Half your paycheck on rent?

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 10:35:43 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

after deductions I take home about $2800/month. My rent is $1075/month (for a mediocre 1 bedroom apartment with crappy coin laundry, no AC in the bedroom, faulty heating system, and loud/disrespectful neighbors).  I live in central NJ.

How is the ex hubby doing with the house? I still cannot believe he wanted to keep it... Did he get a roommate?

And what you describe seems like heaven

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2015 10:40:48 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

And what you describe seems like heaven

What part?  The lack of AC or the faulty heat? 

[MJ2.0]

Dec 10, 2015 10:40:48 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Dec 10, 2015 10:35:43 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

after deductions I take home about $2800/month. My rent is $1075/month (for a mediocre 1 bedroom apartment with crappy coin laundry, no AC in the bedroom, faulty heating system, and loud/disrespectful neighbors).  I live in central NJ.

How is the ex hubby doing with the house? I still cannot believe he wanted to keep it... Did he get a roommate?

And what you describe seems like heaven

well the lawn isn't covered with leaves now... he must be enjoying that leaf blower I bought before I moved out. He changed locks so I haven't been inside recently, but from what I can see through the ajar door I don't miss cleaning up after him AT ALL.

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 10:43:04 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Dec 10, 2015 10:40:48 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

And what you describe seems like heaven

What part?  The lack of AC or the faulty heat? 

Everything

[muttleynfelix]

A little variation, when we were looking at housing and rents here are significantly higher than PITI. The 3 bedroom home in our neighborhood rents for $1600/month. With 10% down, our PITI is $1300/month. Our PITI is 20% of our gross, 30% of my net. I don't think I could handle owning on a higher percentage than that.

[Cookies Galore]

We live in a unicorn for our area (a one-bedroom under $1000/mo). Hell, even with electric we still pay under $1000, except in the summer when our electric bill goes from $25 to $80. Most one-bedroom apartments in our town rent for about $1500 or so; obviously we are staying put until we have a house, hopefully sometime in the second half of 2016. It's no frills, just a building with 11 one-bedrooms and coin-operated laundry in the basement (we spend $30/month on laundry).
Our rent is 20% of our take home pay. We will not be owning for what we pay in rent. I recently got a promotion and a 15% raise, so that money is going straight to the house fund. Might as well get used to not using it for myself!

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 10:47:59 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

Dec 10, 2015 10:40:48 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

How is the ex hubby doing with the house? I still cannot believe he wanted to keep it... Did he get a roommate?

And what you describe seems like heaven

well the lawn isn't covered with leaves now... he must be enjoying that leaf blower I bought before I moved out. He changed locks so I haven't been inside recently, but from what I can see through the ajar door I don't miss cleaning up after him AT ALL.

Lol

In that sense I am lucky to have my wife and MIL... They take care of 95% of everything related to the house if not more.

Trying not to get too spoiled!

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 11:04:14 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I recently got a promotion and a 15% raise, so that money is going straight to the house fund. Might as well get used to not using it for myself!

Congrats on the promotion and raise! Big baller!!!!!

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2015 11:04:35 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

A little variation, when we were looking at housing and rents here are significantly higher than PITI. The 3 bedroom home in our neighborhood rents for $1600/month. With 10% down, our PITI is $1300/month. Our PITI is 20% of our gross, 30% of my net. I don't think I could handle owning on a higher percentage than that.

My PITI is 54% of gross.  This is why I need to figure out something before child support goes away or I'm screwed.  Totally unsustainable.

[Cookies Galore]

Dec 10, 2015 11:07:28 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Dec 10, 2015 11:04:14 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

I recently got a promotion and a 15% raise, so that money is going straight to the house fund. Might as well get used to not using it for myself!

Congrats on the promotion and raise! Big baller!!!!!

Thanks! I somehow talked my way into an early promotion (was on the March list but someone left, which opened a position above mine on my team). Early promotion means my 2016 raise will be based on my new salary and not my old (raises in February, promotions in March). Baller indeed!

