Finding apartments

[txrandom]

I thought I had a nice little apartment, but ended backing out because they started to act really sleezy. Everything else seems cheap but cheap for a reason or really expensive. I don't want to pay all my income towards rent nor do I want to worry about getting screwed over by a landlord.

I'm really thinking about doing an hour commute instead. It's seem much easier and cheaper than spending all that money and wasting all that time.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: txrandom
I thought I had a nice little apartment, but ended backing out because they started to act really sleezy. Everything else seems cheap but cheap for a reason or really expensive. I don't want to pay all my income towards rent nor do I want to worry about getting screwed over by a landlord.

I'm really thinking about doing an hour commute instead. It's seem much easier and cheaper than spending all that money and wasting all that time.

Well you have to weigh the options obviously. Longer driving time = more gas spent plus more wear and tear on vehicle which would mean more frequent maintenance plus repairs.

 

[txrandom]

I used Excel to figure out all my tax, income, expenses, etc. Spending $200 on gas (if it was around $2) per month and spending $200 on food (less cause I'm living at home) I'd be taking home about another $5,000 including not getting a $4,000 relocation bonus.

That doesn't take into effect wear and tear, but I could possibly use my Dad's 12 year old Ranger or take the Metro. The Metro probably takes longer since I'd have to get on another bus, but it'd would be much cheaper.

Catching up on sleep, reading, or working on the laptop would ensure those two hours everyday don't go to complete waste. It just seems much better than paying a grand and half every month to live on my own.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Why would you want to commute any more then you had to? More importantly why would you still want to live with your parents? How old are you?

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
Why would you want to commute any more then you had to? More importantly why would you still want to live with your parents? How old are you?

yup... i'd pay more to live on my own, definitely. less commute and not living at home... obvious choice

 

[MichaelD]

You've obviously done a lot of thinking on this topic; you've done the math, etc.

It really comes down to what you want and/or can tolerate. If you're living at home with your parents and have a good relationship with them, and you're happy, then go for it.

You're making $5K+ per month...I certainly think you can afford to live on your own. Finding a decent place with a decent rent payment isn't easy but it can be done. Maybe just a studio apartment or small 1-bedroom place would be cheaper and ease the hit to the wallet every month.

For me, I couldn't WAIT to get the hell out of my parents house. I slept on a foam mattress on the floor and was happier than a pig in mud. For me, my very own personal space is priceless.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
You've obviously done a lot of thinking on this topic; you've done the math, etc.

It really comes down to what you want and/or can tolerate. If you're living at home with your parents and have a good relationship with them, and you're happy, then go for it.

You're making $5K+ per month...I certainly think you can afford to live on your own. Finding a decent place with a decent rent payment isn't easy but it can be done. Maybe just a studio apartment or small 1-bedroom place would be cheaper and ease the hit to the wallet every month.

For me, I couldn't WAIT to get the hell out of my parents house. I slept on a foam mattress on the floor and was happier than a pig in mud. For me, my very own personal space is priceless.

It's great to move out on your own but if the OP can live at home as long as possible and hopefully save up enough money to buy a house, then that's much smarter financially.

 

[txrandom]

I'm only 20 and not out of college, so living with my parents isn't too bad. I'm making about $3.5k a month.

I still have a place at college about 2 hours away. I can go up there to hang out with friends and get a lot more person space.

 

[darkxshade]

Why do they call them apartments when they're actually all together?

 

[nageov3t]

if you're making 3.5K/month and can't find something you can afford in Texas, you're doing something wrong. going by the 1/3 rule, you should be fine with anything less than 1.1K/month -- here in the north east, that would get you an upscale 1-bedroom or decent 2-bedroom anywhere outside of a major city, and it seems like a safe assumption that real estate in the NYC metro area is more expensive than Texas.

I did the one hour commute thing a year and a half ago (found a new job an hour away, had a couple months left on my lease at my old place) and it killed me. it's like 2 hours gone from your life every day, lost and wasted away in traffic.

 

[txrandom]

Originally posted by: loki8481
if you're making 3.5K/month and can't find something you can afford in Texas, you're doing something wrong. going by the 1/3 rule, you should be fine with anything less than 1.1K/month -- here in the north east, that would get you an upscale 1-bedroom or decent 2-bedroom anywhere outside of a major city, and it seems like a safe assumption that real estate in the NYC metro area is more expensive than Texas.

I did the one hour commute thing a year and a half ago (found a new job an hour away, had a couple months left on my lease at my old place) and it killed me. it's like 2 hours gone from your life every day, lost and wasted away in traffic.

The part of town is one of the most expensive places in Houston. George Bush lives a few minutes away. I can easily get a place for 1.1k/month, but then I need to add extra money for electricity, utilities, internet, food. I don't have to pay any of that besides some food at home. After taxes that leaves me with hardly anything!

This isn't a full time job though just an internship from now until August. That money I save could go towards a nice house in that area when I graduate. Inside or near the loop is either expensive and nice or cheap and ghetto. I was worried about wasting 2 hours a day especially when I do some part time web design. I think I could counter that with taking a nap, reading book, or bringing my laptop. Fortunately my dad has a wireless connect card that I can borrow whenever he isn't away on travel.

If I move further out of the loop, it gets cheaper but the commute increases. If I'm commuting 30 minutes, I might as well just go 30 more and save a bunch in the process. The one problem is if I decided to drive and gas prices shot up. I'd be forced to take the metro more often.

Maybe I'm just pissed at the apartment complex I nearly signed a lease with until they started trying to change numbers around.

 

[torpid]

Sounds like a good choice to me. Get some podcasts and new music to listen to and you'll probably be ok. Saving $1500-2000 per month is never a bad thing...

