Nearly all of us will rent a place to live at least once. Perhaps the most important consideration when renting a home is the monthly cost. As a cost-conscious consumer, it may surprise you to learn that the property with the lowest monthly rent may not be the least expensive place to live.
There are two primary types of rental properties: single family dwellings and apartments. Single family properties are most often houses and an apartment can be any multi-unit dwelling. They can range from converted houses to full scale apartment complexes. The cost of a fair rental price is influenced most heavily by location. Before you set out to rent a house or apartment familiarize yourself with the most desirable areas. The rents there may be higher than for a nearly identical rental in a less sought after neighborhood. The costs of some amenities may be greater as well.
Aside from location, you are paying for amenities. Houses tend to offer more privacy than apartments and have yards, garages and extra storage spaces. They also tend to be bigger than apartments. The downside to all these goodies is they come with a price tag. The yard for the dogs and kids needs to be mowed in the summer. It can mean buying a lawn mower and gassing it up every time the grass needs trimming or paying the entrepreneurial kid in the neighborhood to do it. All those private driveways in snowy climates need to be plowed or shoveled. Again, if you don’t want to invest in snow removal equipment, you will need to pay someone to keep the driveway and walkways clear in inclement weather. Apartment dwellers know that landscaping and snow removal are included in the monthly rent they hand over to the landlord every month.
Another necessary evil of modern life is utility bills. Water and sewer charges are often included in an apartment’s rent – not so for house rentals. Apartment complexes often provide dumpsters for their tenants to dispose of their trash while homeowners have to pay for trash removal. Electricity is sometimes factored into the rent at an apartment complex, but rarely ever is it included in a house’s quoted rent price. Ditto for the costs associated with heating and cooling. The energy efficiency of the house is going to be a significant issue when paying utility bills. In addition, most houses are larger than apartments, leaving you with more space to heat or to cool. Apartment complexes are increasingly providing a few select premium cable channels and wireless internet capabilities at no additional cost to lure tenants. Renters of houses have no such luck finding such accoutrements without buying them independently.
If you like to work out, the cost of visiting a gym or buying home fitness equipment may be a significant monthly expense. Large apartment complexes often have clubhouses that include the use of a fitness room outfitted with basic workout equipment. Some even have a pool for residents. While a house rental may have a pool, the cost of maintaining it can be cost-prohibitive. In addition, your rental insurance rate could more than double because of the liability associated with an “attractive nuisance.” Renter’s insurance tends to cost more for house rentals than for apartment rentals whether there is a pool onsite or not.
Finally, there are many more hidden expenses when renting a house instead of an apartment. A house often has more windows than an apartment and very seldom will a house come with window treatments. In addition to having fewer windows, apartments often come with mini-blinds to ensure tenant privacy. Apartments have fewer door-to-door solicitors due to strict policies apartment managers tend to enforce. Without a yard, apartment dwellers tend to not take up expensive hobbies such as gardening or caring for multiple pets. The restrictive nature of apartments almost forces minimalism upon its occupants since there simply isn’t space to store all sorts of knickknacks and hobby equipment.
Choosing to rent an apartment or a house is a lifestyle choice as much as it is an exercise in carefully monitoring your expenses. The cost of renting a house may seem in line with renting an apartment when comparing rental prices, but remember that most house rentals are full of hidden expenses. Even the relatively small water and trash removal bills start to add up to a lot of cash.
If you are trying to decide between a house rental and an apartment, consider making a list of the amenities included at each location. Any amenity not included in the rent is an additional expense. Estimate the cost of each item, then tally up the column for apartment rentals and the column for the house. This will help you make the decision that best suits your wallet.
