Auston Woods Apartment Homes Blog

Many people are told when they are younger that renting is only for college graduates or people who cannot afford to buy.  Many parents hammer these ideas into their children and tell them that renting is equivalent to throwing money away every month.  Fortunately, today people are beginning to finally think for themselves and challenge these ideas.  Here are 4 reasons to pat yourself on the back for deciding to rent an apartment in Charlotte, NC home at an HHHunt Community!
 
1.  Renting can save money

At the very minimum you’ll be shelling out PITI for your home. That is:

1. Principal
2. Interest
3. Tax
4. Insurance

The PITI doesn’t include property maintenance like maintaining the yard, paint, plumbing, repairs, decorating, etc… When you rent an apartment in Charlotte at an HHHunt community, the monthly payment is almost always quite a bit less than the PITI in your area and there are no maintenance expenses!

2. Homeowners’ tax deductions are overstated

According to research quoted by MSN, “… half of homeowners don’t get a break, because even with mortgage interest and property taxes, their total deductions do not exceed the standard federal tax deduction ($11,900 for couples and $5,450 for singles)”.

For these folks, it’s like spending $100 to save $20. They’re better off saving the difference and investing it.   Even if there is a “break” on your taxes, you typically had to spend more than you would have spent to rent to get back that $20 for every $100 spent in interest payments.

3. Renting gives you flexibility

For the up and coming young professional, you’re better off renting and saving for a few years than to buy a small condo. Who knows how fast you will outgrow it?  When you own a home, you can’t always sell it when you need to sell it at the price you want to sell it for in order to accept a new employment opportunity.  If you have owned a home and don’t want the constant maintenance responsibility, renting gives you the opportunity to enjoy your weekends instead of completing that “to do” list.

4.  Our superb service teams!

Most apartment communities offer 24 hour emergency maintenance and technicians who are skilled in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical.  At an HHHunt Community, our service teams take great pride in offering prompt and professional service to you.  Whether you need a light bulb changed or a new compressor for your AC unit, we are there to take care of you as fast and efficient as possible.  We are always a phone call or email away and most service requests are performed on the same day or within 24 hours!

There was a time, not so long ago, when college graduates dreamed of a mortgage. Remember when “cocooning” was all the rage?

With an uncertain economy, the rise of social networks that redefine “community,” and more people moving to take jobs where they can find them, renting rules the Millenial generation. The new dream is a no-frills apartment in one of the new “destination living” communities, lush with multiple swimming pools, state-of-the-art fitness centers, volleyball courts and all kinds of apartment amenities.

For the first time since owning has lost its luster for the young. Since 2008, the percentage of young people who think that owning a home “is always better than renting” has fallen.

Renting an apartment in Charlotte  has acquired a sort of cool respectability. Empty nesters got the same religion a couple of decades ago, when they began cashing out of their high-maintenance houses.
 
Some of the forces driving the change are cultural. “People are getting married so much later,” says Lucy Crow Billingsly, a Dallas builder. “They travel light longer.”

“It’s sort of urban and sort of suburban at the same time,” says Keri Walsh, a 28-year-old teacher who’s lived in a one-bedroom with her beagle for four years.

The young also gravitate to renting because mortgages are hard to come by and foreclosures blemish the landscape. No one wants to get stuck with a house or condo they can’t sell when there’s a job offer 2,000 miles away. Walsh says she thought of buying a townhouse condo, but then looked at the resale numbers. “There’s no stigma to renting anymore, and there’s just so much to keep you interested and busy in an apartment community” she says.

For more information on a one, two or three bedroom apartment in Roanoke, contact Pebble Creek Apartments.

Original article The Daily Beast

The question has arisen more and more. Should I rent or buy? The answer is personal to your situation. While mortgage rates and housing prices are low, there is still a lot to be said for renting an apartment in Charlotte, NC.

Based on your financial situation, your job situation and frankly, how much time you want to spend on home repairs, the answer could be very different for every individual or family.

There is much to be said about renting. Sudden roof leaks or broken appliances can make your wallet take a hit. Unforeseen home expenses cannot really be incorporated into a budget.

If there is any possibility that you will not stay in the Charlotte area or that your job will relocate you, renting may be a better option. Closing costs and fees can really add up, not to mention the first several years of mortgage payments go to the interest alone not the principal.

But there is an even more practical reason for renting. Maybe you just don’t have any interest in home repairs and cutting the lawn. Apartments are the solution to maintenance free living without the condo fees. With so much to do in Charlotte, NC your time off should be your time off to spend however you like.
 
