Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Feb 10, 2011 19:55:47 GMT -5
Firebird, that is the difference in locales. I've never lived anywhere where you had to pay for parking, and I had all the amenities in some. Dishwashers are standard as are fridges and stoves. To be honest, if you aren't dealing with a duplex or triplex or someone's mother-in-law suite, the pool is as well.Not in my experience, they're not. I had several different apartments in NYC, two in a VLCOLA in Pennsylvania, and one in AZ (also pretty LCOLA). So that's... let me think... five apartments. Here is the breakdown of what I received for them: NYC Apt #1 ($1,100/month for "1 bedroom"... really the bedroom was more of a closet): Metered parking, no w/d, no dishwasher, no pool, all the friendly neighborhood crack dealers you could want NYC Apt #2 ($950/month for studio): Metered parking, w/d downstairs in the building (which I was okay with), no dishwasher, no pool PA Apt #1 (~$600 for 2 bedroom): No w/d, no dishwasher, free parking, no pool. PA Apt #2 ($600/month for two bedroom): No w/d, no dishwasher, free parking, no pool. AZ Apt: ($1,100/month for 3bd/2ba): W/d, dishwasher, free parking, no pool. I believe we had a hot tub. That was definitely the best deal. Don't get me wrong-- I see your point (and I'll definitely grant that the major ripoff represented by paid parking is a city thing). But the other stuff that people actually use isn't as common as it might seem. Have you talked to your landlord about "breaking the lease". To me if you are moving from one apartment to another, you are still paying money for rent (yes it will be less, but they still have a tenant).I totally forgot to mention this, but it came to my mind too. In every apartment complex I've ever rented, you were permitted to switch apartments without breaking the lease as long as the one you wanted was empty and you snagged it first. If you haven't checked on this, make sure to do so. You might be surprised. Hooray! Firebird! Yes, that is me. My face photoshopped over the "Migrant Mother" picture.You look EXACTLY like I pictured you. Er, not that I've been picturing you.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Feb 10, 2011 20:05:34 GMT -5
I would think I look as goofy as my posts.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Feb 10, 2011 20:14:29 GMT -5
I would think I look as goofy as my posts. Precisely! That's what makes it so great. Noticed you're in SE PA-- that's where I used to live. May I ask what YOU pay in rent?
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Feb 10, 2011 20:26:12 GMT -5
We live right outside Philly in an awesome town. We pay $830/month for a dinky little one-bedroom apartment and are surrounded by $1,000-$2,500 rentals (one-bedroom apartments up to four-bedroom houses). I think we have a good deal because we're able to live in a great area for less. There are a few rentals for under $900 around here and we've been really lucky to have lived in two of them. Our last place had a washer and dryer in the apartment and I miss that. Our current place has one in the basement that we share with other people. And we have to pay to use it. Blech. We pretty much moved because our old place was getting to small for us and this place has hardwood floors. I totally moved for hardwood floor.
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DVM gone riding
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Post by DVM gone riding on Feb 10, 2011 21:04:52 GMT -5
You will still be paying more then I pay for my 3/2 in MCOL area!! And I have a big yard and a front porch but no pool etc-boy do you make me feel better though, some days I feel really guilty that I bought the place with prices dropping right and left
I do think it is a good compromise on ONE condition-you either get rid of or store for free all stuff NO paying for storage for stuff-otherwise what is the point!!
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Feb 10, 2011 21:20:20 GMT -5
I would think I look as goofy as my posts. Precisely! That's what makes it so great. Noticed you're in SE PA-- that's where I used to live. May I ask what YOU pay in rent? By the way, where did you pay $600/month in SE PA?! I can only think Del Co or Norristown.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Feb 10, 2011 21:32:47 GMT -5
A TINY town that no one would have reason to know about unless they lived there called Berwick. And the one right next to it, Nescopeck. Dirt cheap small towns. I loved them both.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2011 2:08:20 GMT -5
Thanks everyone....
