should I make this move?

[nageov3t]

so, my great aunt (maternal grandmother's sister) owns and lives in a 2 family house. she's had the same tenant for years, but lately has been looking to get rid of her over some disputes with the rent (said tenant has started a policy of paying whatever she feels like paying)... I've been wanting to move lately because I feel like I need a bigger place and my aunt said that if I wanted the apartment, she'd evict her tenant (or more specifically, my mom probably would since she's taken over managing most of my great aunt's affairs)

so I'm debating...

pro's:

-stupidly cheap rent (she charges her current tenants $300, but I'd probably pay $5-600 even if she didn't ask me to since I know that 300 doesn't cover her property taxes... for perspective, I'm currently paying $950/month and that's probably getting raised to $975 this year)
-much larger (current apt. is 700 sq ft bed/living/kitch/bath... new apartment would add on an extra bedroom and dining room plus unrestricted usage of the basement and yard)
-closer to family (right now, my parents and my sister/BIL/niece are an hour drive away; moving here would cut that down to a 15-minute drive)
-closer to NYC (apartment is about a mile walk away from an NJ PATH station)
-the house is likely going to be left to my mom when (god forbid) my aunt passes away, so I can make upgrades to the apartment with the knowledge that I'm not just throwing money away... whatever upgrades I make could reap benefits should we turn around and rent out the apartments to someone else someday. I'd definitely consider paying out of my own pocket to finish the basement and turn it into a gym.
-get in on the ground floor (literally)... knowing my mom, if the house were left to her in my aunt's will, she may well just turn around and give it to me.

cons:

-I'd be living with my 84 year-old aunt. I'd doubtlessly be expected to help her run errands, take care of stuff around the house, drive her to/from family functions, etc. also, I have no gauge for how involved she'd be in my life (eg: is she going to be dropping by every night? reporting my comings and goings to my mom (not that it matters)?)
-my aunt's got a cat. an old cat. cat has fleas and frequently misses the litterbox. my aunt refuses to have it put to sleep.
-parking. I have a parking space right behind my apartment right now. it's street parking only in my aunt's neighborhood... probably not a big deal for the most part, but I can see situations where I'm parking 3-4 blocks away (if I were to be looking for a space late Sunday night or something... Sunday nights seem to be the worst time for parking)
-my work commute would go from 5 minutes each way to 45. not a huge deal now that I'm working from home 2 days a week (2 days home, 2 days to the office), but there's always the risk that the powers that be decide to start cracking down on that someday and I'm back to driving into the office 4 days/week.
-my landlord could react badly to me breaking my lease and withholding my security deposit ($2K, though I figure I'd make that money back in rent savings after 5 months)

so... thoughts? I've been totally on the fence about this and I need some feedback from objective total strangers :beer:

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

5 blocks away to park? How do ya'll live like that? Its like being in a freaking crowded elevator there.

 

[Terzo]

my work commute would go from 5 minutes each way to 45

I would say don't do it just because of that. I noticed you said rent would be cheap; is money an issue for you right now? If not, I think the higher rent would be worth the shorter commute (although you have to draw the line somewhere).

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: OILFIELDTRASH
5 blocks away to park? How do ya'll live like that? Its like being in a freaking crowded elevator there.

yeah, it's one of those neighborhoods where it's all multifamily houses and no driveways. there's a parking lot two houses down and across the street that's free for town residents, so that's likely where I'd be parking 99% of the time, but there's always the odd night where I'm just getting home at a weird time... shouldn't be a frequent occurrence, though, now that I get out of work at 6 pm (but it was a major issue the last time I lived in a neighborhood like this and worked till 1 am every night)

Originally posted by: Terzo

my work commute would go from 5 minutes each way to 45

I would say don't do it just because of that. I noticed you said rent would be cheap; is money an issue for you right now? If not, I think the higher rent would be worth the shorter commute (although you have to draw the line somewhere).

