Apartment advice for first time renter.

[JillianMarie]

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.

Just because I'm nosey - what part of town are you living in? My sister pays $750 for about the same amount of space in Longfellow. But, yeah, rents here are out of control.

 

[kerplop]

In Texas we pay $960 for a 2 bedroom, 980 sq ft but this is also one of the cheapest cities in the country to live. Our complex is also 45 years old. My mother lives in a newer building (less than 10 years old) in a 2 bedroom, 1050 sq ft and she lives in San Diego and her rent is almost $1,400 a month. Crazy!

As for a first time renter, 30% of your income is the max you want to rent for. If you have a car payment, student loans, or a lot of debt you want to shoot for as low as you can! 20% would be ideal, 25% the higher end I'd go. And as for renter's insurance, almost every complex in our city requires you have it and I believe it's $100,000 coverage for liability for ours and we pay about $20 a month and it covers $14,000 for OUR stuff. Also keep in mind that an apartment may or may not cover utilities - for example our sewer, trash, and water aren't covered and run about $60 a month (ugh). Factor in pet rent if applicable and your max rent amount shrinks a bit :-/

 

[rachel09985]

Just because I'm nosey - what part of town are you living in? My sister pays $750 for about the same amount of space in Longfellow. But, yeah, rents here are out of control.

Hi! I live in Eden Prairie, which is more expensive than other places around here. I haven't even heard of Longfellow..is it a city or an area?

We tried looking around other places but just can't find anything that would be worth it to move.

 

[tvguy]

At $850 a month, a full time worker need $5.31 an hour, every hour they work just to pay their rent, so they basically would need a job paying $16 an hour to qualify for an apartment that required income be 3 times gross take home.

I know someone starting out may have no savings, thus no down payment, but here, rents are nuts. My son and his girlfriend rent a condo for $800. It is for sale for $89,000. With 10% down (which they have), the mortgage would be $429 a month, and with PMI, property taxes, insurance and homeowners dues, their total cost would be $700, not counting the mortgage interest write off on their taxes.

 

[KalamityJane]

Move to Idaho, we pay 980 for a 3 bedroom house/garage/yard and it includes lawn care

 

[mhfrau]

I would advise them to also consider any other debt they have to figure in their budget. For example, if they have a car loan, student loan payment, credit card, even things like car insurance and cell phone. It doesn't matter what percentage of your net income your rent is because if you still have a $400 car payment, $250 student loan, $100 car insurance, $70 cell, and even a minimum credit card payment, that already adds up to $820! Add on an $850 rent payment, and assuming you net around $2500, that only leaves $830 for food, utilities, any daily living expenses, and never mind savings... that's not a lot. I would tell any young person to keep their rent dirt cheap, stockpile some cash and pay off any debt. They will be soooo much better off in the long run

 

[hungrygreenhippo]

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?

Gosh, where did you live in Orlando for under $850/month? I'm moving to Orlando this summer and I'm having trouble finding apartments for $1000/month. But then again I'm looking in and near downtown since that's where I'll be working. I hate long commutes. If you have any advice on where to find cheaper rent but still be within a 15 minute drive of the Amway Center, that would be much appreciated!

 

[JillyBean1899]

Gosh, where did you live in Orlando for under $850/month? I'm moving to Orlando this summer and I'm having trouble finding apartments for $1000/month. But then again I'm looking in and near downtown since that's where I'll be working. I hate long commutes. If you have any advice on where to find cheaper rent but still be within a 15 minute drive of the Amway Center, that would be much appreciated!

Most of the time I was near Universal (cause I worked there) and once was near the airport. If you're looking for something near downtown, you're going to pay dearly for it, there's no way around it.

I did go on Apartments.com and do a search for 32801, which is the zip code for the arena, most are $1000/month, but a few popped up that would be close-ish and under $800, Millennium Point and Lake Jasmine. Of course, I haven't seen them in person so no vouching for location or security or anything, but that site (and ApartmentGuide.com, ForRent.com, Rent.com, etc) is a good place to start.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

WOW!! you guys pay alot for rent! I pay 490 and thats for a one bedroom w a $15 cat fee! I was paying $569 for a luxury aparment 2 bedroom, In my area you can get a two bed for 500 on average!!

 

[dawnball]

WOW!! you guys pay alot for rent! I pay 490 and thats for a one bedroom w a $15 cat fee! I was paying $569 for a luxury aparment 2 bedroom, In my area you can get a two bed for 500 on average!!

I'll help you feel a little better. There's a 1 bedroom open down the street from me. It's about 650 sqft and renting for $2350.

 

[sonnyjane]

I'll help you feel a little better. There's a 1 bedroom open down the street from me. It's about 650 sqft and renting for $2350.

You win lol!!! Although San Diego isn't pretty at $1900/month for our 2 bedroom.

Ideally not more than 30% but some geographic locations make that difficult.

 

[Arielle22]

My company manages and owns large apartment complexes. We use a software that is well known in the field. If an applicant does not make at least 3x e rent, the policing is denied.

I agree that rental insurance is a must. One building had a flood from a water leak and none of the occupants possessions were covered by our insurance.