Most appartment in our areas goes for around 1K or so, and I was indeed hoping to get closer to 1K but I can live with $1,360.
The amnenities - Tennis court: we use it during the summer but we also have access to tennis court in our gym during the summer - Pool : I mostly use it during the summer if I get a chance or when we have guests they like using it to. If not, I have all year access to the pool at my gym. - Gym room: Not great but descent enough to get a good cardio session in when we don't feel like going to the gym. But nothing worth staying in the complex over.
Now the two amneties that make it worth it for us are: - Parking: most complex that offers parking are around that price tag. We looked into lofts in Beacon or Poughkeepsie or owned rental homes (owner live in one floor and you the other) that are usually cheaper (low 1K and under) and they are do not offer parking. So parking would be a hassle and during winter time it would suck even more.
- Washer/Dryer: That is the one thing my wife really does not want to go without. She loves having her own washer and dryer and don't see herself going without it.
We are still looking around but yes that would be one of our best options. I would see if I could get a hold of the manager and see if they could waive the $500 fee
And as for moving, we were indeed thinking about moving most of the things ourselves with some friends (taking a week vacation) and leaving the heavy items for movers and guessing that may take only a few hours.
Thanks
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Feb 11, 2011 8:13:32 GMT -5
A TINY town that no one would have reason to know about unless they lived there called Berwick. And the one right next to it, Nescopeck. Dirt cheap small towns. I loved them both. Oh, NE PA! You diva! All those muscles and you can't move heavy furniture?
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telephus44
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Post by telephus44 on Feb 11, 2011 10:43:27 GMT -5
...:::"I believe that would be the risk we would be taking with waiting till June... the possibility of a 1 bedroom appartment being available while now they currently have one that is available that we could move into next month":::... ...:::"If so, then you should get it back when you "move," assuming that your dog didn't cause any damages. ":::... Even though they are called "deposits" and not "fees", it seems standard practice that they are not refundable. Its much harder to fight a large corporation on that. I know individual landlords are encouraged to call anything they don't want to refund "a fee". I'm not sure how much better a deal you can get. You get to stay in the same location (which was a big deal for your commutes). You get to have the same amenities (and you NEVER want to give up your own washer/dryer once you have one). And the rent different is low enough to make it worthwhile ($360/mo). Do it! Actually, we've always gotten the pet deposit back (we have cats). What I have found, is that most complexes have moved to a "pet rent" situation - so that you'll pay $1310/month for your apartment plus an additional $25 a month per pet. Like I'm supposed to send my cats out to "earn their keep." I ran into this in CO and MA, but I'm not sure how widespread the practice is. I know our last complex we rented in, we got to put down a deposit but they were changing over to the "pet rent" and it started for all leases the month after we signed ours.
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Firebird
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Post by Firebird on Feb 11, 2011 11:00:02 GMT -5
Oh, NE PA!
