{"id":350,"date":"2014-09-23T16:28:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T23:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apartmentsbstg.wpengine.com\/?p=350"},"modified":"2025-07-21T16:14:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T23:14:32","slug":"renting-orange-county-smart-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/renting-orange-county-smart-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Renting In Orange County is a Smart Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Picture above taken at\u00a0 Westview Apartment Homes in Irvine<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Rent or buy? It is a question many Orange County apartment dwellers ponder every year, and most don\u2019t factor for commute times when they decide where to live next. Living in an apartment is great for a variety of reasons, but the most obvious is \u2013 Location, Location, Location<\/em>. Homes and neighborhoods tend to be further away from the business centers of Irvine, Costa Mesa, and other business locales. Apartments on the other hand, are generally within close proximity to business districts, which means you will enjoy shorter commute times.<\/p>\n

Driving in Orange County tends to be a non-event on the weekends, but during the workweek traffic can quickly pile up. What should be a 10 or 15-minute drive could quickly become a 30 minute commute home.<\/p>\n

Here are our reasons for renting vs. buying in OC:<\/p>\n

Orange County Apartments<\/span><\/a>\n

Location, Location, Location:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We can\u2019t stress this one enough; apartments tend to be closer to business areas so commute times tend to be very short. Not to mention, in most downtown areas there are great museums, parks, restaurants and other attractions that cater to both singles and families! It\u2019s always nice to be able to walk to dinner and then walk home without having to worry about your car!<\/p>\n

Hint<\/em><\/strong>: Do you work in Irvine? Check out\u00a0Park Place Apartments in Irvine<\/a>, which is an apartment community that is just off of Jamboree near a multitude of businesses, if you\u2019re looking to move closer to work.<\/p>\n

Flexibility:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When you rent, you\u2019re not tied down to a single location. You\u2019re free to move as soon as your lease expires \u2013 actually you could even move sooner if you\u2019re willing to break your lease. If you\u2019re renting month \u2013 to \u2013 month, you can usually move with as little as 30-days notice. When you own, you can\u2019t move until you sell your house, a process that can often take months even in the best of markets.<\/p>\n

Economy:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Moving into an apartment usually requires just the first and last month\u2019s rent and a security deposit. If you\u2019re purchasing a home, you will need to have at least a 20% down payment otherwise you will be hit with PMI insurance. Also, when you own a home, you will always run the risk of the house depreciating and losing all of your equity.<\/p>\n

Community<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n

Another great thing about living in an apartment is you will likely be surrounded by people who are in similar stages of their lives (Singles, Newlyweds, Growing Families, and more). People in apartment communities tend to be more open and willing to \u201cmeet the neighbor\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n

Maintenance:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Property maintenance and major repairs are usually the responsibility of the landlord. When you own, you take on more financial responsibilities, even if your property is part of a condo or homeowner\u2019s association.<\/p>\n

Time Is Money:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For many people who work in Orange County, the only way to find affordable real estate is to move to distant communities, which adds a considerable amount of time to their commute times. As the old saying goes, \u201ctime is money\u201d, sometimes the trade-off just isn\u2019t worth it.<\/p>\n

Whether you own or rent now, making the transition to renting in OC is an easy way to quickly shorten your commute and simplify your daily life.<\/p>\n

If you work in Orange County and want to live as close to work as possible, renting is usually your best option. To find an apartment that fits your commuting and lifestyle requirements, check our apartments in Orange County below.<\/p>\n

Apartments in Orange County<\/span><\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rent or buy? It is a question many Orange County apartment dwellers ponder every year, and most don\u2019t factor for commute times when they decide where to live next. Living in an apartment is great for a variety of reasons, but the most obvious is \u2013 Location, Location, Location. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-apartment-search"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.irvinecompanyapartments.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}