Rent Increase: WWYD?

[Firebird]

We don't have a landlord, we live in an apartment complex which is managed by a leasing company.

I don't think the increase is unreasonable, per se - as I said, $1,370 was a bit of a bargain for this place. Free parking, wonderful rec facilities (which, yes, we do use), our own washer/dryer (which I'm starting to think was a mistake because we are completely used to it and therefore spoilt at this point), and everything is lovely and new - paint, carpet, everything. The complex is only a couple of years old. It's the perfect size for us, and I love our kitchen and bathroom... I could seriously go on and on.

Talked to DF last night and suggested that we just stay put unless we somehow get a definitive promise, in writing, from his work about where he'll be. Which won't happen. He agreed, and with a little bit more foresight I think we can find a more affordable place next year. Hopefully by then he'll at least know for sure where he'll be assigned, if nothing else. In the meantime, we both got raises recently, so I think this will be fine all things considered.

Thanks for everyone's input!

[Deleted]

"$1,370 was a bit of a bargain for this place"

Oh... i must have misunderstood, i thought you said it was on the high end already... Definately stay sounds like the good choice... Good luck!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I won't even address this. You are talking about spending $10,000 for a wedding and can't afford rent.

Like I said before, eloping is a lot cheaper, and you are just as married. I could solve your dilemna easily.

But hey go for it, then you can go to the debt forum. The ladies in Red can really help you with that later, they are very good about teaching people to live within their means.

Huh? Did you even read the specifics? They're bringing in almost $7K/month.

[raeoflyte]

Apr 5, 2011 10:32:21 GMT -5 @patstab said:

I won't even address this. You are talking about spending $10,000 for a wedding and can't afford rent.

Like I said before, eloping is a lot cheaper, and you are just as married. I could solve your dilemna easily.

But hey go for it, then you can go to the debt forum. The ladies in Red can really help you with that later, they are very good about teaching people to live within their means.

Wow--really???

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

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).

From the OP. She can afford the rent just fine, she just doesn't think that it is a reasonable rent for the apartment or the area.

[Firebird]

Sorry, I should have made that clearer - it IS reasonable for this area, and I did consider $1,370 a bargain. I meant that it was the high end of what I considered acceptable rent for our income. When we first moved in, we were just dating and I wanted to make sure that it was a rent I could easily swing on my own, just in case, so I was determined not to go above $1,500 and I was really happy that we came in below that. With the increase, we're pushing up against the maximum I wanted to pay in the first place.

Hope that clarifies what I meant.

But hey go for it, then you can go to the debt forum. The ladies in Red can really help you with that later, they are very good about teaching people to live within their means.

I adore the WIR even though I haven't been on that board as much since the switch, and yes they are brilliant - but can you explain what you mean here? We are very, very careful to live within our means and I save 45% of my gross every month (10% to my 401k, 7% to my ROTH IRA, and 28% to liquid savings - the latter is about $1,600 per month). DF isn't quite there yet, but his income still far exceeds his expenses even with his debt payments, and once we've combined finances we should, as I said, be at something like $2,500 for all committed expenses, which is about what he nets every month by himself.

So... not sure what you mean here. I'm not averse to constructive criticism but you have to be more specific. I don't plan to go in debt for the wedding, we're going to pay as we go.

[startsmart]

firebird- I scanned but didn't see this mentioned yet. Negotiate the rent increase. I know it's a leasing company and all but they prob sent you a letter, respond in kind with your counteroffer. Do a little research and note what great tenants you are. The worst they say is no. I know the rental market is more competitive than it used to be with so many people in the area losing their homes and renting instead but it's worth a shot.

[Firebird]

Actually, thinking about it a bit more, I think we net more like $6,000 per month together. Dang it, I need DF's financial information! It might be a little more now since I haven't factored in either of our raises but it's close to that.

IIRC, he used to bring home around $650/week on average (not including overtime), which would put him at $2,500/month. I netted $3,800 last month but I don't think that my 401k increase is in effect yet, so that could easily go down. We're most likely somewhere around $6,000 per month.