Well, I got the E part right ;D It's been awhile.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2011 11:03:24 GMT -5
...:::"I believe that would be the risk we would be taking with waiting till June... the possibility of a 1 bedroom appartment being available while now they currently have one that is available that we could move into next month":::... ...:::"If so, then you should get it back when you "move," assuming that your dog didn't cause any damages. ":::... Even though they are called "deposits" and not "fees", it seems standard practice that they are not refundable. Its much harder to fight a large corporation on that. I know individual landlords are encouraged to call anything they don't want to refund "a fee". I'm not sure how much better a deal you can get. You get to stay in the same location (which was a big deal for your commutes). You get to have the same amenities (and you NEVER want to give up your own washer/dryer once you have one). And the rent different is low enough to make it worthwhile ($360/mo). Do it! Actually, we've always gotten the pet deposit back (we have cats). What I have found, is that most complexes have moved to a "pet rent" situation - so that you'll pay $1310/month for your apartment plus an additional $25 a month per pet. Like I'm supposed to send my cats out to "earn their keep." I ran into this in CO and MA, but I'm not sure how widespread the practice is. I know our last complex we rented in, we got to put down a deposit but they were changing over to the "pet rent" and it started for all leases the month after we signed ours. It is also quite popular in my area. We use to pay $25/month for our pet in our old appartment and this current location started doing it as of the beginning of the year in the amount of $45/month
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2011 11:07:22 GMT -5
If you like where you live now, I think you should just stay put and have and enjoy the larger unit. And that would eat into our savings goals... we cannot have it both way. And yes we have cut down on all other unecessary expenses and so has saved us about $150 a month.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Feb 11, 2011 11:27:44 GMT -5
And yes we have cut down on all other unnecessary expenses and so has saved us about $150 a month. If you want to make a meaningful difference you must first identify your major expenses. Try a Pareto List - separate "the significant few from the insignificant many". First list your expense, then sort in descending value. In your case, it might look like this - Rent - - - - - - - $20,040 Tax/SS - - - - - $20,000 Cars - - - - - -- $15,000 Student loans - $13,200 And so on. Usually the top 20% will contain 80% of the costs. As you can see, cutting $500/yr out of your latte budget is not the way to wealth - you must work on the significant costs (such as rent, which you are doing). Your car payment is $8400 - add $3600 for gas, $3000 for insurance, registration, & wear items, that's $15k. When you extend that to 'gross' it is a big part of your $90k income. Ie, a disproportionate part of your income is used just to haul you guys around.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Feb 11, 2011 11:40:43 GMT -5
Phil always cuts to the chase.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2011 11:45:01 GMT -5
And yes we have cut down on all other unnecessary expenses and so has saved us about $150 a month. If you want to make a meaningful difference you must first identify your major expenses. Try a Pareto List - separate "the significant few from the insignificant many". First list your expense, then sort in descending value. In your case, it might look like this - Rent - - - - - - - $20,040 Tax/SS - - - - - $20,000 Cars - - - - - -- $15,000 Student loans - $13,200 And so on. Usually the top 20% will contain 80% of the costs. As you can see, cutting $500/yr out of your latte budget is not the way to wealth - you must work on the significant costs (such as rent, which you are doing). Your car payment is $8400 - add $3600 for gas, $3000 for insurance, registration, & wear items, that's $15k. When you extend that to 'gross' it is a big part of your $90k income. Ie, a disproportionate part of your income is used just to haul you guys around. 15K is a bit on the high side but I do get the point. My car payment should be gone in the next two years and do intend to drive that car till it dies.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 11, 2011 18:30:50 GMT -5
I would move right now for hardwood floors. This place is not doing my allergies any favors. Washer/dryer I would keep bc I enjoy the convenience and for the allergy factor. My luck I would get the machines last used by the person with highly floral scented products. Rewashing all of your clothes is not fun. When I was looking last summer, safety of neighborhood, w/d, dishwasher, parking, and price tag under $900 were my must haves. Pool, tennis court, gates, community hall, laundry center, and gym don't matter that much to me. If I get lucky I'll be out of this place before they ever open the pool up. It was closed by the time I signed the lease in mid Sept. Previous apts hour south of Pittsburgh in college town 2 br 1 ba dishwasher, laundry facilities on site, parking $710 I think its been a long time and a scholarship paid the bill except for first 2 months in summer 2 br 1 ba dishwasher, w/d, deck, lots of parking, grill area $585 New apt HCOL area $838 and supposedly that's a discount 2 br 1 ba (special made 2 br cheaper here) w/d (tiny ones!), dishwasher, garbage disposal, parking, pool, gym, tennis courts, community center, gated complex Crazy grounds maintenance guy complimentary Even the apts in not so great neighborhoods are going for $700 and up and most have gym, pool, etc.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2011 20:33:58 GMT -5
