Poollover

It looks likely my husband will be offered a contract to work in Dallas probably for a couple of years. I am just looking into the logistics, mostly around costs and cats.

1. Looking at rental sites for houses I often see the phrase - Number Of Days Guests Allowed: 10. Does this mean you can't have vistors to stay for more than 10 days over the year?

2. Is car leasing a better option than buying?

3.And most importantly; We have 4 cats who will be coming with us, has anyone else had experience of trying to rent with multiple pets?

Thanks, any information and advice welcome.

cranston

My experience.

1) I have a similar clause in my rental contract. When we have guesst who stay longer I just email the landlord and she OKs it. Seems to be a standard clause in TX rental contracts.

2) Cars are easy, rule #1, buy a Toyota because of reliability. Personally, I prefer buying a used 3 year old well maintained car. The volume of used cars available in Dallas is huge. When its time to sell you will have no problem. Expect to drive a lot of miles in TX and that will make a lease deal expensive.

Pulaski

A cap clause on visitor days is common. Look after the property and your landlord will approve extra days willingly.

Leasing cars can be a minefield, because add on fees and charges, most notably per mile charges for driving more than x,000 miles per year, which can add up very quickly (you will drive much further in the US than uou ever imagined). On a lease you also typically get stuck with extra charges for any wear and tear inside and out, or for having "unapproved" (non-premium) tyres, or tyres that are "too worn" (easily legal but would require replacing before the car can be sold).

Don't limit yourself to Toyota, most of the main manufacturers make reliable cars these days. I have a Honda Accord that has given us very few problems in 290,000 miles. I also have two Fords with 43,000 and 87,000 miles that have been every bit as good as the Honda, and Ford has a good reputation, IMO better than Toyota these days - Toyota has been hit by several damaging recalls in recent years connected to dangerous jammed accelerators.

Personally I would not buy a used car as used cars are disproportionately expensive in the US, unless you're looking at a prestige brand such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Jaguar, or Lexus, and most people seem to drive like lead-footed apes, so you're likely buying something with an engine used for hard acceleration and brakes used hard too.

lansbury

amazing

Bob

Usually any more than a couple pets will be tough, but cats are usually easier than dogs. So luck of the draw...but offer to increase the pet deposit should help, this is usually non-redundable.

Owen778

Also known as the Honda Voyager 1.

Pulaski

Two many 2's. ..... Now corrected to "two hundred and ninety thousand miles" ...... we passed that mark last week. We're looking forward to hitting 300,000 in late September.

MsElui

In Dallas the roads are busy - so you end up on the toll roads a lot if you have any amount of commuting to do. So rent close to work, or budget for another 50 a month in toll fees. (you buy a sticker for your car and the toll comes out of your pre-filled account automatically). whereabouts in Dallas are you thinking of?

thinbrit

Your choices will be limited, but it is not impossible to do.
Landlords don't usually visit the property to count the cats, so "we have a couple of cats" might be all you say
We've rented in the past, in CA and TX. The TX house we had 3 cats and 2 dogs, the CA house we had 4 cats and two dogs. We now own our place and have 5 cats, 6 dogs, 6 horses, and plenty of work looking after them all.

Poollover

Thanks for the replies so far.
Sounds like you have to be wary leasing. I wouldn't buy new here in the UK as you lose so much money, is it the same in the US.
Happy to buy second hand we have a variety of cars here including a 25 year old Mercedes estate with about 200,00 on the clock, a great workhorse.

Thanks for the tip on the pet deposit, happy to pay what it takes.

Looking at Frisco McKinney and Allen, are there any areas to avoid within these? We don't have children (only as visitors) so schools are not an issue. Proximity to a wholefoods or organic food store might be.

Bob

Depends on local market, brand of car and budget range.

Some cars drop in value like crazy, many mid range cars hold their value, so that buying a 3-4 year old Ford Explorer would only be $3-5K cheaper depending on condition and options. Going on the high end, an Audi A6 fully loaded could be $30K cheaper for instance.

Kia and Hyundai seem to drop the most value on the budget end of things.

MsElui

i'm in mckinney and love it. The nearest whole foods is down the 75 in Allen but its not far at all. There is a Trader Joes just opened in mckinney which is good too for more natural stuff.

Pulaski

Congratulations, you have adjusted well to living in America - driving 10 miles to buy groceries is totally normal.

Poollover

Thanks Bob, I won't tell my husband about the Audi scenario he's getting withdrawal just thinking about losing his beloved Porsche and BMW.
MsElui, good to hear you love McKinney. I know Wholefoods but not familier with trader joes.
Pulaski, driving 10 miles for groceries is quite normal for me anyway as I live in a rural area of the UK. Although I also get supermarkets to deliver the heavy boring stuff.

Do US supermarkets do internet shopping and deliveries?

Owen778

Somewhat bizarrely, no.