I need some opinions about renting an apartment

[Tobin S.]

There is an apartment style condo I'm thinking about buying as an investment property. It is on the 3rd floor of a three story building. There is no elevator. It's a beautiful little place. One bathroom, one bedroom with a walk in closet. Everything in it is new- carpet, paint, appliances. In my opinion it would be perfect if it were a ground floor unit. As it stands, I'm worried about being able to rent it quickly because of the steps. It has a couple of things going for it, though. The previously mentioned new stuff and it is in a nice area of town.

Do you think it would be a problem to rent it? What if I priced it a little lower than comparable apartments in the area?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. My dear Tobin S!

It sounds wonderful...except for no elevator. That would stop me from renting it. But, for someone a lot younger, and more agile, it might be just the thing.

Pricing it a bit lower would certainly help!

Good luck...

[Tobin S.]

4. Yep, there is that and

there is the fact that all of the furniture would have to be carried up and down those stairs to move in and out. Then there are groceries and other items you might buy from time to time.

Just thinking about hauling a couch up those stairs made me start sweating. :)

[petronius]

2. I've lived on the third floor and it didn't bother me - in fact, I liked the

higher view. We currently live on the 2nd floor, and it's just fine. What you describe sounds really nice - if your OP was an ad, I'd come check it out.

Unless there is some known trend in the area of people avoiding 3rd floors I wouldn't worry about. I probably wouldn't even drop the price, unless I'd had it on the market for a while with no takers.

Good luck!

[siligut]

3. Top floor is a plus.

No one dancing in clogs on your ceiling. Three flights isn’t much, moving would be the only time that should be a factor, if it is a young building.

However, I read Ohio housing is going to continue to drop until 2012. I don’t know specifically in your area, but I gather you do.

[Tobin S.]

8. Home sales are way off, but the rental market appears to be okay

I gather just from taking a good look around. Rent prices look good. I talked to a person who has 25 units and she only has 2 that are not leased right now. I think a lot of people are getting pushed out of the housing market now as far as buying homes goes due to increased difficulty in obtaining a loan. My conclusion is that that would put more people into the rental market.

[siligut]

13. My concern was when you tried to sell it.

However, if you are going to hold it for retirement income, that sounds better. And you are right in your reasoning, people are being pushed out of their homes.

[jobycom]

5. I always prefer third floor as a renter.

It's further from the noise and has a better view. Not that you should care about my preference, just pointing out that there are people with that preference. I've seen some apartments charge MORE for a top floor apartment than the lower apartments.

Really, though, for a good opinion, you should contact a professional real estate agent or appraiser. They can do a market survey to tell you the price, the average time on the market of comparable rentals, and what the unit should sell for. If you've already signed anything with the condo people, they may not let you bring in an agent for the sale, but you could still hire one to give you a market analysis.

[elleng]

6. I'd say probably not but for economy and

things like neighborhood traffic. And how comparable are the comparables? Lower rent would help of course; maybe do some research. And I prefer top floor/room with a view, always!

In Dayton?

[Tobin S.]

9. Yes, in the Dayton area. Actually a little south of town.

$400 a month seems to be a decent asking price for a one bedroom apartment. Many of the large apartment complexes are charging more than that.

[RoyGBiv]

16. !!!!

If I were in Dayton, I'd rent it.

I pay almost double that for a one-bedroom in Houston ... on the bottom floor, which sucks.

[Tobin S.]

17. That's the advantage of living in small town midwest USA

The cost of living is low compared to most big cities and the east and west coasts. Of course the income potential is lower here, but if you have a decent job nice housing is easily within reach.

[elleng]

18. Sounds lovely! Things rather higher here, in DC area!

I've got family in Dayton area; actually 'former' in-laws, in Kettering.

[fishwax]

7. 3rd floor apartments usually rent for more than lower floors here

No noise, as several other people have mentioned, plus better for security ...

[Gormy Cuss]

10. As others have said, third floor can be a desirable trait for some renters.

Better views and less noise from neighbors are often two benefits sought by renters, and if there's a deck or porch it would feel more spacious than those on lower floors. Two flights of stairs aren't uncommon for rentals in much of the East and elevators for a building that low are rare. For example, in the Boston area the most common rental type is a triple decker and they NEVER have elevators.

You'd want to assess the place in the context of the local neighborhood and the greater area -- if it's not unusual to have a third floor walk-up, then it's probably not a negating factor. A real estate professional could help you do this assessment.

[Chan790]

11. Rather than restate what other people have said...

I'm going to point out something that has not been said.

Ground-floor units are usually the least-valuable units (often dramatically so) in a rental building. More street noise, worse security, more foot traffic in the halls and right outside windows. I would have to see the unit to make a recommendation on the question posed, but I can unequivocally say that if it were a ground-floor unit I would be urging you to pass. As an example, I live in a luxury loft building in metro NYC (Yonkers, 1/8-mile from The Bronx). The identical unit to my apartment on the 1st floor rents for $800 less a month than my apartment on the 11th floor...and thats in a building which requires all move-ins to be conducted by the stairs excepting furniture pieces in excess of 500lbs.

[Tobin S.]

15. I'm glad I thought to ask

Looking at it myself, the only thing I'd be conerned about is moving in and out of the place. Somebody upthread said something about a balcony and it has one of those. It might actually be a more desireable place here in suburban Ohio as well. I'm going to have to take a closer look and speak a little more with my investor friend.

[LanternWaste]

12. As an apartment dweller myself...

As an apartment dweller myself, I *always* make it a point to get a second- or third-floor apartment. It's safer-- a lot safer from random break-in, usually more quiet, and the foot traffic is much lower.

So from the perspective of a middle aged, single guy who hires movers to do the big stuff, a second or third floor unit is better than a level one unit. On the plus side, the apartments around here will charge $25-$50 less for a second level unit.

[Blue Diadem]

14. Many apartment complexes have 3 story buildings.

The top floor is usually less to heat, more to AC, and they don't have the noise of tenants above or the foot traffic of those on the lower floor going by their doors. We lived in a first floor unit that first year we were in Michigan and that's what the 3rd floor tenants told us. Our first floor unit was nice but less than desirable due to upper floor noise and the hallway traffic, but we needed it because of DH's knee problems.

[old mark]

19. TS Rental rates around here are so high I can't believe it...

We saw a place - a 2 BR apartment in an old well kept house - for $900/month that would have gone for $600 or less 2 years ago....

people renting a house on our block pay more then we did for our mortgage, like nearly $300 more...

Might be a good idea, and if you get stuck, you can at least live there.

Good luck.

mark