I don't live in your HCOL area so I will quit trying to compare apples to oranges. Good luck on the compromise. It will probably work.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 12, 2011 11:14:18 GMT -5
Its hard to compare different areas. Here it seems like any complex with a couple hundred units will have pool, tennis courts, gym, maybe car wash area, picnic area, or playground for kids. In the area I lived in before moving here very few complexes had any of those things. I think downsizing to the one bedroom is a start. Maybe after that he can look for other budget areas to cut to get to his $500/month savings goal. I completely understand about them wanting to stay in the same general area for commuting purposes. Its not uncommon here for people to commute up to 2 hours one way. 1 hour each way is probably the average. When I first moved here I was commuting 1 hour each way and that was if nothing happened to create traffic problems. That was on top of working 7:30-5:00. When I got home each night I just wanted to collapse in bed.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Feb 12, 2011 12:20:02 GMT -5
15K is a bit on the high side but I do get the point. My car payment should be gone in the next two years and do intend to drive that car till it dies . Well, maybe you get the point. But the car payment has little to do with it - depreciation is the primary cost of ownership, not loan interest. In fact I 100% finance our cars and use our money for other investing. As for $15k being high - do the math - depreciation, gas for 2 cars, a set of tires for one of the cars each yr, a batt every couple yrs, brakes every couple of yrs - and those are just the 'wear items', ie, no repairs. Add $2500/yr insurance/tags. It's likely to be >$15k out of pocket. And that probably extends north of $18k of your gross.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2011 14:04:24 GMT -5
15K is a bit on the high side but I do get the point. My car payment should be gone in the next two years and do intend to drive that car till it dies . Well, maybe you get the point. But the car payment has little to do with it - depreciation is the primary cost of ownership, not loan interest. In fact I 100% finance our cars and use our money for other investing. As for $15k being high - do the math - depreciation, gas for 2 cars, a set of tires for one of the cars each yr, a batt every couple yrs, brakes every couple of yrs - and those are just the 'wear items', ie, no repairs. Add $2500/yr insurance/tags. It's likely to be >$15k out of pocket. And that probably extends north of $18k of your gross. I agree with you completely... we are indeed spending too much on our cars. We went from being a 1 car family to 2 car family since my wife got her job in september. We purchased her car within a week after starting her new job after we realised 1 car would not work for us. Now all we can do is : -> keep the car as long as possible (hoping another 7-10 years on mine) -> As our income increase, our car expenses will represent a lesser % of our income. At this point, we are stuck with them, now all we can do is cut corners in other areas to reduce our expenses and increase our savings.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 12, 2011 14:06:49 GMT -5
That is some expensive insurance and tags for $2500. My insurance is $940/yr, tags $30/yr, yearly inspection ~$12, and personal property taxes on 2009 vehicle with orginal price ~$20k run about $250/yr. No doubt cars can be expensive but when you need it to get to work and don't know anyone living around you to take you to work, the car needs to be dependable. I hope to get a lot of miles out of my car but 2 years after buying the car new I'd put 60k miles on it. I also had a screwed up oil change that may have damaged the engine in the long run. I had it checked out but time will tell.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2011 14:17:37 GMT -5
I hope to get a lot of miles out of my car but 2 years after buying the car new I'd put 60k miles on it. Same case with my car... purchased it summer of 2008 and currently have 62K miles on it. I have to travel to MA, upstate NY, Vermont and Connecticut for work on a regular. Hopefully after my promotion next year it will reduce on my driving but still will be about 2 hours round trip a day.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Feb 12, 2011 14:30:57 GMT -5
My driving has been cut dramatically now but we'll see what the future brings. When I got it I was driving ~500 miles/week to work and normal errands. That went on for 2 months. Moved and only had to drive a little for work now and then. Got different job and back to ~500 miles/week for 7 months. Lots of 600 mile round trips when getting set up after taking new job in new state. Mid June to mid Sept was 60 miles/day for work commute. Work commute is about 24 miles/day now. Possibly moving so no idea what it will change to. Hope to keep time down to 30-45 mins so miles shouldn't change too much. I try to hold the 600 mile trips down to once a month but sometimes there's just stuff I have to go back and deal with. Like I have to go do dad and grandma's taxes before the deadline. I'm at like 66k something right now.
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