Talk to a financial advisor and review your expenses first when considering renting, but here is an easy calculator from HGTV to help you determine what you can afford.
 
Contact Auston Woods Apartment Homes if you want more information on renting in Charlotte, NC.

When deciding whether to rent or buy, you are making the choice to rent an apartment home or renting the capital needed to buy a home. Most Americans don't consider that they are renting equity (from the bank) to buy a home. As you are aware, very little equity is built in the first few years of paying a mortgage. Many people are surprisingly still very unaware of this fact.

This following article explains how renting is financially better than buying in about 75% of cases!

For the Past 30 Years, Renting Was Generally Better Than Buying

If homeownership is the American dream, then the nation had better wake up. That's the message from a new research paper that examines whether buying or renting a home was a better financial decision over the past 30 years. Most would find the result surprising: over the period Americans were better off renting between 65% and 75% of the time, depending on the investment alternative.

The article essentially looks at eight-year periods and assumes that a person invests the money he or she saves by renting. Since buying is generally more expensive than renting, renters have extra money to invest. It also makes a number of assumptions favorable to homeownership, including gains from the mortgage interest tax deduction, the option to refinance, and the ability to walk away -- loss-free -- from an underwater mortgage. Still, renting wins approximately three-quarters of the time.

The staff at economic research organization e21 explains why this result actually shouldn't be so shocking:

Counter-intuitive as the finding may be to some, it is actually quite logical. Unless someone possesses the cash necessary to buy a residence, he or she will be renting one way or another. The choice is between renting the property directly or instead renting the capital necessary to buy the property. The amount of capital to be rented is a function of house prices, while the bulk of a mortgage payment is interest, which is the rental payment on this capital. After 2 years, the typical 30-year amortizing mortgage balance has been reduced by less than 3%. This means that a household that took out a $300,000 mortgage with a 5% interest rate to buy a home has only reduced its mortgage balance by $8,600 after two years despite spending nearly $39,000 in total over this period.

Housing advocates may respond by pointing out that at least the $8,600 in this scenario went towards home equity rather than simply being squandered on rent. But, as demonstrated in the Real Estate Economics article, the principal component of each mortgage payment - i.e. the portion of the mortgage payment that goes towards reducing the principal mortgage balance instead of interest - is an added expense renters don't have.

This turns the real estate industry's biggest talking point on its head: you aren't throwing rent into the wind each month, you're casting away equity.

Of course, that equity also provides a potential benefit. The analysis's eight-year rolling methodology appears to miss the biggest reward of owning a home: living rent-free once the home is paid off. After that 30-years is up, the longer a family remains in that home rent-free, the more buying pays off. Taking this into account would almost certainly change the result in some, if not all situations. Renting may be a better option initially, but there's no eventual reward.

An important point still needs to be made here: buying a home that you don't plan to live in for an extended period of time probably isn't a great idea. The rent you pay in the form of interest on a 30-year loan for five or even 10 years won't be any better than if you had just rented outright. But if you're planning on living in a home for 30-plus years, then you could potentially get some benefit from buying rather than renting.

Original article by By Daniel Indiviglio, The Atlantic

National house prices have dipped in 19 of the 20 largest metro regions, and declines in house prices are expected to continue given the 1.9 million in backlogged foreclosures. As the American economy shifts from buying to renting, with the number of renting households rising by 700,000 annually -- according to a USA Today analysis of Census data -- the number of homeowners fell by nearly 200,000 per year. Unemployment rates remain high and wages are down, which makes it more difficult for people to buy a house and prompts them to rent.

A number of studies continue to show that renting is better than owning for many Americans, with a house being a poor investment compared to renting and investing in inflation-adjusted Treasury bonds. In the paper "American Dream or American Obsession?," Wenli Li and Fang Yang from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank concluded that the "adjusted real rate of return on housing actually falls below zero," and the national rate of return for homeownership between 1975 and 2009 was 1.3 percent, below the 3.375 percent return for stocks.

Home ownership translates into less money available for investment and owning a house limits mobility should a new job opportunity arise elsewhere. Some economists have even suggested that high home ownership rates correlate to high unemployment rates. Declines in house prices could make it difficult to sell if the house is worth less than its mortgage. Not everyone should own a house, and the recession has helped eliminate some of the stigma once associated with renting, now that 70 percent of Americans now agree that renting has its advantages over owning.

