Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘decision’

Should I stay or should I go now? Part Two

Posted in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Corpus Christi, Dallas, DC Metro, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Orange County/Long Beach, Orlando, Phoenix Metro Area, Raleigh/Triangle Area, San Diego, Southeast Florida, St. Louis, Tampa Bay Area, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 2, 2011 | 1 Comment »

Stock.XCHNG

Moving your household is a costly decision that winds up costing you a lot more than a pile of cash. Our days are packed from the minute before your feet hit the floor to the minute they get back into bed.  If you are contemplating your options or nearing the end of your lease let’s take a look at what’s at stake.  We are talking about real dollars that you work hard to accumulate and precious time you are often trying to find more of.  This is a list that reveals the REAL cost of moving:

  • You will organize, pack and clean.
  • You will shop around for reasonably priced and reputable movers, leave messages, try to hear them through broken cell reception, arrange to meet them for a quote.
  • You will miss out on an epic event because you had to “pack”, meet the movers, meet the cable company, etc.
  • You will have to arrange for utility transfers and pay transfer fees
  • You will have to change your address with countless entities (and never ever remember everyone).
  • You will have to buy boxes, tape, packing materials, bubble wrap, wardrobe boxes, etc.
  • You never buy enough supplies because you always under-estimate how much stuff you have.  Now you have to stop progress to go buy more supplies. (check, check and check)
  • You will pay a small fortune to the moving company. OR
  • you will pay a small fortune for a truck, mileage, gas, or a portable storage unit.
  • You will buy your friends dinner and drinks because they helped you pack, move, watched your dog, kept your kids or all of the above. Of course now you are obligated to reciprocate which is a debt always called upon at the most inconvenient of times(I hate when that happens).
  • You might have to pay your nephew $50 to help unload something, unpack something or move something that was improperly placed (personal experience).
  • You will pay new pet fees, application fees.
  • You will have to buy miscellaneous household items because for some reason things like your bath mats never look right in a new place.
  • If you are changing counties, there may be unexpectedly higher personal property/vehicle tax that you find in your mailbox one day. (It happened to me).
  • You may end up paying storage fees if there is a lapse in leases (or you may have to stay with the in-laws until the new place is ready-also happened to me).
  • You will have to arrange to return TV equipment(yep).
  • You will have to take some time off from work. Say bye-bye to your precious vacation time. But then again who wouldn’t want to pack and move on their vacation.

I get it, sometimes rates increase and you really think the increase is too much.  Others may say that your original rate was too low so you lucked out on your first lease.  The cost of moving is multiplied exponentially over the small percentage your lease rate increase.  It actually pales in comparison to the out-of-pocket expenses associated with moving your life.  The real cost of moving is the loss of time and energy and the old knee injury that is begging you to never move again. 

The bottom line is that stability when you have a choice reserves your resources for a time when you have fewer options.  You never know when an employment opportunity or the right person will make a move necessary.  If this was an advice column, I say “stay put until the absolute best option is to move”.

Stock.XCHNG

Read Full Post »

Should I stay or should I go now? Part One

Posted in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Corpus Christi, Dallas, DC Metro, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Orange County/Long Beach, Orlando, Phoenix Metro Area, Raleigh/Triangle Area, San Diego, Southeast Florida, St. Louis, Tampa Bay Area, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 27, 2011 | 2 Comments »

If you are currently leasing an apartment and your lease is expiring soon, you have a lot of decisions to make.  You are among an exploding trend of renters that want the freedom of mobility.  A 4% interest rate is not enticing enough to make an anvil feel good when it’s tied to your life. You shopped the market and made a decision. You paid your rent on-time and enjoyed your freedom but the time has come and you have to decide if you are going to renew or start anew. This event is far more emotional than people like to admit and can be clouded by unproductive thoughts.  Relax on my virtual couch, grab the tissues and lets talk about it.

Proceed with logic. Clear the static of non-essential factors and focus on the bigger picture. Photo courtesy of Robert Register Photography

Moving is something that becomes as nasty as a nasty four-letter word.  I would rather eat crickets for breakfast every Monday than to move.  Its lengthy, difficult and always costs at least twice as much as you originally thought.  The decision must be made and the best advice is to proceed with logic.  

First ask yourself why you chose to live there.   For most people, the two biggest deciding factors are: location and cost.  Neither of those will matter if you can’t visualize yourself thriving in that space.  What did you want then and what do you want now?  It often looks different but is usually the same basic idea of happiness and success in many different forms.  Sometimes people think they need change to evoke progress. Staying put doesn’t mean you’re not progressing, it means you are happy progressing in your current space.

Next you should reflect on your total experience.  Qualify your experiences and eliminate those that will happen no matter where you live .  Multi-family living will always mean that you may live near people you don’t agree with.  On the other hand your future best friend or significant other could live two doors, two floors or two buildings away from you. (Side note:  Always attend community functions if your schedule permits because you never know who you will meet!)  If you are having a hard time moving past negative moments, irritants or situations, it doesn’t mean you’re a “Negative Nancy” nor does it mean your experience was bad. It just means you’re human. You are rarely compelled to tell perfect strangers about a service that met or exceeded your expectations. Let someone mess up a special order on your way to an event and you will tell anyone that will listen for the next 24 hours.  I bring this up because we often focus on common irritants and give no thought to all the things that went right. Conflict is unavoidable.  The true test in any relationship, including a landlord/tenant relationship,  is how you resolve the conflict.   How do you feel like your conflict was managed? Even if you disagreed with the outcome, were you treated with respect and given explanations that helped you understand the decision?  I’m fine with an answer I don’t like as long as I understand the process behind the decision. 

Photo courtesy Robert Register Photography

Lastly, where do you want to be in 12 – 24 months? If you are waiting for the promotion, the ring, the commitment or the divorce don’t go anywhere.  Those are big factors that can change a lot. If you think moving once is expensive and painful, try moving twice!  Find out what your options are.  Camden has individual pricing that allows exceptional flexibility but rewards longer lease terms.  My advice is to take the longest lease available because a lease expiration comes faster than you expect. Only make a move when the direction of your life needs accommodating and a change of address is a necessary part of the process.  If moving is the solution, ask about Camden’s accommodating transfer policy. With communities in 19 US markets, moving to another Camden Community has a lot of advantages that will save you big bucks when you need them the most.  The bottom line is that there are enough changes in life we don’t expect.  Carefully and logically weigh your options against your resources and decide if this is the best use of your resources at the right time.

Read Full Post »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 444 other followers