Author Topic: Renting Suite in Upscale Area  (Read 1915 times)

jennipurrr

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Renting Suite in Upscale Area
« on: April 28, 2013, 11:47:01 AM »
My husband and I have several rental properties and are considering buying a new primary residence.  We have lived in our current home for 7 years.  It is almost paid off but the area is a bit rough, so we would like to get somewhere nicer for the long term with better schools (no kids yet).

We have seen a couple of houses with garage apartments.  We made an offer on one but nothing worked out.  They were located right by a university campus and we understand the rental environment there well.

We are now considering a house about 3 miles away which is about to be listed as an REO.  While it sounds close, it is a different world, not really the same environment where people rent out to students as there isn't student housing nearby.  The neighborhood is super quiet, a lot of older people (however, younger people are just beginning to move in as these folks pass away, etc), the homes are on estate lots and vary from the size of this one (3000 sq ft) to larger.  There have been a few tear downs where people built monstrosities.

The house is a funky midcentury modern home with a walkout basement/split level (not sure what you call that) where the back wall is mostly glass on both levels and looks out at a foresty yard.  The bottom suite has a small kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms. 

I know a lot of folks here rent out their own home or live in a duplex type situation.  Does anyone have experience with a rental like this?  I am not sure what type of tenant would be most interested in a situation like this, or if it is even something we should consider.  It gets us in a great central location, nice area, good school zone, but if it isn't really rentable it would be too much home for us at this point in our lives.  Everyone in real life looks at me cross eyed when I mention it.

totoro

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Re: Renting Suite in Upscale Area
« Reply #1 on: April 28, 2013, 02:01:30 PM »
The question is not whether it is rentable, but what rent you can expect.  Can you look at existing listing for this neighbourhood online?

We have one place that is similar in that it is not right by the university but is right next to a huge park with a running trail.  We ended up renting to a university student triathalete who had a dog and appreciated that we would put up deer fencing on a small part of the back yard for a dog run. 
For our place,  applicants for the suite actually fell into the following groups:

1. older retired women looking for a quiet, affordable place
2. young working couples with a car
3. students with cars
4. singles whether students or not with a dog


jennipurrr

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Re: Renting Suite in Upscale Area
« Reply #2 on: April 30, 2013, 07:50:15 AM »
Thank you both for the replies!  Nice to see a familiar "face" lhamo :)

Totoro, your comment about what rent to expect hit the nail on the head.  In the fantasy world of my mind, I imagine we can command a price premium based on the central location and scenic surroundings.  In reality though I have no idea, and it could quite possibly have a lower rent since it is not really a rental area.

I have been trying to find similar rental listings with no luck.  The good thing is the listings I do find that aren't in the one apartment complex in the zipcode are all already rented.  No shortage of demand it appears.  There is very little to rent in this school zone, which I think would definitely help it seem desirable to a divorced spouse.  DH and I don't have kids so the prospect of kids at the house doesn't get me super excited, but I think if they were not there full time or were older children it would be fine.

Thanks again!