patrick.net

One of the reasons that Realtors and other housing bulls frequently cite as a "positive" for buying is that you'll end up living in a better place.

Now, let's ignore for a minute the fact that it would cost you $585,000 to buy a 560 sqft [sic] house that rents for $1850 a month. And that doesn't include the pit bulls and ADT monitoring you'll need.

The fact is that the rental stock is pretty not-so-great around here. I spent most of this weekend looking at apartments to rent in Redwood City, and nothing I saw was particularly a fantastic bang for the buck. In fact, most of the things I saw made me wonder if I would hear a bang go off and into my gut for a buck.

Even the most expensive place in 94063 (Franklin Street Apartments) has a problem with crime apparently. In fact, the reviews of most places in Redwood City simply leave me shaking my head.

What gives? All I want is an apartment that's a min of 750 sqft, 1-2br, with a covered parking spot, that's somewhat close to both 92 and 85, and where I won't be a victim of crime. I'm even close to giving up my quest to find a place that has washer/dryer in unit.

Am I really asking for too much? Too demanding?

Do I really need to buy a place to meet this criteria?

#housing