Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 16:17:40 GMT -5
Our rent is going up next month from $1,370 to $1,450 (or something close to that, I know it's less than $1,500 but not by much). We're trying to decide whether or not to move.
Pros:
-I really, really, really, really, really like our current apartment. I doubt that we could find an apartment of this caliber for less than $1,370 (our rent this year was a bit of a one-off deal so I jumped on it - I know, lifestyle creep, stupid Firebird, etc.).
-We can afford the increase (take-home between the two of us is almost $7,000 / month, and I don't have the specifics handy but other than rent, our committed expenses are around $1,000).
-I really, really, really, really, really don't want to go apartment hunting right now. Too much else going on, and lots of stress cookies being baked*
-We could save a lot of money by moving, but we also risk having to pay MORE money. More on this below.
Cons:
-We were already at the outer limit of what I considered a reasonable rent for this area, so I'm disinclined to pay more.
-We're trying to save a large amount of money in a short time so I feel this is a good opportunity to pay less in rent and save more.
-DF works in several different locations. If we moved closer to his work, we would probably save around $300 per month in transportation costs, especially if we were close enough that he could bike or take public transportation. His daily drive (~100 miles round trip) is really killing us. HOWEVER, since he works in several different locations and the company can't seem to make up its bloody mind about which one to put him in permanently, I'm a little hesitant to base a move on this. We could well end up moving close to his location this week only to have him moved to another location next week. Right now, we're roughly equidistant from all of these awesome destinations, and while it sucks, it's at least easy to adjust. That wouldn't be true anymore if we were close to one and far away from the others.
That's the basic situation, but I'm happy to provide more details. Thoughts?
*All cookies appearing in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to real cookies, legal or otherwise, is purely coincidental.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Apr 4, 2011 16:28:52 GMT -5
lol first a $10,000 wedding and now a fancy apartment *gets her pitchfork*
(OK I would probably stay put if I loved where I lived and had over 4k left over each month after paying bills. It wouldn't hurt to look around and see what is out there though, just to make sure your current place is where you want to be.)
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 16:32:23 GMT -5
lol first a $10,000 wedding and now a fancy apartment *gets her pitchfork*
I know, I know. I've got such a raw deal.
I was planning to look around this weekend but I got sidetracked... mostly by DF not wanting to go. I'm thinking of leaving this one in his court ;D He's the one with a hellishly long commute, not me.
If he could get his work to commit to a certain location, I'd be happy to base a move on it. But he has to take the lead on that, obviously. So maybe I'll just kind of wait and see how this unfolds.
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Post by debtheaven on Apr 4, 2011 16:38:17 GMT -5
That is the landlord's prerogative. It's one of the reasons many people prefer to own than to rent.
This said, I would stay put unless I found out very quickly and knew for sure that DF was going to be assigned to a certain office that would make moving worth it in regards to his commute.
Also, Firebird, I don't want to be a PITA, but this is one reason people buy rather than rent. You can opt to stay there and then find out your landlord is selling that home and you need to find a new place anyway. I know that you ultimately do aim to buy, but I also recall that you want to pay cash for your home rather than hold a mortgage. With this situation, I might rethink that plan.
I'm certainly not suggesting you put zero down (as if you would or could these days). But I'm not sure I understand your reticence at having a generous down payment and taking out a vanilla, dependable, fixed-rate mortgage.
On the other hand, renting enables you to move closer to where DF works, if they ever provide that info.
Just my thoughts, up to you of course!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2011 16:41:48 GMT -5
Gosh, sounds like just what you need: planning a wedding, hunting a new apartment, packing and moving. If you like where you are, stay and save yourself the aggravation of the looking/packing/moving. And don't forget that it costs money to move.
I'm voting for staying put.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Apr 4, 2011 16:43:38 GMT -5
I'd wait it out until the job situation with with your fiance settles out. Moving gets expensive, so doing it twice would probably eat up any savings you'd get from ditching the apartment right now.
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Sum Dum Gai
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Post by Sum Dum Gai on Apr 4, 2011 16:45:17 GMT -5
-We can afford the increase (take-home between the two of us is almost $7,000 / month, and I don't have the specifics handy but other than rent, our committed expenses are around $1,000). Wait... excluding rent all your expenses are only about 1k and you net 7k a month? Just buy a house already! Hell, buy two. If the relationship works out you can rent one out, and if it doesn't you each get one. Or, you each live in one and only have to see each other when you want to... so all the freedom you want, but with regular booty calls. It's like the perfect set up.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Apr 4, 2011 16:55:53 GMT -5
That's less than 6%, under $1000 for the year. I'm guessing that apt owners all over will be doing this now, they have been holding steady for quite awhile, now demand for apts is increasing. And it may turn out that most competitors in the area are increasing their 'asking' price - so your apt may turn out to be a deal, compared to the alternatives.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2011 17:04:11 GMT -5
-We can afford the increase (take-home between the two of us is almost $7,000 / month, and I don't have the specifics handy but other than rent, our committed expenses are around $1,000). Wait... excluding rent all your expenses are only about 1k and you net 7k a month? Just buy a house already! Yep... is that net or gross? We are currently looking for apartment in the same price range as you (we are trying not to go over $1,300) but we gross about what you net. If it is truly net I agree with Dark Honor, buy a house already
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Post by BeenThere...DoneThat... on Apr 4, 2011 17:15:19 GMT -5
...and I'm thinking a cardboard box is not an option?
