For those who have rented house and apts....?

Question

is it better to rent a house, or did u enjoy living in an apt. complex?

Tell me ur experience, esp if u have kids.

Answer 1

We rent.  We live in an apartment complex.   We have one child.    It's to expensive to own a home.   We have been here a long time.

Answer 2

I didn't care one way or another. I lived in large and small apartment complexes, townhouses, duplexes, and now I live in a house. As long as I liked the place (if it was cozy, quiet and convenient), it didn't matter to me what it was. My dream would be to live in an urban apartment with a gorgeous view of a downtown of some fabulous city, but it's never gonna happen. My husband strongly prefers a house because he can have a yard and a garage to work on his projects. He likes to build things, and he likes space.

P.S. I don't have kids.

Answer 3

No kids, but I've rented/leased for over 20 years. I've been in houses and complexes. Houses are usually a little quieter, but in the complexes, I prefer upstairs ... quieter, and you get some free heating help in the winter from the place below.

     For kids, a yard is always nice, but some complexes have nice playgrounds.

Answer 4

Okay first of all I don't have kids.

But when my hubby and I first lived together, we lived in an apartment for a year and a half.  We loved it! I guess since we were still in that beginning stage. We would always be together. All the families around there looked happy, taking their kids to the pool in the community, talking to neighbors.

Then we rented a 3 bedroom house, and we had so much more space, yet were very happy, but we each did our own thing, but yet we enjoyed it.

At the moment we are building a one story home, and can't wait to start a family. My parents live in a 2 story house and hate it, since my teenage brother is always upstairs in his room, and i mean that's normal. So, it all depends on the family wherever your most comfortable. Hope this helps. :)

Answer 5

The offer different things.  Depends on your lifestyle.  Are both working and busy?  Are you a homebody?

Houses:

Freedom to decorate; You "own" it; you're not sharing walls with anyone; easy outside access for kids to play in.

Apartments:

Sometimes have utilities included (less bills to keep track of); no grass to cut; no snow to shovel; no furnace to fix; no hot water tank to replace; if it breaks, your landlord will fix it.

Answer 6

I had a good experience in both. I found that really nice apartments worked the best. There were a lot of children so my son made great friends, there was a swimming pool, playground, and after school care and whenever I had a problem the maintenance people were on site and fixed the problem quickly. Renting a house was more expensive but I enjoyed the back yard especially for birthday parties and family gatherings.

However I am now a proud home owner - this is by far the best and also a great investment. You get nothing for renting but broke.

Buy now - $200,000 homes are going for $130,000. Not good for sellers right now but it is definitely a buyers market.

Good luck...........

Answer 7

Apt complex because my apt comes with 2 pools, tennis court and basketball court.  you'll also save money living in an apt for a while then you can purchase a house.

Answer 8

Well I loved the little apartment I rented, I felt so safe..it was on the top floor and I could see my surroundings and knew also that if someone was coming in it would be through the front door only. But now I'm married and expecting and we're leasing our home which is better because we have a large dog and there will be room for our son to play as he gets older. I think apts and houses both have there perks.  

Answer 9

Renting sucks.  I hate roaches.

Answer 10

I would never rent a house.  If i pay monthly on a house, its going to be to pay off my mortgage.  I only rent Apartments.

Answer 11

House for me. I have lived in apts and it doesn't allow much for children.

I own my own house now and land and love it so much....can do what I want and when I want outside, etc.

My 24 y/o daughter was renting apt and then decided she wanted to rent a house. She loves the decision she and her husband made because she did not like having neighbors on the other side of her floor/ceiling/walls.

The downside of a house is yard maintenance, unless the landlord does that.....

Answer 12

I enjoyed renting the apartment since there was no yard work to do. I also enjoyed eye-balling the hot ladies around the pool. Shhhh...Don't tell the wife......

Answer 13

we use to rent a house but we are owning now and there is a difference . now we have to pay to get in a pool and have to pay for a fitness club . but now i have my own yard and i get to plant flowers and my kids get to play there . i have age approppriate toys for my daughter in the backyard rather than the huges ones in the park . but we get to pay everything ourselves . all the bills . but we enjoy the privacy and actually no ones hears us  when we are banging each other  

Answer 14

I have done both, and they both have their advantages and their disadvantages.

Apartments have the advantage of a built in community, lots of people right there generally with lots of kids nearby for your children to make friends with and socialize with.  Some apartment complexes have rec rooms and activities that are run by the management or something like that.  These are a big plus, especially during the summer.  A lot of apartment complexes also have playgrounds on the property so you don't have to go far from home to find a 'park' to play at when you want to take the kids outside to get some exercise.  These are all big pluses for living in an apartment.  Not to mention the fact that you won't have to worry about lawn care or any utilities other than your electric bill usually.  Now, for the negatives.  Apartments are also usually close together, and if you tend to talk very loud (like my family does), your neighbors hear everything you say  morning, noon, and night.  And if you and your family are night owls, and your neighbors are morning people, that could lead to some unpleasant feelings between you.  Plus, if you or your children tend to walk heavily, your downstairs neighbors won't be too happy.  Then, there's the fact that apartments do tend to be much smaller than a house.  And, if you have a special needs child that is prone to tantrums and/or screaming, your neighbors could misconstrue this as you are abusing your child or not disciplining your child appropriately, and feel the need to call Child Protective Services on you.

Now, for a house...

A house is bigger, and usually has at least a small yard.  Neighborhoods can be chosen where you have more children living nearby so that your children would have playmates in close proximity.  A number of communities are now building community centers, or cities are, so that they have a place for the community to meet and socialize together, much like apartment complexes have had.  There may be an elementary school or a nearby park with a playground  for the children to play at, that would be better than the usual playground that an apartment complex would have, because it would be an actual park, with grass and a play area, instead of just some bark dust and play equipment.  Your neighbor's houses wouldn't neccessarily share a wall with yours, so if your child started screaming and wouldn't stop, your neighbors wouldn't hear all of it constantly, as opposed to anapartment.  

The biggest negative we've found since moving out of apartments, however, is being responsible for more than just electricity, and having to pay our own water and garbage bills.  We don't have a sewer charge, because we have a septic tank.  Overall, though, we would much rather be in a house than in an apartment.  But, we're a family of seven.  I think a lot of it depends on your family size.

Answer 15

It really depends on what your needs are.  If you have pets, especially a big dog, it might be harder to find a suitable apt that allows big dogs.  Or if you have kids, you have to be careful of having an apt as well with neighbors surrounding you.  That is one of the BIGGER downsides to apt living-you can hear your neighbors more so than if you were in a house.  And also, you might have to consider having a ground floor if you have kids that run around a lot to be considerate of the neighbors.  (stomping on the ceiling and noisy to them)  

You need to evaluate the needs and wants of your family and also, it can be more expensive at times to rent a house.  Usually you get more square footage with a house, and a private yard, but it is more expensive.  Some do offer "rent-to-own" type deals where if after a year you can actually file to own the house with all of your previous rent checks going towards the down payment as well.