in an old house or a privately-owned three-
or four-bedroom house, you won't find it
at Apartment Search ((800) 856-5051).
That said, if you're looking for a bona
fide complex, go with it. In my price range
and desired location (Southfield, Royal
Oak, Oak Park, Birmingham, Berkley,
Farmington Hills and West Bloomfield),
Apartment Search found seven solid op-
tions — available immediately.
Adrienne Lenhoff, 29, went from a
1,700-square-foot loft in New York City's
Soho neighborhood to Thornberry Apart-
ments in West Bloomfield.
"I had 20-foot ceilings in my old apart-
ment, so having high ceilings was impor-
Rounded doorways and long
hallways make Jennifer
Zalenko's apartment charming.
to them. You pay $85 to subscribe for a
month, for which they guarantee you'll find
a place — or your money back (at least,
some of it).
The catch? You must call every single
day, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The subscription number is always
busy, and the "good" listings were few and
far between.
Some actually sounded terrific. But ei-
ther I never heard back, or someone beat
me to the quick. Or — I called about a one-
bedroom for $525 in Royal Oak, asked
about the place. "I can't give you square
foatage or anything," said the landlord.
So I asked her to list the rooms. She
named them. I asked what
was in the kitchen. "Sink.
Cupboards ..."
"Stove, refrigerator?" I
prodded. •
'Well, if you want those, it's
another $50 a month," she
said.
"Are you serious?" I was
laughing.
"I'm renting an apartment,
not appliances," she replied.
I hung up.
I was getting desperate
that I'd be living with Mom
and Dad indefinitely. So how
did I finally succeed?
tant to me." She also
wanted a garage instead
of a carport, for better safe-
ty, and a washer/dryer
that came with the apart-
ment (some places charge
for those appliances).
Adrienne visited com-
plexes in West Bloomfield
and Farmington Hills —
Citation Club, Village
Green, Muirwood, Silver-
brooke, The Arbors, Chim-
ney Hill.
"For the money, Silver-
brooke has the most
square footage," she says,
but Thornberry offers
cathedral ceilings. Sever-
al complexes "felt like a re- Adrienne Lenhoff found a place to call home in West Bloomfield.
tirement club — nice
apartments but coming from New York,
Remember the colleague who lived in
[where you] can be anonymous, you walk a fantastic Ferndale flat, with a great land-
into those places and expect someone to lord? She decided to move in with her fi-
jump out and say, 'Hi! I'm Julie McCoy, ance. I called. -
your cruise director."'
With only a "For Rent" sign on the lawn
Here's another catch: Originally, I want- and no ad in the paper, the landlord had
ed to be walking distance from a syna- six calls, mine included. Turns out, we
gogue. That's hard to find — if you want went to the same high school, have friends
affordable and safe. (Try Lincoln Briar in in common. I'm convinced that's how I got
Oak Park.) West Bloomfield was nice but the place.
too expensive, and I heard rumors about
It's huge but has far fewer amenities
theft at some Oak Park locations. (Al- than I had hoped for. I wanted central air,
though I've never visited the premises, try garbage disposal, dishwasher. It has ceil-
Tanglewood Apartments or Hidden Oaks ing fans, a window unit in the living room
at 11 Mile and Greenfield, or the 12 Mile and he's installing a disposal.
and Lahser area, near Young Israel of
The price hits the ceiling of my rental
Southfield.)
budget. But the flat is charming (dark
Now for Rental Professionals. In a wood floors and angled ceilings), safe,
sparse office at Telegraph Road north of comes with good references (my friend
Eight Mile sits this kind of sleazy service lived there for two years, happily). And it's
which lists landlords' properties for free — all mine. ❑
Endlessly Leasing
Purchasing property can be a big decision — but a wise
investment, advise some homeowning young adults.
PAUL L. GABA SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
T
o rent or to own, that is the ques-
tion.
For most young Jewish adults,
that question is a big one: Do you
want to be maintenance- and mortgage-
five or have equity? The answer depends
on the individual.
