Any apartment dwellers (past or present)

[kdibattista]

How long did you stay in an apartment before getting a house and did you have any kids while you were in the apartment? DH and I have been in our apartment for 3 years and will probably be here for another 3 years. It's not that we don't want a house or can't afford a house.... I am back in school full time and although I am very fortunate to have a great work situation (part time, make my own hours, great $$), I can't count on that for the next year and a half while I am in school. The economy stinks, things happen and we don't want to have to worry about unexpected house expenses. We want to try and start a family sometime next year and if all goes the way we want it to, the baby would be with us in the apartment for about a year. Anyway, the reason I ask is that sometimes people look at me like I have 2 heads when I tell them we are in an apartment and have not yet bought a house. Am I the only one?

 

[Pop Daddy]

long post

 

[becka]

We lived in a tiny 1 bedroom apt. for the 1st year we were married and it drove us crazy. We then decided to rent in a duplex which was a much nicer option. It was still cheaper than buying a house and a little more expensive than the apartment but it was much nicer having the extra room and even a small yard. We rented the duplex for 3 years before buying our own place. We had DS about 2.5 months later.

 

[pumba]

some times the apartments are easier to live in....someone else can do the snow removal.......some one else can take care of the leaks or the broken stuff......some one else can mow the lawns....that would be US......so there is benefits to owning and not owning.....we have decided not to rent the other apartments...so we can call this HOME for us and us alone.....we had our children in our "apartment".....

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I'm an apartment dweller, and thus so is our 9 year old. We've lived here for 9 years. We all make our choices...don't let anyone criticize you for yours.

 

[scarlett873]

we have no children yet...but we live in an apartment. it's driving us insane!!! when my DH and i got back together, we both came from previous relationships in which we were home owners/renters and moved into a tiny one bedroom apartment. after about 9 months, we moved to a 2 bedroom...by the time we move, we will have been in an apartment for a smidge over 2 years.

but we are in the process of building our first home together!! it will be done and ready for move in early december!! it'll be so wonderful to go from a 2 bedroom apartment to a 3 bedroom house with a living room, a den, and a game room, and a normal sized kitchen, and 2 1/2 baths!!!

 

[JoNo]

I've lived in an apartment ever since I moved out when I was 18... My first move was to New Orleans; the French Quarter. you can't live in a house there, as there's only 2, and they're museums. I say don't sweat it, apartments rock! I live in a house i'm renting now, but only b/c of my dog and the lack of apartments here that will let me keep a larger dog. If I could I owuld stay in an a apartment.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

my older dd was born when her father and I were living in a one bedroom apartment. when she was 8 months old we moved 4 blocks down the street to a two-bedroom apartment. my older dd was 20 months old when younger dd was born, so I had 2 babies in that apartment for 2 years. and I can assure you I wasn't the only one in the building with young children.

overall I prefer living in a house with my own yard, but living in that aparment was not a bad or uncomfotable situation.

 

[caitycaity]

you are definately not the only one!

dh and i have been apartment dwellers (together) for going on 5 years. we each lived in apartments separately before that too. in all likelihood, we will be in an apartment for another 2-3 years too. both of us would prefer a house, but it's not in the cards right now. dh had a lot of debt before we got married that we are still paying off, and i'm starting grad school in the fall. after that we are hoping to start a family.

my parents lived in apartments after they were married for about 10 years (that is omitting the 4 years they were in the peace corps where they lived in a grass hut, LOL). I lived the first 4 years of my life in an apartment and then they bought a house.

 

[Pugsley]

To me, it’s not the size of your home that’s a problem, it’s just that you’re throwing away a lot of money, and giving way too much of it to the government. What about a condo? They don’t have a lot of upkeep. I live in a condo and could rent it out for double what I pay for my mortgage. Plus I get the tax write-off. And I’ll probably get back every cent of what I’ve put into it, plus much more, when I sell it. I would recommend buying to anyone who can scrape up a down payment and get a loan.

