A year-long rennovation of/addition to our house means my wife, two labradors, cat, and I will be homeless for 12 months starting in March. We still have two months, so it is really too early for looking at/locking in rental options, but we will be in Asia for the first half of February, so I have started early. Lots of possibilities so far - but my FT spirit is having heartburn thinking about spending all this money on a rental without any type of return. Thought I would turn to the creative folks here and see if anyone has any out of the box ideas on maximizing my rental need?

When I moved out here 4 years ago, I was able to priceline rooms near LAX for $31/night for a couple months, so I did pretty well in reducing cost. I was travling about a week each month, so my montly 'rent' ended up being about $700/month and I had maid service, Internet, TV -- and in the two stays at the Crowne Plaza free breakfast thrown in with my status! Plus I earned a few miles too (stays at Marriott and SPG properties). So I felt like I got the best out of the system I could. But that approach will not work so well with the pets this time around.

Checking out craigslist, the MLS, and driving around to open houses, I think a house with a yard on the westside (or almost anywhere in LA for that matter) is probably going to run me $2700/month minimum (and I could definitely spend more). So that is $30,000+ -- and on top of that I have to hand someone about $6000 in deposit fees for a year.

Have looked at options like Execustay - actually some great properties in Marina Del Rey - and with our corporate discount the monthly rate is almost equal to renting a house. Tricky thing will be not having a yard for the dogs -- even with the properties' policy seeming to allow for them (though a lot of the placs say a weight restriction may apply - my labs may have to go on a diet!).

Also thought about vacation ownership down in Orange County and doing a commute - though I think those properties are pretty expensive and would not really work for what I need? Best other use of miles in this situation is a friend who will accept use of my airline miles and hotel points as barter for use of one of their duplex units (which has a small yard). And I actually have enough points to barter for several months of use - but want to keep that as our emergency plan for now.

So anyways - that is my situation. Any interesting ideas or thoughts would be appreciated. I am hoping there is some angle on this I have not thought about. And if there is, I have no doubt a FT'er will have it!