[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn EXACTLY. Please someone tell my wife this, she won't listen to me!

You'll have to excuse her... over-priced audio purchases and excessive piles of boxes on your table have ruined your financial advisory credibility

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wakeride74 You'll have to excuse her... over-priced audio purchases and excessive piles of boxes on your table have ruined your financial advisory credibility

you have a point there.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JahJahBinks yeah, you kinda have to make over 300 grand a year to afford such rent. (assuming rent is 40% of your annual salary).

there are folks here who pay 60% or more of their salary on housing.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax there are folks here who pay 60% or more of their salary on housing.

or everything but a daily cheese sammich.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax there are folks here who pay 60% or more of their salary on housing.

insert residents of CA and NY

 

[vpivinylspinner]

Yeah living in Manhattan is ridiculously expensive. My first rental was a average size place for US standards (2200 sq ft.) but was huge for NYC standards. I just hope the market stays very strong long enough for me to sell off my place in the next month so I can make a move to another locale.

 

[JahJahBinks]

I think the price is coming down in the next couple of years.

 

[purk]

If you plan on sharing the place with your finacee, you might be better off with a more expensive place, given that it is a lot safer. If you plan to live alone, why not save on rent to buy house in the future. My percentage of rent to taxed salary is about 22%.

 

[chadbang]

A thousand a month will all those extras sounds pretty good to me. I take the expensive place.


If you're very young, there's nothing wrong with renting for awhile. I rent and people tell me I'm nuts for not buying a home. Of course, they whine about their property taxes every year. I pay $800 a month to rent. If I were to subtract property taxes from that amount. I'd be paying about $400 a month to rent. That's really nothing in these inflated times. Find me a house with a $400 a month mortage.

 

[jefemeister]

At 32k a year, you're looking at about $2k/mo take-home. $1000/mo in rent is half your income which is the absolute most you'd want to pay. Usual recommendation (from what I remember) is housing expenses should be about 30% of your net pay. If you figure $100/mo for utilities, etc this means your rent should be ~$500. But you need to figure in the parking, laundry, etc like you mentioned.

At the end of the day, if you don't feel safe or comfortable in the $500 place, go for the $1000 one. You'll have to skimp on your purchases especially considering you have other debts, but at least you'll like your home which is very important. Personally, I've never seen an apartment for $500/mo much less one in Seattle...I'd go for the $1000 and have a place that isn't going to fall apart and not be in the slums where you have to worry about your car being broken into and your general safety. If the $500 one is livable, go for that and save up your money. You may be able to just suck it up until your salary increases or your situation changes. Roomates may also be a good idea.

Myself, I spend ~18% of gross on rent currently with no worries. I would just buy a place but am waiting for my life to settle a bit (marriage) before I do. IMO, that's why apartments exist--they're a holding pad until you have a good enough idea of your future.

 

[CousCous]

You can also keep shopping around. When I lived in Seattle I payed about 725 for a one bedroom about 5 blocks away from the space needle. I had a beautiful view of it, the neighborhood was nice & quiet, and I remember being about a 30-45 minute busride from the u-district. 15 minutes if you're driving.

Right now in Los Angeles I'm about a 30-45 minute bus ride away from school. I pay at least 2-300 less in rent than I would if I lived near school. And the bus ride gives me time to read, listen to music, etc.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JahJahBinks I think the price is coming down in the next couple of years.

Nope, anytime the purchase rates decline as interest rates rise rental costs increase.

 

[nabwong]

I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for housing. It's my private space. Imagine after a whole days' work, you come home to a place you hate. I don't think i can live like that. I need to be happy at home.

 

[Illah]

And if you move 75 miles out of Seattle into farmland you can get a place for $350 a month!

So what.

I say get the nicer place. Even if it delays your eventual home-owning by a year or two, it has so many more amenities and a much better location that will ultimately make your life much more enjoyable.

It's not all about the money. I could live in the ghetto of Oakland instead of San Francisco, live in a dump instead of a loft, I could never go out, I could not buy any nice clothes, audio gear, etc. Sure, I'll own a home a few years sooner, but again, what's the toll on one's life to do that to yourself? I'd rather live and enjoy my life than live stingy.

I live with my fiance, and my share of our rent is 21.8% of my income. Adding in my share of other bills & student loans (food excluded) it becomes around 30%. Sure, I could reduce that percentage of my total income, but I won't be owning *that* much sooner and my quality of live will plummet.

--Illah

 

[bpm2000]

I was in a nearly similar situation as you last year, cept I did it by myself. I was deciding between a cheaper place and a nicer place, and decided to go nicer/new. I am moving out at the end of this month, and upon reflection, I always did wish I could have had that extra money but at the same time having things like a washer/dryer available to me at any time was worth it in the end. And if you find a place with a fitness area, pool, etc it can become that much more worth it. Just find your point of compromise between your needs and how much money you want to spend.
I am moving in with someone else now and hopefully our combined rent can make for savings without losing the quality of establishment. (is off-campus UW internet not capped? I remember after my second summer they capped the **** out of the uploads so I couldn't host any more).

EDIT: oh ya, and look for money-saving deals everywhere if you find that you are paying a little more than you'd like for your rent. Cut costs elsewhere. For example, you can haggle your internet/cable down with providers very easily. Eat out less, buy on sale, etc etc