 

[mtemm]

we were in our apartment for 3 years and I wished we had bought right away. For some reason it never occurred to me that we could...didn't have a lot in savings. Well, we ended up buying a townhouse with a no money down loan. If we had bought it 3 years prior, we would have gotten it for $60k less than what we paid for it. We owned it for less than a year and made $25k. Such is the market in Eastern MA and Southern NH right now. Not to mention the tax break due from interest. And our mortgage plus interest and insurance was about what our rent had been. Kills me that we threw all that money away.

That said, you should do what feels right to you. Think it out and come to your own conclusion.

 

[caitycaity]

pugsley, looking at where you live, i'm sure you know that a lot of people (myself and dh included) can't buy anything around here. as it is, the aprtment we live in now = at least an hour commute. and even after we pay off our debt, we can't afford a house where we live right now. real estate in this area is just too expensive! the only option we have if we want to be homeowners is move even further out which i don't think we could handle, in terms of the commute, or leave this area, which isn't really possible due to the nature of our jobs.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Caity - that's exactly why we don't own. We came very close to buying in Waldorf last year, but I don't want to be on the road for 3+ hours per day...the tax break isn't worth that to me. As it stands, I have a 15 minute commute to work and 15 extra hours of living per week than I'd have had we moved.

 

[dcgrumpy]

We live in an apartment. We just had our second child 3 weeks ago. We would love a house, however it isn't possible right now. We can't afford to buy a house right now. DH was laid off several months ago and I'm on maternity leave.

 

[Planogirl]

We rented until recently due to DH being transfered for jobs and DS was fine. However, we did avoid apartments but rented a townhome and a few houses. The price wasn't that different and we really wanted more space. But I see nothing wrong with staying in an apartment if you have enough space and good neighbors.

 

[katerkat]

We're living in a rented house right now. We'll be renting for years -- with DH in the military, and still in training, it'll be several years before we stay in one place long enough to buy a home and make it worth the money! (He just confessed this weekend he's trying for a training program in Texas -- meaning we'd move AGAIN in June -- four moves in two years.)

 

[vald1977]

We lived in a two bedroom apartment until our ds was 2 years old. Apartment living definitely has its advantages and disadvantages but it was fine for us. The reason we ended up buying is because we wanted a yard and the apartment had no yard at all.

 

[Pugsley]

caitycaity, I hear you. I can’t afford a house here either! I was really lucky to buy when I did since I paid $70K for my condo and now it’s worth $200K. And I’m extra lucky because I can walk to work, which is pretty rare around here. I agree with you that it’s not worth a bad commute just to have a house. I can’t believe all the people around here who spend their whole lives on the road! Why bother having a house if you’re hardly ever there? My only question is that since rent is high around here too, isn’t it possible to find maybe a condo where the payment isn’t much more than your rent? And even if the payment is higher than your rent, you can bring home more money in your paycheck by claiming more deductions.

 

[wdwnutze]

We lived in an apartment with 3 children up til 3 1/2yrs ago. The apartment we lived in was a 3 bdrm with a yard but was too small after the 3rd child. The house across the street from our apartment was for rent when the baby was almost 1yo and we rented it. After living there for 2yrs the landlord offered to sell it to us. It was rpiced well below market value so we jumped on it. We also were able to buy with no money down and just wished we had done it sooner.
Do what is right for you. If you are going to school and things could be shakey at work, I would stay in an apartment too. It is a lot less headaches knowing that someone else is responsible for the upkeep and repairs. You'll know it when the time is right.

 

[snoopy]

We lived in a condo that we bought the first 6 or 7 years of marriage (before kids). We'd still be living in the condo if I hadn't inherited some money that allowed us to buy a house we otherwise would not have been able to afford. Homes are very expensive in the D.C. area, and to live in the desirable areas you either have to be have a very decent salary, or you have to fall into some money. Thank goodness the latter was true for us.

We still have no yard though! People look at me like I have two heads because I've chosen to raise my kids in the city - I guess when you have kids you are expected to raise them in suburbia. Not for us, thanks!