I don't live paycheck to paycheck or anything, but I'd like to start saving money to go back to school... fwiw, the 45 minute commute would only be 2 days/week, assuming I can continue working from home on weekends.

 

[Miramonti]

How does your aunt get her errands done now?

That's actually a tough one because it will be very difficult to move out once you move in.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: jjsole
How does your aunt get her errands done now?

That's actually a tough one because it will be very difficult to move out once you move in.

she walks to local bodegas/delis/restaurants and I think the town's senior center runs a bus to the local supermarket once a week.

 

[calvinbiss]

I wouldn't do it. Living with family is like building a comp or doing tech work for them, the required attention could increase exponentially. The distance to work is paramount in my choice of locations. Increasing that by 9 times can significantly impact your life.

You should be able to break your lease by paying the penalty set in your lease agreement. The landlord may take that out of your deposit, but you are entitled to the remainder.

How old are you?

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: calvinbiss
I wouldn't do it. Living with family is like building a comp or doing tech work for them, the required attention could increase exponentially. The distance to work is paramount in my choice of locations. Increasing that by 9 times can significantly impact your life.

You should be able to break your lease by paying the penalty set in your lease agreement. The landlord may take that out of your deposit, but you are entitled to the remainder.

How old are you?

28... there actually is no set penalty in my lease for breaking it.

 

[calvinbiss]

Originally posted by: loki8481

28... there actually is no set penalty in my lease for breaking it.

Are you renting month-to-month? I would speak to your landloard about this first. It seems that if there is no penalty in the lease agreement than you should get all your deposit back. I have never heard of that before though.

If you do decide to move in, you would need to set some kind of ground rules with the aunt from the get-go. Especially concerning access to your living area. I would just be worried that my privacy may be jepordized moreso than with a landlord who was not family.

What about major maintenance expenses? Normally the owner would take care of these, would you be expected to simply because you are family?

You should also discuss with her the issue of breaking the lease in the future, say if you need to move unexpectedly (you never know.)

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: calvinbiss

Originally posted by: loki8481

28... there actually is no set penalty in my lease for breaking it.

Are you renting month-to-month? I would speak to your landloard about this first. It seems that if there is no penalty in the lease agreement than you should get all your deposit back. I have never heard of that before though.

yeah, it's weird... I've been over the lease pretty thoroughly and while it does stipulate that any intent not to re-lease must be made in writing a month in advance, it doesn't state any clauses for what happens if you break the lease. I don't think I'd lose my entire security deposit, but I figure that would be the worst case scenario... gotta ask my friend in the apartment next store and see if his lease is the same as mine.

What about major maintenance expenses? Normally the owner would take care of these, would you be expected to simply because you are family?

if there were things that I personally wanted to change (ie: install a dishwasher, put in new cabinets, etc) I'd pay for them myself; anything integral to the building upkeep (let's say, broken hot water heater, which just happened last month) would be on the landlord (ie: my aunt)

 

[SP33Demon]

All in all, if the cheaper rent justifies the loss of 80 minutes a day then I'd do it. Personally, I value free time more than cash but that's me.

One other thing you may want to think about is that you may have to eventually take care of your grandma if her health fails. Also, she could even pass away, so prepare yourself mentally for that possibility if you choose to live with her.

 

[nageov3t]

updated the OP because I forgot to mention how much I'm currently paying in rent.... my monthly rent would go from like $975/month -> $500/month

 

[skyking]

It really depends on your current relationship with your aunt and family.
Are you a person who would not think twice about losing some sleep and caring for your aunt if she were sick?
That is what the family expectation is likely to be. I know the rest of the family is nearby but it would fall on you in a pinch.
If that kind of thing would bother you, don't put yourself in that situation.

 

[K1052]

I'd probably be inclined to make the move provided your work schedule doesn't change to require you in the office more.

Proximity to family, reduction in rent, more space, closer to the city, decent access to transit, and the prospect of a friendly landlord would probably do it for me.

 

[SP33Demon]

So what did you decide loki?