Rental Market

[knute123]

Looking to rent a home in Poway with a view to buy a home in a year or two. Two questions: #1 – not seeing any inventory in my on-line search – am I missing something or is there nothing out there? #2 – what is the price range for a 4 bedroom rental?

[spdrun]

#1 – tried Craigslist? (Seriously, a lot of the ads are legit small investors or people who are traveling for business for a year and want to keep their home.)
#2 – no idea.

[CDMA ENG]

I dont think you are missing anything…

Last time we were in the market the picking were very slim and ppl wanted tremendous amounts of money for s&*t housing.

CE

[UCGal]

definitely check craigslist. The few rentals on my street all get advertised on Craigslist – even though they’re being rented by prop-mgmt companies.

[Anonymous]

For what you describe, there really is nothing for rent in the area you want, as far as SFR. What little I have seen come up is priced at a “pay my overpriced mortgage payment” rate.

Prices for rents are all over the board, consequently. Cheapest would be found in the south end of Poway.

[Diego Mamani]

For a moment I thought you were looking for a house with a view…

Check the MLS. I don’t live in SD anymore, but we found few or no listings when looking online. Call an agent and see what’s available in MLS.

Only ten houses for rent showed up on realtor.com:
http://www.realtor.com/homesforrent/Poway_CA/beds-2#/listingType-2/pg-1

[bearishgurl]

Do you have at least a $5K deposit? Why don’t you get a local (Poway/PQ) agent to help you find a lease-option deal at today’s RE prices? You can always have the property physically inspected PRIOR to going thru with the deal. I wouldn’t throw away thousands per month on rent without having some of it applied to my downpayment but that is just me.

If you decide to explore this, STAY AWAY from owners behind in their payments. They will likely abscond with your option deposit and all of the option portion of your rent whilst being foreclosed upon for NOT making their mortgage payments, instead of keeping your option funds in a separate “trust fund” as the law dictates.

It would be best to go thru a reputable property managment company. Your agent would receive a small commission upon your signing the option to purchase and the rest upon your exercise of the option (1-3 years later … however long it takes you to save the rest of the necessary downpayment).

[Diego Mamani]

[quote=bearishgurl]I wouldn’t throw away thousands per month on rent[/quote] Actually, the recent experience has been of people throwing up to 100s of thousands of dollars on mortgage and lost equity.

[quote=bearishgurl]STAY AWAY from owners behind in their payments.[/quote]Good advice. What I did was to check with the county registrar/recorder office to make sure the property had no unusual liens or notices of default.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=Diego Mamani][quote=bearishgurl]I wouldn’t throw away thousands per month on rent[/quote] Actually, the recent experience has been of people throwing up to 100s of thousands of dollars on mortgage and lost equity.[/quote]

I understand this, Diego, but there are many owners out there that have owned their properties more than ten years and thus did not fall prey to the more recent “exotic” purchase money mortgages. This doesn’t preclude them from being underwater or behind in their payments, however. Also beware of the longtime owner who has taken “cash out” one or more times in the last decade and currently owes more than their property is worth, whether by cash-out refi, taking out a 2nd/3rd TD or helocing. Many owners have stripped all the equity out of their property (and then some) and then turned it into a rental.

In a financial pinch, keeping up the payments on a “self-made” underwater rental property would not be a high priority unless the owner was very concerned about his/her credit rating.

Given all but two of the realtor.com ads you posted (houses 7 & 8), the other ads are asking a way too-exorbitant monthly rent, IMHO (“house 1” is an apt and “house 9” is a PUD). In my mind it’s ridiculous to pay these amounts of rent on something you don’t own and if purchased today, likely would not have anywhere near the mortgage payment that they are currently asking for in monthly rent.

[knute123]

Thank you for the link and feedback. I am relocating and need to sell my home before I buy. I also look at renting as performing due diligence to make sure I like the area before I commit.

Just curious, do you think housing prices have bottomed out in San Diego? I am still so astonished at how little you get for your money. (I’m sure that is a common refrain from people who relocate to SD…)

[spdrun]

Compared to NYC, Boston or even Hell Ay, you get a LOT for your money in SD. At least if you’re talking about housing in nice, walkable locations.

In NYC, $400k gets you (common charges include property taxes)…
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/665814-coop-130-east-18th-street-gramercy-park-new-york
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/661538-coop-321-west-90th-street-upper-west-side-new-york
http://streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/690940-coop-22-grove-street-west-village-new-york

[knute123]

Perhaps in the more urban areas. My online search of suburban areas shows a definite surcharge in housing for living in SD. Perhaps I am wrong – I hope I find something else when I arrive next month.

[spdrun]

Well, in SD many of the “happening” areas seem to coincide with the beach areas. And they’re also year-around. Ever been to a Northeastern beach town out of season?

But if inland suburbs are more expensive, that’s strange. As BG would put it, people are paying a premium to live in “lizard-land.”

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