And our committed expenses will be SOMETHING like this (again, this is a whole different post when I figure out the hard numbers, a lot of this is guesswork without DF's budget):

Rent: $1,500
Electric: $50
Gas: $65
Cable: $30
Food: $400
SL: $200
Car (mine): $350
Car (his): $400ish (I don't know exactly)
Insurance: $300ish (both cars plus renter's)
Commute: $300ish (gas, tolls, parking)

Total: $3,600 (60% of net take-home)

Okay, so the picture looks a lot different than I initially figured and we're clearly not quite at the point of being able to live on his salary (which is the goal I have in mind). But being rid of high interest debt will ease a lot of that burden. And we can still save at least $2,000 per month in non-retirement savings (DF contributes to a 401k too), maybe more if we make a point of cutting expenses.

I still don't like that our rent is 25% of our combined net (and a whopping 39% of my own) but I think we can ride it out for a year and set our sights on something more affordable next year. By then our incomes should be higher and a large chunk of our debt should be gone, so it'll be a triple whammy and we can really ratchet up the savings.

[Firebird]

firebird- I scanned but didn't see this mentioned yet. Negotiate the rent increase. I know it's a leasing company and all but they prob sent you a letter, respond in kind with your counteroffer. Do a little research and note what great tenants you are. The worst they say is no. I know the rental market is more competitive than it used to be with so many people in the area losing their homes and renting instead but it's worth a shot.

I definitely plan to at least try and negotiate the increase, but I'm not optimistic about the outcome. We're great tenants most of the time, but we were late paying rent last month and we're late again this month so I don't think we have a lot of credibility at the moment - rightfully so. (Did I mention that I cannot wait to get our whole financial picture under my thumb so we never have to deal with stupid late payments again?)

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2011 12:21:22 GMT -5 Firebird said:

firebird- I scanned but didn't see this mentioned yet. Negotiate the rent increase. I know it's a leasing company and all but they prob sent you a letter, respond in kind with your counteroffer. Do a little research and note what great tenants you are. The worst they say is no. I know the rental market is more competitive than it used to be with so many people in the area losing their homes and renting instead but it's worth a shot.

I definitely plan to at least try and negotiate the increase, but I'm not optimistic about the outcome. We're great tenants most of the time, but we were late paying rent last month and we're late again this month so I don't think we have a lot of credibility at the moment - rightfully so. (Did I mention that I cannot wait to get our whole financial picture under my thumb so we never have to deal with stupid late payments again?)

What happened, Firebird? Late two months in a row? As a landlord, I would not be renewing the lease.

[trytofindbalance]

Hey Firebird.

Just my $.02. Stay in your apartment. It's $80 more per month for a total of $960 more for the year. It will probably cost you more to move. I also wouldn't be making any moves while I was waiting for DF to get his work situation stabilized. You know the minute you move closer to one location, they'll make him permanent in the other.

I know you are trying to save a lot of money right now, but the $960 for the year, isn't going to ruin your plans. Stay put and enjoy your swanky apartment.

[trytofindbalance]

One question for you. I know you mentioned you were late on your rent last month and will be late again this month. Is that a planning issue? I ask because you're post indicated that you are saving a fair amount of money each month, so I am assuming that having the money available.

[Firebird]

What happened, Firebird? Late two months in a row? As a landlord, I would not be renewing the lease.

I know, we suck. It would be easy to blame DF but I will refrain from doing that. Let's just say that it's a ridiculous and expensive mistake that I've never made before and I'm a little sick that it happened twice in a row. It will NOT happen again.

[Firebird]

I'm a little confused on how if you have 1600 into liquid savings each month, that you couldn't have borrowed from your savings? Or was it just an organizational thing, like forgotten about.....

It was an organizational thing related to DF's share of the rent. Long story. It won't happen again because we're going to be better organized from now on. Right, honey?? ;D

I don't even think I'll try to negotiate. They'll likely laugh in my face.

[Gardening Grandma]

Firebird,
Add mine to the voices that say stay put. And, no, I wouldn't try negotiating considering the late payments and the relatively modest increase.
The increase does give you an opening, if you need one, to talk to the fiancé about sitting down and listing/ organizing the finances......