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 11:11:14 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Dec 10, 2015 11:04:35 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

A little variation, when we were looking at housing and rents here are significantly higher than PITI. The 3 bedroom home in our neighborhood rents for $1600/month. With 10% down, our PITI is $1300/month. Our PITI is 20% of our gross, 30% of my net. I don't think I could handle owning on a higher percentage than that.

My PITI is 54% of gross.  This is why I need to figure out something before child support goes away or I'm screwed.  Totally unsustainable.

Can you sale and move into a smaller place in town? Or you like having a farm?

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2015 11:18:11 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Dec 10, 2015 11:11:14 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

My PITI is 54% of gross.  This is why I need to figure out something before child support goes away or I'm screwed.  Totally unsustainable.

Can you sale and move into a smaller place in town? Or you like having a farm?

I can and might.  I'm always checking the listings so if the "perfect" town place shows up for me, I'll move on it.  Otherwise, no hurry at this point.  I have 54 months. 

[cktc]

Dec 10, 2015 9:46:42 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Then you get a roommate. The difference between a one bedroom and a two bedroom apartment isn't double what a one bedroom costs. Shoot, I know a group of nursing students who live four in a two bedroom. Rarely is more than one of them there at a time. They leave notes on the chalkboard for each other!

I only lived on my own for a whopping 4 months of my adult life for this reason. I could live in a one bedroom apartment in a bad neighborhood for $500, or in a nicer area I could get a one bedroom for $700+, or a two bedroom for $850+. I went straight for the two bedroom because I didn't want to live on my own in a bad neighborhood and the one bedroom would have been over 30% of my take home.

[cronewitch]

Seattle rent averages 1,700 for a one bedroom. We have a huge homeless problem because people don't earn enough to pay rent especially if they have children. Today I am going to take some Christmas stuff to a family living in a motel. Kids are 5 and 14 months, wife can't work because of health issues she can't drive so sells online. So one income for 4 people new in the city after a fire where they used to live. Motels are expensive even by the month but getting into a rental will be thousands if they have good credit and no criminal background. I don't know what work the husband does but if he makes $15 or 30K a year they probably spend more than half the gross on rent.

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 14:08:00 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

Seattle rent averages 1,700 for a one bedroom. We have a huge homeless problem because people don't earn enough to pay rent especially if they have children. Today I am going to take some Christmas stuff to a family living in a motel. Kids are 5 and 14 months, wife can't work because of health issues she can't drive so sells online. So one income for 4 people new in the city after a fire where they used to live. Motels are expensive even by the month but getting into a rental will be thousands if they have good credit and no criminal background. I don't know what work the husband does but if he makes $15 or 30K a year they probably spend more than half the gross on rent.

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.

All the motels I looked into we're $200-$250/week while I was paying $600/month rent + $20 utilities.

Yet the motels (that I saw) have a certain percentage of rooms that had what you would consider long term tenants (6 months to 1 year). And others are by the week construction workers that are in town for work Monday to Friday and went home during the weekends.

Anyway my take was it was possible to find a slightly run down place for cheaper than a a motel a week but yes you would need to have ok credit and the deposit. But my deposit was half month rent so $300...

I seriously do not miss that place one bit...

[alabamagal]

I have 2 kids just starting on their own. DS pays $1500/month in DC area. He has W/D in his unit. Rent was 30.1% of gross when he moved there and I had to cosign ( really? For 0.1%). He just renewed and due to several raises and good payment history I am no longer on the lease as of Jan. He is doing very well on his 70%.

DD pays $800 a month but is just under 30%. She has a harder time than DS because her 70% is less than DS.

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 14:18:12 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

I have 2 kids just starting on their own. DS pays $1500/month in DC area. He has W/D in his unit. Rent was 30.1% of gross when he moved there and I had to cosign ( really? For 0.1%). He just renewed and due to several raises and good payment history I am no longer on the lease as of Jan. He is doing very well on his 70%.

DD pays $800 a month but is just under 30%. She has a harder time than DS because her 70% is less than DS.

MA apartments have that 30% rule also, I am not sure why... Who came up with that?

