The SunnyD housing saga, part 3...

[SunnyD]

All things come in trilogies, right?

So today, I call another prospect, this time a slightly larger 4 bedroom place to see if it is still available. I spoke with the owner last Friday however there was potential that it was going to be rented out over the weekend... but I found out today that the other interested party was waffling on it.

Checked the place out, while not quite as nice as the newly remodeled 3BR of landlord-assness, and somewhat more expensive, it is tolerable. So I took the money order that was to be the deposit on the other place, and signed it away for this place. Looks like SunnyD and family will have a place to live after all!!!

What have I gained or lost? Well let's see:
Same school district as the other place (good!).
More expensive rent (bad!).
Heat & Hot Water INCLUDED (REALLLLLLLY good!!!).
Smaller yard (bad) with no farm implements littering it (good).
Closer to work (good - approximately 5 miles from work, meaning 1 tank of gas a month in my car!)
Closer to town/shopping/groceries (good & bad, means my wife won't use as much gas but is liable to spend more in shopping)
4BR instead of 3BR (good)
This place includes a garage (good - other one didn't)

All in all, taking the heat into account (upstate NY), I'll be paying $950/mo including the heat/hot water, as opposed to $600/mo + all utilities. Sure it's offset during the summer, but I don't need to be as frugal about the heat during the winter.

Now the hard part is making sure I have the security + 1st month's rent for the 1st. It'll be a stretch, but here's to hoping!

 

[skyking]

That garage will be killer in the snowy season (right now!). Is it a one or two car garage?

 

[Parasitic]

Wow $950/mo for a 4BR?
And I thought Troy was already cheap

<< moved from California.

 

[Skeeedunt]

Free heat is worth like $1,000,000. You are g2g.

 

[jagec]

$950 for a 4BR, holy crap, sweet deal!

 

[Sphexi]

Depending on the age of the place that's a wicked deal. I was paying 700/mth in Vermont, plus util, which meant heat (oil furnace) and all that. In the dead of winter I was going through 100gal a month plus the electricity to run the beast, almost 120/mth for that. We're talking 300+ a month just for heat, it was ridiculous.

 

[SunnyD]

To answer questions:

skyking: 1 car I believe. No big deal there though. Hopefully it will be large enough for the "family-fitter" and a chest freezer. My poor car can stay outside. The driveway is relatively short (2 car-lengths maybe), but unpaved, so THAT part will suck.

Parasitic: Yeah, $950 is cheap! Especially in this area. Most everything within 15 minutes of Cornell University is insanely expensive! College housing - usually about $500 a bedroom here. Most 3br places go for $1200-$1800+ without anything included.

Skeedunt & Sphexi: Bingo! I lived in Watertown NY for a couple of years before moving to Florida. Craptacular houses up there, one month in winter we had a gas bill of about $900. That is just plain ridiculous. Again, free heat is good until summer, then you're kindof getting shafted for the few months the heat isn't on. The rent is still less than I paid in Florida though, and on top of that I don't have to be as frugal about the thermostat!

The only thing that sucks is that it's not a single-family home, I have upstairs neighbors. I don't have a problem with this, they seem quiet enough. Hopefully my kids won't annoy the crap out of them.

The long term goal (keeping my eye on the prize), later in 2008 I'll hopefully be in a position to buy or build! YAY!