[Firebird]

imagine my embarrassment when for DS's birthday celebration there was a huge orange notice on the front door from the city saying they were going to turn off my water for non payment.....everyone of course thougth I was dead broke......no - just disorganized.....

Oh God... I would have died. I'm glad you weren't actually broke though! Disorganized can be fixed a lot easier than broke.

The increase does give you an opening, if you need one, to talk to the fiancé about sitting down and listing/ organizing the finances......

We had a nice chat about it on Sunday and we're on the same page. He's always wanted me to handle the finances, but I didn't feel comfortable doing it until we were married. Since we're having a pretty short engagement, I'm okay with getting the process rolling now. That way we can hit the ground running.

[qofcc]

This must be the month for being disorganized. I had minor surgery a couple weeks ago and I was nice and relaxed and not stressed at all for 10 days(gotta love those pain pills) but I was so relaxed I forgot to xfer DH's paycheck to my checking account and now that I'm back to reality, I just got hit with overdraft fees to cover an automatic payment that happened while I wasn't paying attention.

[Gardening Grandma]

Apr 5, 2011 17:54:13 GMT -5 @toughtimes said:

Bills that will destroy you if not paid, i.e. utilities, phone, water, should be automated. Have them set up a direct withdrawal each month from your account and keep it well stocked with cash. You don't want to do that with credit card companies or others for whom identity theft or disputed bills are an issue, but face it, are you ever going to give the people who control your light, gas or communications a hard time?

This is precisely the reason that I'm currently working on getting everything possible on auto pilot. All the income coming into one account and all of the bills going automatically onto the Chase rewards card or being debited automatically from the checking account. I also have the Chase rewards account set to automatically pay the full amount on the due date if I don't do it sooner. I keep about a $2K cushion, just in case.....
I figure that if I'm hit by the proverbial bus, things will go along on auto pilot until DH gets up to speed.

[Firebird]

All my bills are automated. And DF just texted me that he's switching his direct deposit to my account TOMORROW. He's sick of being disorganized.

O HAPPY DAY.

[debtheaven]

Firebird, DH and I have been together for 18 years, married for six. We still have yours / mine / our accounts (my preference).

Even if you're not married yet, you can still set up a new "our" account for everything related to the household. Then all you and your DF need to do is set up one monthly transfer from your individual accounts (where your salaries go) to that joint account. Then YOU can manage that joint account and make sure that everything to do with the actual running of the household gets paid in a timely fashion.

DH is a financial ditz. It is MUCH easier to tell him "you need to put X per month into our joint account" than it is to tell him, you need to give me A for the mortgage / rent, B for water, C for natural gas, D for food, E for electricity, F for insurance, G for gas for the car, etc. If I had to deal with that I'd have committed hari-kiri a long time ago LOL!

You get the point!

[Firebird]

Even if you're not married yet, you can still set up a new "our" account for everything related to the household. Then all you and your DF need to do is set up one monthly transfer from your individual accounts (where your salaries go) to that joint account. Then YOU can manage that joint account and make sure that everything to do with the actual running of the household gets paid in a timely fashion.

I think this is the best solution long-term, because I can just set up auto-transfers from our individual accounts into the joint account in the amount of the bills that we need, and in the amounts of the savings, and then leave the rest behind as our allowances.

I will look into getting that done this month. Time to go home and pay my rent ;D

[wvugurl26]

Maybe it is the month for forgetting stuff. I forgot to refill my prepaid cell Sunday. Had almost $48 on it bc it is only for my apt gate. I hate how AT&T bombards you with texts and emails a month before you need to refill but nothing when its actually time. I had the date wrote down I just forgot. I put $25 on it tonight and the next expiration date is my birthday. I should be able to remember that
I just calculated what percentage of take home my rent is, I'm at 38%. I knew it was high. The joy of living in this HCOL area. According to the rentometer my rent is a deal. I'm out of here as soon as humanly possible, this place it toxic for my allergies. I set my rent limit at what I was comfortable with and this was about the only place that met the criteria. Joke's on me as I cough up doctor and prescription copays every month and try to get the ability to breathe normally back.

