the tax credit is only available for homes that close by December 1st. That is 4.5 months from when my lease ends. So I'm bouncing ideas around in my head, with no idea what to do.
Do I frantically try to buy a place in 9 weeks? That seems like a big thing to rush.
Do I try to sign a 3-5 month lease somewhere to buy myself some time? From pricing this option, it seems silly. It would cost almost as much as the shitty deal my complex is offering me, plus the pain and suffering of moving.
Do I sublease a room for the summer, putting half my crap in storage? This seems like a big pain in the ass, but reasonable.
Do I just bend over and take the screwing of a 30% rent increase to stay exactly where I am? I hate that I'm considering this, and it'd be hard for me to afford it, but it is one of the least stressful options.
Do I just give up on the whole tax credit thing, hope that I won't regret it, and postpone becoming that much of a grown-up for a little longer? In this scenario, I could find a new apartment pretty easily if I'm willing to sign a 12 month lease.
I kind of hoped that by the time I wrote all this out, things would seem a little more clear. But they don't. If anything, there are more options than I had considered. However, there are much worse problems to have. I mean, I could move back to Pittsboro for a few months if I really had too. If I really, really had to.