My grandpa lives in Chicago and has decided to move into a retirement community (also in Chicago). We are not sure what to do with his condo. The mortgage is paid off, but the assessments come to about $550 a month with taxes being around $1000/yr. We would like to sell the condo at some point, but right now market is so bad that it might not be worth selling. We are considering renting it out, but have never had experience with renting. We believe we can rent it out for about $1,000 a month. [more inside]
posted by parakeetdog on Nov 1, 2009 - 9 answers

Single girl. Two large dogs. 19 months left on a leased sedan now complete with body damage, and the real need for a larger car. Are there any good options? [more inside]
posted by alma on May 30, 2009 - 19 answers

My SO and I are considering taking advantage of the current housing market and purchasing a second house to lease. What specifics should we contemplate at this early stage? [more inside]
posted by purpletangerine on Apr 29, 2009 - 5 answers

My car salesman is encouraging me to end my current lease early (by two months) and start my next one immediately. Pros and cons? [more inside]
posted by JannaK on Apr 1, 2009 - 6 answers

As a tenant, how feasible is buying your own major appliances for a place you're renting? [more inside]
posted by ignignokt on Mar 2, 2009 - 19 answers

Posting for a friend: My wife and I are moving from BFE Oregon to Lexington, KY. We sold our little house in Oregon without losing any money, but we aren't looking to buy a house in Lexington just yet since we don't know much about the market or where we'd like to live. We have noticed that a lot of property agents rent single family homes, but also offer lease-to-own agreements on new(er) homes. Some of these homes are pretty nice, new, and seem to be in decent areas (we're flying out to see prospective rentals, so we'll be able to see anything before an agreement). Has anyone ever been in a lease-to-own agreement for a house? Is there any advantage to leasing a house like this, instead of just buying it? Does it typically cost much more than renting a place for a few years and then eventually buying? Is the eventual cost the same as simply getting a mortgage and buying the house?
posted by El_Marto on Mar 2, 2009 - 4 answers

Finance wiz needed: Although interest rates do not exist in leases, customers constantly ask what is the interest rate for the lease. I have a question regrading how to calculate the implied interest rate in order to get the most favorable comparison. [more inside]
posted by thinktwice on Sep 8, 2008 - 9 answers

I live with my parents, and I'm searching for a place to live for the first time. Somewhere near Cal State Fullerton. A question about credit checks, and how to improve my search. [more inside]
posted by malapropist on Jul 21, 2008 - 5 answers

My landlord won't give me my deposit back. Is there anything I can do? [more inside]
posted by dead_ on Sep 12, 2007 - 20 answers

Lessor of two evils: Are there good car leasing companies? [more inside]
posted by trinity8-director on Jul 24, 2007 - 7 answers

The time has come to buy a new car, and I've got a LOT of questions with regards to cost, options, leasing vs. buying, and haggling. Also recommendations on Toyota Highlanders and Mazda CX-9's... [more inside]
posted by PetiePal on May 26, 2007 - 15 answers

How difficult would it be to find places to lease on which to put a house made of ISO containers? [more inside]
posted by reventlov on Mar 9, 2007 - 12 answers

I need to lease some commercial space. There's [more inside]
posted by reenum on Dec 27, 2006 - 6 answers

Moving into a new place, for the first time...what do I need to do before I move in? Water, power, sewage??? [more inside]
posted by TheDude on Oct 23, 2006 - 9 answers

I'm currently leasing my business space from an unmotivated landlord who seems to care less about what goes on within his buildings. I would've bought the building back when we moved in, but neither my budget nor my D&B credit score were what they are today. How can I structure a lease purchase option that will give my landlord enough incentive to part with his building, but at the same time won't overly burden us with new lease obligations? [more inside]
posted by c:\awesome on Sep 5, 2006 - 2 answers

Does anyone know a good company that does short term rentals for apartments/houses in San Francisco? I'm going on holiday there in August for a week with a few friends (there'll be 3-5 of us), and we'd prefer staying in an apartment rather than just getting a hotel room each. [more inside]
posted by so_necessary on Jun 29, 2006 - 4 answers

Need help convincing my landlord to accept a shortened notice to vacate my apartment. [more inside]
posted by sjvilla79 on Nov 21, 2005 - 20 answers

Does anyone have any experience with Personal Contract lease of cars? I'm just working out how to spend my new car allowance in my job - and I like the idea of leasing a car (replaced every three years, maintained, get some cash back for my old car etc etc) The sites on the web look a little hard-sell (obviously) and I'm stuck for good clear guidance of whether this is a good option or not. This is in the UK btw
posted by mattr on Jul 15, 2005 - 1 answer

I have leased cars several times with no problem. However, due to some changes in my life recently, I'll be moving to a new city where having a car is not necessary and is really a hindrance (congestion, cost). The problem is, I've still got about 18 months on my lease. The options as I see it are: 1. Store the car somewhere cheaply away from where I live and make payments til the end. 2. Sell the car to a 3rd party and make up the difference between what the car will sell for and the lease pay off. 3. Sell the car to the dealer and pay the difference to them. It would be a bigger difference but an easier sell. Does anyone here have any advice on other options or things to consider?
posted by aaronh on May 6, 2005 - 5 answers

Any commerical leasing people in the crowd? I'm about to lease office space for the first time, and I'm not sure how to go about it or what the lingo means. [more inside]
posted by SpecialK on Mar 31, 2005 - 5 answers