[Deleted]

Yeah, I wouldn't try renegotiating the rent after two late pays especially if they waived the fees. Otherwise you might be looking for a place sooner than you thought!

Because we have 5 properties in the US and rent ourselves here in Germany I had to automate almost everything. I even averaged out some utility bills for our vacation rental so the utilities are always paid. I reconcile every quarter.

The only bills I don't automatically pay are the three ccs. I could set up an auto debit but I want to make sure I go through those bills with a fine tooth comb before I pay. It's hard to dispute a charge if it's already paid. Also while I have a dedicated bank account for each property I don't have a dedicated card for each property. So I want to make sure I take the time to pay property related charges (like repairs) from the correct bank account.

For rent you can probably set up an automatic bill pay from your checking account.

Better yet, look into a direct transfer from your bank to your LL's bank account. Much safer and no risk of getting lost in the mail. The credit unions generally can do this without a problem (do make sure you have high enough daily limits though!). USAA can do bank to bank transfers and BofA is finally coming around (although you have be in the country to do it...grrr!). Three of my tenants pay their rent this way.

I did have a couple of problems with automatic debits being taken from my account 30 years ago. But today you can control the timing and the amount of automatic transfers yourself, often within a day of the payment being made.

[Firebird]

Rent is paid, plus we got my engagement ring ;D It is gorgeous, and it cost under $200. Hopefully that wins me back some brownie points, haha.

[ontrack]

For my rent, I set up a direct payment with my bank (BofA). They automatically cut a check and mail it to my landlord's property management company by the due date I specified. This has the added benefit of saving me checks (which I have to pay for) and postage. My fiance just pays me his share.

[Firebird]

So... I was all set to just accept the increase because we don't want to deal with it. Then, I was driving to BART this morning and happened to notice that a building *across the street* from us still has apartments for rent so I figured what the heck, might as well call and find out what they were going for (we still haven't renewed our lease, because we are gigantic procrastinators).

They have ONE 1-bedroom left... for $1,075 per month.

This would be the easiest move job in the history of the world. This complex is literally across the street from us, and there are always moving trucks in the parking lot on weekends so I am sure we can persuade someone to let us use their truck for 20 minutes to move our bed and couch ACROSS THE STREET, and the rest we can bring in our cars.

I'm sure it's not as nice as our current apartment but it's way closer to BART, and honestly, I can deal with a less-than-snazzy apartment for that kind of discount.

So DF is going to go check it out. Wish us luck!

[Bluerobin]

Firebird, try negotiating the increase. Don't let them know how much you like it. If the cost of the monthly increase equals less than the cost to move, it is a wash, unless you get a really good rent.

[shanendoah]

Good luck on the new place.

[Gardening Grandma]

Apr 19, 2011 11:48:11 GMT -5 Firebird said:

So... I was all set to just accept the increase because we don't want to deal with it. Then, I was driving to BART this morning and happened to notice that a building *across the street* from us still has apartments for rent so I figured what the heck, might as well call and find out what they were going for (we still haven't renewed our lease, because we are gigantic procrastinators).

They have ONE 1-bedroom left... for $1,075 per month.

This would be the easiest move job in the history of the world. This complex is literally across the street from us, and there are always moving trucks in the parking lot on weekends so I am sure we can persuade someone to let us use their truck for 20 minutes to move our bed and couch ACROSS THE STREET, and the rest we can bring in our cars.

I'm sure it's not as nice as our current apartment but it's way closer to BART, and honestly, I can deal with a less-than-snazzy apartment for that kind of discount.

So DF is going to go check it out. Wish us luck!

If it's across the street from you, how can it be closer to BART?

At any rate I'll be interested to hear about it.....

[Deleted]

I know the physical move seems easy enough, but don't count on all those moving trucks you see parked across the street because they may belong to a company, not the people driving them. Plus, won't you have to pay deposits, etc. again?

However, if you really like the place across the street, then go for it!