Apartment advice for first time renter.

[twist]

Not for me! If an apartment is costing $850 a month. What would you recommend her income to be each month after taxes. I said $850 x 3. What do you think budget boarders?

 

[ellie05]

The money spend on rent should be no more than 30% of the income.

 

[supersnoop]

For a house, you should be less than 30% of gross, or 42% of net income. For an apartment, I'd suggest closer to 20% of gross.

 

[tinker&belle]

If she is trying to build up emergency savings or down payment savings on a home she would probably be happier with a 20-25% apt payment of her net income.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I agree with no more than 20-25%, but take into account car payment, insurance, credit card payments, gas, groceries, utilities, cell phone, and spending habits.

 

[sharbear]

My D pays a little more than 20% of her gross income on her rent. She finds that doable with room to spare to save and buy furniture as needed. S lives with his gf and she had the apartment before he moved in and pays about 15% of her income on rent. But it's a lower cost area and she makes a good amount of money. D lives in a higher coa and she wanted a place of her own so she was willing to pay more.

 

[JillianMarie]

I think that's cutting it pretty close. The last apartment I rented was cheaper than that and I made more money and I remember feeling quite squeezed. I guess it depends on what her other expenses are. If she has a car payment or student loans or any kind of social life I think she's probably going to be hurting.

 

[LJSquishy]

All of the apartments I've ever rented required income to be at least 3x the monthly rent at a minimum. When I was in community college I had a roommate so we split rent, but they moved out and I couldn't afford even the one bedroom by myself with my income (I worked part time and went to school full time) but luckily my boyfriend (now my husband) and his brother let me move in with them and pay rent. So, depending on her income and the price of apartments in her area, she may have to find a roommate.

I always lived in pretty nice apartments (we've been homeowners for 7 years now) but if I were to rent now, I'd probably choose a smaller apartment and save the extra money. It was always very important to me to live in a safe area, so safety comes first which sometimes costs a little extra.

 

[natashag76]

Get renter's insurance! It covers not only damage you cause, or theft, but also problems that arise from neighbors (we had one whose washing machine overflowed - we lived under him!).

 

[JillyBean1899]

Out of curiosity, where is she living? $850 x 3 is $2250, which is about $15/hour (if you're looking at gross income ... if it has to be $2250 net, that's going to be even more). Honestly, even when I lived in Orlando I never paid that much for an apartment. Not a one bedroom, anyway. Is she getting an apartment by herself? How many bedrooms is the $850/month rent for?

 

[Sagginit]

experts say closer to 25% of your take home. so at 850 she should be netting 3400. some will go up to 30% but its always a financial risk. i mean if rent goes up what do you do if you have no cushion?

what are her utilities? also if this is her first apt. i can tell you from experience she may feel like her money is going through her hands like sand. all those little things you need add up. just when you think you have everything you need, something comes up.

 

[disneychrista]

I was always told rent & utilities combined should be no more than 30% of gross income. Now that if very hard for a single person to pull off. But as was posted above most rental agencies will want 3X income (gross)

$800 - $850 per month is pretty standard for a small one bedroom apartment in my area.

 

[scrapquitler]

Get renter's insurance! It covers not only damage you cause, or theft, but also problems that arise from neighbors (we had one whose washing machine overflowed - we lived under him!).

I absolutely agree with this! The landlord's property insurance covers the landlord, not the renter. You need to have renter's insurance to cover your own possessions (just imagine that if the building burns to the ground...you need the coverage to replace your possessions, same for a smaller incident, like the neighbors overflowing washing machine...)

 

[Astylla]

Not for me! If an apartment is costing $850 a month. What would you recommend her income to be each month after taxes. I said $850 x 3. What do you think budget boarders?

Not only recommend but some apartments REQUIRE a certain amount of income to even apply/rent so I personally agree with you.

Also RESEARCH the leasing company. We got stuck in a horrible lease with a company called FPI management who had the lowest scores possible on the Better Business Bureau. We finally got out but only because we were informed.

Here in California it isn't uncommon for it to be required of you to make 2.5 - 3.0 more of what the rent is so it's a threshold we use.

And yes..RENTER'S INSURANCE. Many banks will offer it to make it easier and sometimes you can get a break on grouping renter's/car insurance together too.

 

[MrsPete]

Not for me! If an apartment is costing $850 a month. What would you recommend her income to be each month after taxes. I said $850 x 3. What do you think budget boarders?

No, back when I was renting, people used to say that your rent should be no more than 25% of your take-home pay -- that is, to be comfortable and not stretched each month. So a person who's renting an $850/month apartment should be bringing home (not grossing) $3400/month.

$850 sounds impossibly high to me. I'd expect that price to include all utilities.

I'd look for something less expensive. Or a roommate. Or both. Point out to your friend that renting is a dead-end street; at the end of the month, that money's gone. She'd be better off renting something cheap so she can afford to save money toward something that'll be her own.

 

[crazyventures]

$850 sounds impossibly high to me. I'd expect that price to include all utilities.

Depends on the area, really. One bedroom apartments usually go for around $1000-1100 here for basic apartments up to around $1600 for the "fancy" ones.

 

[lauti]

No, back when I was renting, people used to say that your rent should be no more than 25% of your take-home pay -- that is, to be comfortable and not stretched each month. So a person who's renting an $850/month apartment should be bringing home (not grossing) $3400/month.

$850 sounds impossibly high to me. I'd expect that price to include all utilities.

I'd look for something less expensive. Or a roommate. Or both. Point out to your friend that renting is a dead-end street; at the end of the month, that money's gone. She'd be better off renting something cheap so she can afford to save money toward something that'll be her own.

Lol, you obviously live or have lived in a low cost of living area. I'd kill to pay $850 in rent. We pay close to $1800 for a 3 bedroom.

 

[rachel09985]

850 would be a godsend for us here in Minneapolis. Our one bedroom 690 sq foot apartment is $1000 a month plus with utilities. It is awful.

 

[anidee]

850 would be a godsend for us here in Minneapolis. Our one bedroom 690 sq foot apartment is $1000 a month plus with utilities. It is awful.

Minneapolis was just rated as the the highest like rent ratio or something wordy that meant rent here is crazy I wish I could live on my own.

 

[meriface11]

My rent was 1200 a month with no utilities in suburban CT 9 years ago. Same apt goes for $1500 now. It's all relative.