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

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

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

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

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