longterm renting

**jimbo** · 01-01-2004, 00:30

Hi ya'll
Moving over spring next year and will be needing to rent long-term on the westcoast. 3 bed 2 bath min. Know any good websites guys. All i can find is short term villa renting.
We are on about renting for a min of 1 year before we buy.
thanks

Jimbo

**blott** · 01-01-2004, 00:45

There's nothing to stop you asking STR home owners if they'd be willing to take a long term rental as some may be pleased not to have to try to get bookings for a while.

Try a search on http://www.google.com for the following search terms 'long term rental homes gulf coast florida' which brought up some websites to choose from.

**SusieDozOrlando** · 01-01-2004, 01:12

Is it worth renting for one year? Even at a rent of say 1000 a month, thats 12,000 at the end of the year!!! If it was me I'd rather put that down as a deposit on a home and if I wasn't planning to settle in that area, I'd rent it out. At least it's money invested than wasted....or is that just my opinion?

**Carla** · 01-01-2004, 03:09

Yes renting is worth doing for a year. When you take into account Closing costs etc. and potential realtors fees for selling a home again, if you buy in the wrong place, it is infinitely preferable to rent.

Jimbo, as a UK national, you would have to put down around 30% to buy anywhere. It'll take you quite some time to establish a credit rating and be treated as an american would be when it comes to getting a mortgage.

Once you have fully explored the area then you'll know where you really want to live. Like Blott says do a search on google for the area that you need to live in and see which realtors handle LTR homes.

**SusieDozOrlando** · 01-01-2004, 06:08

I actually disagree on several accounts. The first being that a 30% deposit is only applicable to a UK National if (a) you wish to have a non status mortgage, if you wanted to go into indepth questions you could get away with a significantly lesser deposit and (b) that's on the assumption you wanted to buy with a US mortgage (c) that's assuming you wanted to buy with a mortgage at all.

If you were in the position where you were buying with cash or equity release from a UK property, you would be in a totally different financial situation.

My view point is this. If you are living somewhere for 12 months, I seriously myself prefer to go down the track of a 'buy to let' basis, purchase a relatively modest property for those 12 months and then let it out thereafter to pay for itself. Eventually the rise in your equity would more than pay for your selling costs anyway. Besides, buying a modest property, taking into account the mortgage would probably be cheaper than rent, even bearing in mind the closing costs, I seriously don't think you'd be out of pocket. At the end of the year, the property would have risen in value and even if you come out with a dollar, you've made a dollar...when you rent, you come out with nothing.

That's my view point anyway after many years working in the financial and real estate industry.

**SusieDozOrlando** · 01-01-2004, 06:12

One final point I forgot to make. You spoke about establishing a credit record. Well a mortgage is a good place to start. Once you have a mortgage, all kinds of people trip over themselves to offer you credit, i.e. loans and credit cards, and thats how you establish credit!

**huckleberry house** · 01-01-2004, 06:33

Susie

Where abouts do you live ? Uk or Us.I ask because regardless of whether you have a US mortgage or not it is nigh on impossible to get credit in the US as a foreigner, let alone have people falling over to give it to you.

Lesley

**Carla** · 01-01-2004, 07:51

Susie, you're wrong on a number of counts and if Jimbo took your advice he could well end up seriously out of pocket, particularly if he buys in the wrong neighbourhood at the wrong time. Maybe he could end up making money but the gamble for a foreigner is high.

What you write may well be fine for US nationals, but not for anyone from outside the US. As Lesley and I have both said, getting any form of credit is incredibly difficult and takes a long time. If you want to know just how difficult it is for a foreign national to begin life in the US then ask some of those on this forum who have done it.

**SusieDozOrlando** · 02-01-2004, 00:52

Everyone has gone way off the subject. The man simply asked a question about long term credit and now everyone is talking about credit? He hasn't even asked about this.

The fact of the matter is, whether you move somewhere to rent or buy, if you are from out of the area you are taking a gamble. He could quite easily sign a year's lease in an area he grew to detest in which case that is no different. No one is talking about him moving to a bad area...we're not dealing with naive kids here. I don't believe a responsible would move to an area far out of the way not having researched it correctly.

Renting = loss of money plain and simple.

If Jimbo believes renting is the best option for him, then fine, I'm sure he's old enough to know what he's doing.

I'm just merely saying I would never waste 12,000 on rent. I'd rather buy a damn trailer with it and live from that in a nice park and then at least at the end of it sell it and move on. I don't line other people's pockets, only my own.