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Apr 4, 2011 17:17:23 GMT -5
Firebird: I think that for now, staying is probably your best option. If the landlord were to let you go month to month (ie no new lease) then you could leave options open, but a 6 month lease wouldn't be good for you now, as that would have it be up right around the wedding, so if you have to sign away another year, do it. You don't need the added stress.
buying a house: Since I know the area you live in, I don't actually think you could afford a condo that's as nice or as well situated as your apartment just yet, especially with a large chunk of savings going toward the wedding. Added to that, being a homeowner can be miserable if you don't actually WANT to be a homeowner. Buying a home just because someone said it made financial sense doesn't actually make it a good idea.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Apr 4, 2011 17:35:39 GMT -5
Just be thankful you don't live in NYC where people customarily apartment-hunt by reading obituaries. I know someone who worked as a funeral home greeter and he would get people trying to bribe him to tell them if there was a good apartment now vacant.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Apr 4, 2011 17:52:46 GMT -5
I'd vote for staying put at the moment, but you might want to go ahead and start browsing for apartments for when you get a decision on your DF's job. It would be good to have at least a few buildings in mind so that you're prepared to move when the right opportunity presents itself. (And hopefully my opinion is not at all clouded by the fact that we moved 2 months ago and I'm still recovering!)
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 18:02:09 GMT -5
I used to live in NYC, and I'm very glad to be out of it ;D
We're not buying a house right now because we are working on debt repayment / savings buildup. Plus, we don't plan to stay in this state a minute longer than we have to, so I don't think it makes sense to buy. Even in a recession, California house prices are up there.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 18:02:59 GMT -5
Remember, we JUST got engaged and haven't combined finances yet. We'll probably take the first steps this month and set up a joint checking account but I haven't hashed out all of the nitty gritty details yet. When I do... that will be a whole other post ;D
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 18:04:30 GMT -5
Hell, buy two. If the relationship works out you can rent one out, and if it doesn't you each get one. Or, you each live in one and only have to see each other when you want to... so all the freedom you want, but with regular booty calls. It's like the perfect set up.
ROFL!!! I like the way you think, Dark ;D
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 18:06:48 GMT -5
buying a house: Since I know the area you live in, I don't actually think you could afford a condo that's as nice or as well situated as your apartment just yet, especially with a large chunk of savings going toward the wedding. Added to that, being a homeowner can be miserable if you don't actually WANT to be a homeowner. Buying a home just because someone said it made financial sense doesn't actually make it a good idea.
Shanendoah knows us personally, and she has summarized the situation nicely. I don't think it would be the best financial move for us if we could even afford a house. We need to get our savings and retirement investments on track first.
And I don't want to own a home in this state. Full stop. I'm not opposed to buying rental properties someday when we're settled and we've got our boots on, but I want our first house to be OUR HOUSE, the one we're going to live in.
I'm pretty sure I could have us free of interest-bearing debt in a year, so I'd like to focus on that also (don't worry, Phil, I won't touch our under 6% debt - but the interest-bearing debt we do have is almost all above that and the balances are small).
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 18:09:27 GMT -5
New plan based on feedback: I will wait and if DF's work decides to nail down a work location for him, we can look in that area. If we find something, great. If not, we'll stay put. I don't like paying that much in rent but hopefully we can find something cheaper next year when we're not quite so stressy.
We don't NEED to live in a place this nice, and I'm not opposed to living in a less-swanky apartment but I admit that it's very... nice. And I won't be sad at all if we can't get definitive word from DF's wacky boss in time.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 18:20:37 GMT -5
Sad to say, that wouldn't even slow me down. I've yet to hear a disaster roommate story that can top my own.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Apr 4, 2011 18:23:26 GMT -5
I think you're making the right decision, Firebird. If your landlord is raising the rent, chances are pretty good that other rentals in the neighborhood are going to do the same. Makes sense to me to wait until you have a realistic destination, then look for something that meets your needs in that area. As long as your DF is being moved around, that's just not possible.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 19:05:08 GMT -5
My disaster roommate story, the condensed version.
Warning: It's a friggin' disgusting story.
I was going back to school and rented an apartment over the phone because I was in a different state and pressed for time (never do that). I moved into a 3b2ba with a couple and another guy.
All was well at first, then we found out that the third guy was 20 and on his third DUI. Interesting... he seemed okay so we decided to go with it even though he was quite obviously driving around on a revoked license, but as time went on and weird things started happening, we suspected that he was a drug addict as well. (For example, he would frequently not pay his share of the rent - luckily Mommy came to the rescue.)
