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Community => Watto's Junk Yard => Topic started by: Mister Skeezler on May 4, 2004, 09:48 AM
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How much do you pay monthly, and where do you live?
My girlfriend and I each pay $590/month. We have a huge 3 bedroom apartment with a front and back balcony, so its not such a bad deal (for NYC). Our roommate is moving out at the end of the month, so the whole place will be ours, but we'll have to split the rent...$875 each! :o
I wouldn't mind if I were paying a mortgage, because at least then its an investment. Paying rent is like flushing money down the toilet. :'(
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Not quite true. Though it is a standard belief that renting is a waste of money, it's not necessarily the case. I agree that you do not necessarily get a return on your money, but you do need shelter. Bluntly, you cannot live without it, so you are indeed getting a return, just not a monetary one.
There are some futurist economist types that think there will be a tremendous crash in real estate value in the near future. I'm not sure I understand the rationale, but some do believe it.
The rate of return on real estate as an investment isn't all that great anyway, usually in the neighbourhood of 5-8%. Pretty good for the last couple of years, as compared to stocks and mutual funds, but piss poor compared to the late 90's. All things being equal, investing wisely the amount you save not paying a mortgage would leave you financially further ahead. But how many have the fortitude to do that investing with the extra cash? Not I.
Last time we paid rent, we paid about $675 for a two bedroom 850 sq. ft. apartment. Third floor with a balcony overlooking the river.
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There are some other advantages however though like being able to tap the equity you have in the house for $$$ when you might need it for home improvements and new Kubricks. We rented when we first got married for about 2 years. It was a one bedroom, 800 sq ft, 3rd floor of a 3 story for $850 a month. This was about $100 less than our first house payment. The problem was saving the money for the down payment on a house for us, it took a while
I rented since my second year of college (1994) until around 2000...I remember paying about
1994: $100 a month (4 room mates)
1995: $150 a month (1 room mate)
1996: $200 a month (1 room mate)
1997: $400 a month (1 room mate)
1998: $800 a month (1 wife)
1999: $825 a month (1 wife)
2000: $850 a month (1 wife)
It was pretty nice though living in the apartments, we had a pool, excercise room, no lawn work, free air and heat, nice view, lived in the city right near Como Park and the MN State Fair! But I do enjoy our house a lot, more than I thought I would
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It was pretty nice though living in the apartments, we had a pool, excercise room, no lawn work, free air and heat, nice view, lived in the city right near Como Park and the MN State Fair!
Speaking of tapping equity, were you close enough to turn your apartment lawn into a parking lot durnign the fair? That activity alone would probably generate enough cash to take care of about 6 months rent.... :-*
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Nope...we were close enough to walk though. Those people who live across the street make a fortune on that stuff
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Boston is a bitch in the wallet. My girlfriend and I paid $1,000 each for a 2 bedroom place, that's average for Boston.
This is the last month in Boston, off to New York (upstate).
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1998: $800 a month (1 wife)
1999: $825 a month (1 wife)
2000: $850 a month (1 wife)
Only one, huh? Wuss. :-*
Out here in Cali, you don't even want to know what a grand will get you rent wise in most areas. A studio or small 1 bedroom if you're real lucky. Up through last year when we finally bought our house, we were renting a nice 1 bedroom guesthouse for an absolute steal around here - for only $800. Back in my Santa Barbara college days (long ago), I had my own 1 bedroom apartment, and it was about $600 a month. Not too bad for back then.
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I'm paying about $400 a month in Waterloo, IA. That includes utilites, so I'm OK here.
I wish they'd get a water softener, though. I'm tired of going to the gym to get a decent shower.
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The Bay Area (well, parts of it) is also hard on renters. The last time I rented (a couple years ago), I had a 500 sq. ft., one-bedroom place in Palo Alto (spitting distance from Stanford U.) for a breezy $1,230. Outstanding neighborhood, but a dump of a dwelling. I remember during the dot-com craze, my rent was going up on average 10% twice a year. And I was not getting raises at work to match that! :P
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Boston is a ***** in the wallet. My girlfriend and I paid $1,000 each for a 2 bedroom place, that's average for Boston.
This is the last month in Boston, off to New York (upstate).
Yep. We no longer pay rent as we just closed on a house, but our last apartment was $975 for two bedrooms in Medford, about 5 miles north of the city. Pretty good for the area. Now we're paying more for a mortage, but at least we'll own the place.
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i have a decent size apartment, 2 bedrooms, and i pay $850 a month, no utilities included. between gas, electric, phone, cable and interent, i pay about another $375 - $400 depending on usage.