• Birmingham townhouse-renter Amy
Carson has leased for four years and has
been "casually looking to buy" for two
months.
"You're basically throwing money away
when renting bec,ause there's no equity
being built up. When you buy ... ifs basi-
cally a tax deduction," Ms. Carson says.
Scott Taub, who has owned a condo-
Milli= in Farmington Hills for five years,
knows about those types of costs.
"I work long hours sometimes, so I
didn't want to deal with a lawn or snow-
shoveling," he says. The general condo
rule is that "if it's on the outside, the as-
sociation is responsi-
ble, and if it's on the
inside, the owner is
responsible."
Larry Sklar, a
mortgage consultant
with Kaye Financial
Corp. of Bloomfield
Hills, says there are
three essential finan-
cial criteria that bro-
kers look at: down
payment, credit his-
tory and income.
There are pro-
grams that could help
first-time buyers get
into a new home for
as little as 3 percent
down, Mr. Sklar says.
But he says there
is a benchmark of
which potential buy-
ers should be aware.
"If you put at least 20 percent down,
you don't have to pay PMI [private mort-
gage insurance] ... which is money that is
neither going toward your principal or
your interest," Mr. Sklar says.
How much can you reasonably expect
to get from a loan? Mr. Sklar says the an-
swer lies in your debt-to-income ratio —
how much you owe compared to how
much you earn. (A 38-percent ratio is stan-
dard.)
Using a credit report, a broker will look
at your current responsibilities, such as
credit card and auto payments, and fac-
tor in mortgage, interest and insurance
payments.
"Then you have to look at your own
budget"; that amount doesn't include util-
ity costs or social life.
Stuart Best, a Birmingham real estate
attorney, says it's easy to fall into the "com-
fort zone" of apartment life. When you
rent, you aren't responsible for property
taxes or major maintenance. Plus, there's
the knowledge that you are only "locked
in" for a short time —generally one year.
But Mr. Taub says one drawback to
owning a condo is that it may sell at a low-
er price than the one at which you bought
it.
Still, there are plenty of advantages to
owning. For new homeowners, roughly
80 percent of the monthly payment is in-
threat, which is deductible. Property tax
payments are also deductible.
Mr. Taub has seen his investment pay
off. Based on sales in the condo complex,
"the property value has increased about
20 percent" since he bought his place in
November 1992.
Century 21 realtor Marvin Cohen says
while condominiums were a risky in-
vestment a few years ago, today they are
a viable option for young, single adults.
`They're a very good buy, especially for
someone who wants to live in a more af-
fluent neighborhood. Even if it's a young
married couple with one or two children,
[they] can move into a condo instead of a
house and get their kids into a school dis-
trict; where they couldn't afford [a] house,"
he says.
The amount of monthly payment can
vary, depending on the mortgage and
type of financing. Mr. Sklar says the most
popular long-term mortgages are 30-year
and 15-year fixed interest payments,
which lock home buyers into a specific in-
terest rate. This is a good way to go if the
interest market appears to be rising
because you will pay a lower interest rate
and save thousands over the life of the
mortgage.
At the other end of the scale is the one-
year adjustable rate mortgage (ARM).
"Divided up the same as a 30-year fixed
mortgage, the interest rate is good for
only one or three years," Mr. Sklar ex-
plains. "Plus, the interest rate is much
lower than that of a 30-year."
After one year "you either have to re-
finance the mortgage, which is good to do
if the interest rates are pretty much the
same, or it will automatically go up to the
market value, which is what you would
pay using the 30-year fixed rate."
A third option is a "balloon" payment,
which is how Mr. Taub chose to go.
"For people not used to dealing with
large purchases, the interest rates, PMI,
`points' and other terms begin to clutter
things up," he says. "It can be rather in-
timidating, especially since it's larger CD
amounts of money than most first-time T
buyers have ever dealt with before."
CI)
"But if you have a question, or don't
know something, you have to ask," Mr.
Taub says. "Looking stupid is nothing
compared to blowing a couple thousand
1
bucks on a mistake." ED