His room was next to mine, and one day I was walking into mine and noticed his door was ajar, revealing his bed which was COVERED in used needles, bent and burnt spoons, empty and less-empty little plastic baggies, and blood. There was a box of unused needles on the floor. The room was a freaking disaster zone.
Cops were called and there was a little drama here which I'm snipping for brevity. Roommate got evicted and we were left to clean up his mess. In addition to all the drug crap that the police left behind (there was a lot), the rotting food, and the used condoms, we ALSO found out where the cups and bowls had been disappearing. He was using them the way you and I use a toilet. Yes, both kinds. Yes, I'm serious. No, he did not always have perfect aim.
It. Was. Disgusting. GoodRoommate and I cleaned up as fast as we could while feeling less-than-pleasant feelings.
By the way, our bathroom was KITTY CORNER TO HIS ROOM. Literally about a foot from his door.
Then a couple of months later, to put the cherry on the cake, GoodRoommate opened the front door (he was leaving for class) to find a cop. Pointing a gun. At him. The cop wanted to know where DruggieRoommate was, since this was the last address on file for him and he'd just held up a convenience store at knifepoint.
Later that year, I lived in a house with various people, one of whom was a woman in her late forties who liked to walk around naked and threaten suicide when she had disagreements with us which almost always stemmed from our deep feelings that she should not hit us.
That was a fun year.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 19:18:01 GMT -5
Oh, I don't doubt it. But mine was pretty bad... short of physically harming us, there's not a lot worse he could have done. His little stunt very nearly got all four of us evicted and expelled.
The woman I mentioned at the end of my last post was bipolar too. She wasn't my first bipolar roommate. Living with unmedicated bipolar people is really sad and scary and horrible.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Apr 4, 2011 19:21:34 GMT -5
I will say one thing about him though, it was a belated sex education. Do you know that chaps are good for more than riding horses? Sometimes people ride other things and then the subway afterwards, so look before you sit down.
I learned THAT one after a random guy started playing with himself while sitting directly across from my sister and I one afternoon and staring at us. He was trying to be subtle so it took a minute for us to notice. When we did, we got up and left right away, but not quickly enough to spare ourselves the totally AWESOME mental images.
I was so afraid to sit down on the subway after that...
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Apr 4, 2011 20:09:40 GMT -5
Geez you guys, here I thought my college roommate who LITERALLY DID NOT WASH HER CLOTHES OR SHEETS, EVER was the worst roommate who ever lived. (After I figured out they were not going to let me switch until the next semester, I had to start keeping my clothes in a friend's room because the smell was starting to permate them... we did not have air conditioned dorm rooms). Why can't all the horrible roommates of the world just room with each other? Why do they have to invade Normals?
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Apr 4, 2011 20:39:10 GMT -5
Yeah I thought my roommate sophomore year who wouldn't take a shower was bad. I remember you posting when that happened Firebird. And I still remember Honey's decontamination list. We should have a step by step list for almost everything by now, the woman's amazing.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2011 21:11:53 GMT -5
80 X 12 = 960$ ... You'll pay that in packing and moving and turning on new utilities, etc. etc... not to mention the time it takes to do all that...
If it was the difference between eating or not... I'd say something different... for now, i'd stay... give it a year, let things settle... see where the husband lands at work...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2011 1:30:10 GMT -5
Do your homework by checking out a few other rentals. Is your LL being reasonable?
As a LL I haven't been able to raise rent for one house for 5 years. I haven't been particularly aggressive with rent on two others because of our move to Germany. So now I think I could rent two of my houses for $500+ per month higher. Part of the reason for this change is that people are afraid to buy and a fair amount of housing inventory is unavailable due to foreclosures.
If after your research you think the rent is on the high side negotiate with your LL. If you haven't seen an increase in your pay you may be able to talk him/her down to a 3% to 4% increase in exchange for signing up for another year.
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Post by dragonfly7 on Apr 5, 2011 2:30:19 GMT -5
Someone shared this site in the past few weeks. It is accurate for all the places I've lived recently. www.rentometer.com/
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2011 6:16:51 GMT -5
"If after your research you think the rent is on the high side negotiate with your LL. If you haven't seen an increase in your pay you may be able to talk him/her down to a 3% to 4% increase in exchange for signing up for another year."
This is also the other side of it... and a good idea... your landlord will ALSO rack up expenses if he has to rent the place... paint, advertising, etc. So he may well be willing to negotiate, especially if you have been a good tenant who he hasn't had to put a lot of effort/$ into....
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2011 6:31:47 GMT -5
Unfortunately the rentometer doesn't work very well for houses.
Zillow has a relatively new feature for rental rates. Their "secret" formula takes into account square footage among other factors. Like all "Z estimates" one has to take the estimates with a grain of salt. 4 of my 5 properties rental Zestimates fall into the range I think they should rent for. The 5th is wildly off because of a high number of seasonal rentals.
It would sure help if they posted rental "comps" like they do with sales comps...
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