Article from National Multi Housing recent release

A good apartment home staff can make the difference between an ordinary rental and a dream home. A very crucial part of the apartment-finding process is talking with the manager and office staff about the property. Most people don't realize what the manager does within an apartment home community.

A good manager and staff is one who has their resident's well-being and comfort in mind. When renting and you have a maintenance task; a stopped up toilet, a leaking sink, or your carpet needs to be re-stretched, the apartment home manager has to take care of it.
 
Before you commit to a place, talk with the on-site manager at Auston Wood Apartments and ask us some questions about our maintenance.

Ask questions and, when you tour Auston Woods, be sure to look over the general cleanliness. With our 9 foot ceilings, crown molding and various homes with sun rooms, we know you will love the floor plans, the property and the neighborhood. We are very proud of our exceptional customer service, and inviting lush landscape.
 
When you decide to live in an apartment home in the desired Charlotte area you need to know you've made the right choice about your living space. You need to know your interests are taken care of; that you won't be left stranded should there be a problem in your building or in the complex. When you find this type of satisfaction you will feel confident in making a lasting commitment and a pleasurable rental experience.

Oftentimes, our furry friends make the best roommates. But renting with pets can be challenging. Some apartments don’t allow pets, and pet deposits can be expensive. Ask the right questions before you move, however, and you can be sure to find a pet-friendly apartment.

Question one in your pet-friendly research is probably the most important: Does your prospective apartment community allow pets? If so, are there restrictions on species, size or breeds? Before you fill out an application for an apartment, be honest with your future landlord or apartment manager and tell them about your pet. Also, ask about the amount and the conditions of the pet deposit.

An environment that welcomes pets in apartments is not only tolerant of them, but also offers structural aspects that work for four-legged residents. Stairs, for instance, can be hard for some dogs to climb, especially small or older ones; a ground-floor unit might be preferable. Hardwood floors look great and make clean-up easier, but carpet is softer on dog and cat paws and dampens the sound if you have downstairs neighbors.

Some apartment communities offer a dog-walking area and clean-up stations, so tour the facilities to check for yourself. Find out if there are dog parks nearby or if there is a doggy daycare in the area in case your dog needs some extra attention during the day. Also, get a feel from your landlord for the number of pets in the apartment community and for other residents’ tolerance level when it comes to pets.

Renting with pets needn’t be fraught with stress and secrecy. Get the right details during your apartment search for a pet-friendly rental to share with your furry, feathered or scaled companion. If you are up front with your apartment manager and ask the right questions, you will have a better chance of finding a new apartment in which both you and your pet can be happy. Be sure to contact us today to learn more about our pet friendly apartments and what our community can offer for you.

A number of rules you come across are golden, to be kept in mind always and never forgotten. These are useful and important trail markers to lead us and let us to stay always on the right track. Golden Rules exist to guide you, must be followed, to be used. So here are 5 golden rules to remember when renting an apartment.

1. Check out the community. The tried and tested reason behind carrying it out in this way is to check if there can be any safety issues. Keep in mind, iron bars on windows of the apartments or rental homes may be a red flag. Painted words or pictures on the neighborhood walls, walkways or apartment buildings are also a sign that it may not be a great neighborhood.
2. See whether the rental home is near public utility vehicles, bus or train station. You need to take into account this carefully whether you have a car or not. Bear in mind that it is best to ensure you can quickly get around the area even if you or other family members renting with you who don't have access to your own car.
3. Find out how good the schools are near the rental home or apartment you are looking at renting. The reason that this is very important is since the majority of the kids go to public schools run by the county. Kids will need to go to their school according to the jurisdiction of their residence. So prior to moving in, if you have kids of school age, it is advisable to check out how good the schools are for the apartment building. This could very well be one of the most significant deciding factor in choosing an apartment to rent.
4. Consider which utilities happen to be included in the rent. Numerous utilities to think are electricity, water, gas, heat, Internet, cable and phone. There are various ways of accomplishing this, such as and probably the easiest way is to check with the landlord or property manager. You may also want to confirm the details you get from the landlord by asking existing renters, or vice versa.

Review the rental agreement. The lease contract can include the rental amounts and terms, the rental deposit, damage deposit, length of stay, rules of conduct while living in the rental home, guest, pets and other house policies, termination requirement and many more. It is vital because it has all the right information about the rental home. And it is a written and signed contract that you can present to the court or other authorities in the event the management failed to abide by what you have agreed upon.