We rented in both NY and NJ and no one ever cared to calculate the 30% or maybe they did and we did not notice.

[cronewitch]

Dec 10, 2015 14:17:42 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Dec 10, 2015 14:08:00 GMT -5 cronewitch said:

Seattle rent averages 1,700 for a one bedroom. We have a huge homeless problem because people don't earn enough to pay rent especially if they have children. Today I am going to take some Christmas stuff to a family living in a motel. Kids are 5 and 14 months, wife can't work because of health issues she can't drive so sells online. So one income for 4 people new in the city after a fire where they used to live. Motels are expensive even by the month but getting into a rental will be thousands if they have good credit and no criminal background. I don't know what work the husband does but if he makes $15 or 30K a year they probably spend more than half the gross on rent.

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.

All the motels I looked into we're $200-$250/week while I was paying $600/month rent + $20 utilities.

Yet the motels (that I saw) have a certain percentage of rooms that had what you would consider long term tenants (6 months to 1 year). And others are by the week construction workers that are in town for work Monday to Friday and went home during the weekends.

Anyway my take was it was possible to find a slightly run down place for cheaper than a a motel a week but yes you would need to have ok credit and the deposit. But my deposit was half month rent so $300...

I seriously do not miss that place one bit...

If you can't get a rental it might be because you have a felony, no work history, evictions, bad credit, no job but have the $250. Where could you have rented a 600 month apartment with 4 people that would even allow that many in a small apartment? Getting together the price of a car is hard for some people and needed to find a real apartment where you only need a week of rent money to live indoors in a motel. Then you are stuck because you pay all your money for the motel and fast food since you can't cook. Here it would cost about 1.5K for the first month rent and at least a thousand security deposit if you have good credit, also starting over in a new place without things because of fire you don't own beds and motels come with beds. Part of the cost of poverty that we regular people don't have to deal with.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.



All the motels I looked into we're $200-$250/week while I was paying $600/month rent + $20 utilities.

You wouldn't be able to find a room in Seattle for $600/mo, let alone an apartment.  I do know north of Seattle off of I-5 I have seen a motel advertise weekly rates of $300/week, which would be about $1200/mo. You'd be hard pressed to find a studio in Seattle for that price and you'd still need to pay utilities.

Housing is crazy here. 

[alabamagal]

Dec 10, 2015 14:23:32 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

Dec 10, 2015 14:18:12 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

I have 2 kids just starting on their own. DS pays $1500/month in DC area. He has W/D in his unit. Rent was 30.1% of gross when he moved there and I had to cosign ( really? For 0.1%). He just renewed and due to several raises and good payment history I am no longer on the lease as of Jan. He is doing very well on his 70%.

DD pays $800 a month but is just under 30%. She has a harder time than DS because her 70% is less than DS.

MA apartments have that 30% rule also, I am not sure why... Who came up with that?

We rented in both NY and NJ and no one ever cared to calculate the 30% or maybe they did and we did not notice.

These were kids (pardon me, young adults) with no rental history, so they might have been looked at a little closer.  With DS it was pretty silly to need a cosigner due to missing it by 0.1%, and what made it even worse was that the offer letter from his company was wrong and his actual salary when he started was $2k/year higher so he would have easily met the 30% rule.

[Deleted]

A bit of a different take but my no frills townhome in Illinois costs me 3% of the value of the house each year in property taxes and 2% in association dues.

Translation: even though I own the damn thing outright I get to essentially buy the house again every 20 years.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

MA apartments have that 30% rule also, I am not sure why... Who came up with that?

This is pretty much what the suggested amounts are these days.  It was like this when I moved into my apartment in KY, but I was only paying about 20% of my income (and about 15% when I left) in rent so it wasn't a problem.  I'm curious as to whether or not Seattle has this because the rents are so high.

[NastyWoman]

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.

Maybe because first and last month rent needed upfront for an apartment is not a requirement for a motel room? In a really expensive area that would be a serious amount of money you need to save up before you have a chance at getting into an apartment.

