Week Four: Renting in Sonoma County

I had to laugh a bit when I saw this article in a recent issue of the local ARGUS COURIER newspaper.

"Housing Crisis Squeezes Petaluma Residents"

No joke!  You are in a bad situation if you are looking to rent OR if you are looking to buy. There is just no inventory. I broke down and started looking into apartment living this past week.  One bedrooms at the Azure Apartment Homes begin at $2020 a month with three bedrooms going as high as $3480.  At the Park Central townhomes next to Azure, they have a waiting list with one bedrooms starting at $2000 a month and two bedrooms going as high as $3226.  Insane!

We are starting to get a feel for the rentals market although we are constantly surprised by how high rents are.  About 1-2 houses pop up each day.  Houses on the west side go for higher rent.  For example, there is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house that is 1300 sq ft going for $2700 per month. Another house that looks like it is on the east side is 3 bedroom, 2 bath and 2200 sq ft and is renting for $2900.  More house but not much higher rent than the west side location.

If you are looking in the $1700-$1900, be prepared for 2 bedroom, 1 bath apartments or older townhomes with no amenities. MAYBE a house.  A tiny one. None have much in the way of outdoor space or storage.  When you hit $2500, you can get a three bedroom with a bit of outdoor space and garage.  Often very dated interiors. There isn't much in between.   We had hoped to spend no more than $2300. 

So, do you go for the cheaper option knowing you will be cramped and miserable without any decent outdoor space and will probably have to pay for a storage unit?  Or do you stretch your budget to the breaking point trying to find a place your family will be comfortable in?

We found a property that would definitely be a stretch for us but we like the neighborhood and it has a lovely backyard.  I submitted an application on Wednesday and we attended the open house on Thursday.  I did everything I could think of to give us an edge and I left feeling confident that we had a shot at the house.  I was definitely in better spirits over the weekend. Today, I saw that they are doing another open house on the property tomorrow.  I don't feel they would do this if they felt they had a good applicant.  I really thought this was going to be the break we were looking for.

With only a month to go, we are faced with some tough decisions.  There was only one house we could see over the weekend.  It was small and overpriced but I was willing to consider it. My husband was not.  So, we don't really have any options right now unless something pops up during the week.  I am starting to feel like we should take a less desirable approach.  There is a small 2 bedroom 1 bath duplex near my church.  No yard.  No garage.  Very little living space. But it would be LESS than we can afford.  It might be worth trying to tough it out there for a year and put our stuff in storage.  This is assuming we could even GET the property.  I am feeling like I would rather go small and be uncomfortable for awhile rather than spend a bunch of money for something that we didn't even really like. I think we'll attend the open house tomorrow.  

Time is running out.