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 15:45:45 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.

Maybe because first and last month rent needed upfront for an apartment is not a requirement for a motel room? In a really expensive area that would be a serious amount of money you need to save up before you have a chance at getting into an apartment.

I get that also in MA when section 8 housing are not available the government pays for you to stay at a Motel.

I was just wondering the logistics because when I was trying to pick, it seemed cheaper for me rent a small studio vs renting a motel room.

But crone does have a point about about being to pack more people into a motel room than a studio, not that my landlord ever check how many people I had there.

[alabamagal]

Dec 10, 2015 15:45:45 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.

Maybe because first and last month rent needed upfront for an apartment is not a requirement for a motel room? In a really expensive area that would be a serious amount of money you need to save up before you have a chance at getting into an apartment.

Actually when both of my kids rented apartments, they did not have to put a deposit down.  Instead of "damage deposit" they did a non-refundable damage bond.  For DD's apartment ($800 per month) it was $125 or so.  For DS I think it was about the same.  They had to pay a rental application fee, $25 or so.  And then the rent from the day they moved in.  That helped lower the amount they needed to move in, which was good since they were both starting out with their first "real" job and had limited funds.

[zibazinski]

Yes, because people have the right to live where they want, even if they can't afford to. 

[midjd]

Dec 10, 2015 15:45:45 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.

Maybe because first and last month rent needed upfront for an apartment is not a requirement for a motel room? In a really expensive area that would be a serious amount of money you need to save up before you have a chance at getting into an apartment.

My mom was briefly unemployed last year before finding her current job and was waitressing to earn extra cash. I think at least half of her coworkers lived in the rent-by-the-week motel in my hometown. I asked her what they were charging now, since I remember it being $100/week when I waitressed back in 2003 - 2006 (probably 1/3 of my coworkers at a different restaurant lived there then). I figured it had gone up to $125/wk or so, wages and housing prices have been pretty stagnant there during the last decade.

Nope, it's now $210/week! This in a town where you can easily rent a 2br apartment for $500/mo and not have people dealing drugs and turning tricks in the room next door... 

It is indeed expensive to be poor.

[TheHaitian]

Dec 10, 2015 16:30:11 GMT -5 midjd said:

It is indeed expensive to be poor.

You can say that again!!!!

[Deleted]

Dec 10, 2015 16:30:11 GMT -5 midjd said:

Nope, it's now $210/week! This in a town where you can easily rent a 2br apartment for $500/mo and not have people dealing drugs and turning tricks in the room next door... 

It is indeed expensive to be poor.

Ouch, $210/wk * 52 wk/yr = 10,920/yr.  That makes my house look like a steal.  Property Taxes are $6K and maintenance/insurance $2-4K each year.  

Some of these things are just poor choices by people, others are just the poverty trap and why it is so hard to climb out.  People like me live on 20-30K/yr, drive new cars, take trips, etc. and can't understand why someone making $10/hr claims it isn't a living wage.  

I know the same is true if you ever grocery shop in a poor area.  The prices are crazy high.  We had a store here that was that way (I stopped in because I was close and only needed a couple items).  Ironically, the store went out of business as it was not profitable.  Seemed odd to me that they weren't making huge profit as everything I bought was 30-80% higher than my normal store.  Company cited inconsistent sales (causing huge waste of food and staffing problems) as the main cause.  Yes, theft was higher at the store but that would have been manageable.

[Chocolate Lover]

Dec 10, 2015 15:45:45 GMT -5 NastyWoman said:

I never understood the living in a motel thing because when I moved to VT I looked into it and it was way more expensive than the rent I was paying for same quality motel.

Maybe because first and last month rent needed upfront for an apartment is not a requirement for a motel room? In a really expensive area that would be a serious amount of money you need to save up before you have a chance at getting into an apartment.

Around here, first and last is expected on houses but the deposit at apartments is way cheaper. Which is how I ended up in one. Moving hadn't been in my plans so I didn't have enough saved to cover essentially 2 months of rent and any other deposits for utilities and such a house would need.