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
Why do they call them apartments when they're actually all together?

In Arnold accent: "You son of a bitch!"

Never thought about that before. Probably advertising to make you feel like you're not surrounded 360 degrees by other assholes.


I don't see a problem with either option A or B. If you value independence and can't stand your parents, then get your own place. If you can, know that you are raking in beaucoup dollars, and if you save, you'll probably be able to afford your own place in a year or two. All that rent money could be going towards a condominium or house, rather than on some super who may or may not fix your busted shower. This option may be considered freeloading by others though.

 

[txrandom]

Originally posted by: Imp

Originally posted by: darkxshade
Why do they call them apartments when they're actually all together?

In Arnold accent: "You son of a bitch!"

Never thought about that before. Probably advertising to make you feel like you're not surrounded 360 degrees by other assholes.


I don't see a problem with either option A or B. If you value independence and can't stand your parents, then get your own place. If you can, know that you are raking in beaucoup dollars, and if you save, you'll probably be able to afford your own place in a year or two. All that rent money could be going towards a condominium or house, rather than on some super who may or may not fix your busted shower. This option may be considered freeloading by others though.

Meh, I'm still a college student for another year and half, so I think it's acceptable to freeload. Once I graduate I don't think so...and I'll be trying to find a girl and the last place I want to bring her home to is my parents.

 

[dougp]

TX, I don't think you've looked into a lot of places. You can check out Legends on Memorial, it's actually right off of Silber & I-10. They're not the greatest apartments, but for a single guy it's worth it - like $480 for a 400sq foot efficiency 5 minutes from downtown. There's also the Walden Galleria apartments that are right behind the Best Buy on Richmond - http://www.waldenweb.com/Locat...ody_floorplans-go.html

There's a lot of places, you're honestly not looking enough. What's the max you want to spend on rent?

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
Why do they call them apartments when they're actually all together?

one large unit with various people "apart" from one another in their individual smaller units.

 

[txrandom]

Originally posted by: dougp
TX, I don't think you've looked into a lot of places. You can check out Legends on Memorial, it's actually right off of Silber & I-10. They're not the greatest apartments, but for a single guy it's worth it - like $480 for a 400sq foot efficiency 5 minutes from downtown. There's also the Walden Galleria apartments that are right behind the Best Buy on Richmond - http://www.waldenweb.com/Locat...ody_floorplans-go.html

There's a lot of places, you're honestly not looking enough. What's the max you want to spend on rent?

About $900 max, but most of the places advertise their 12 month rate. 6month is usually 20% more.

 

[dougp]

Originally posted by: txrandom

Originally posted by: dougp
TX, I don't think you've looked into a lot of places. You can check out Legends on Memorial, it's actually right off of Silber & I-10. They're not the greatest apartments, but for a single guy it's worth it - like $480 for a 400sq foot efficiency 5 minutes from downtown. There's also the Walden Galleria apartments that are right behind the Best Buy on Richmond - http://www.waldenweb.com/Locat...ody_floorplans-go.html

There's a lot of places, you're honestly not looking enough. What's the max you want to spend on rent?

About $900 max, but most of the places advertise their 12 month rate. 6month is usually 20% more.

Why are you only renting for 6mos? You take a big loss on that because of the rate difference. You might want to talk to an apartment locator, typically they can get better deals than you'll see. You tell them what you want to spend, and the area - in return they'll find what you want. I'd be careful with them though, if they ask for money, tell them no. They will get a full months reimbursement when you put them as a referral.

 

[txrandom]

Originally posted by: dougp

Originally posted by: txrandom

Originally posted by: dougp
TX, I don't think you've looked into a lot of places. You can check out Legends on Memorial, it's actually right off of Silber & I-10. They're not the greatest apartments, but for a single guy it's worth it - like $480 for a 400sq foot efficiency 5 minutes from downtown. There's also the Walden Galleria apartments that are right behind the Best Buy on Richmond - http://www.waldenweb.com/Locat...ody_floorplans-go.html

There's a lot of places, you're honestly not looking enough. What's the max you want to spend on rent?

About $900 max, but most of the places advertise their 12 month rate. 6month is usually 20% more.

Why are you only renting for 6mos? You take a big loss on that because of the rate difference. You might want to talk to an apartment locator, typically they can get better deals than you'll see. You tell them what you want to spend, and the area - in return they'll find what you want. I'd be careful with them though, if they ask for money, tell them no. They will get a full months reimbursement when you put them as a referral.

I used a guy contracted through the company I'm working for, but he basically gave me a list of {company name} referred apartments. I'm only going to be working for 6 months because it's an internship.

 

[Insomniator]

I'm currently making... 3500 a month... 1 hour commute from home... 12 year old car.... wierd.... oh and I'm 22, just out of college....

Anyway, a 1 hour commute is normal for a lot of people and I don't mind it at all. I like listening to the radio and it gives me a chance to
wake the hell up on the way to work every morning.

I didn't even think about moving to an apartment.. total pain in the ass and way more expensive as long as gas sits around 1.50 and not 4.50.

You could just try the commute for a while and see how it is... I've been doin it for about a month in the car and had about an hour commute on the train for my internship so I'm pretty used to it..

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

$3500/mo net for a college intern is damn good. what do you do and how many hours a wk?

 

[txrandom]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
$3500/mo net for a college intern is damn good. what do you do and how many hours a wk?

I'm not exactly sure but I'm doing something with their intranet and BlackBerry. I just found out today. I'll be working for 40hrs a week. I'm a computer science major.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
You've obviously done a lot of thinking on this topic; you've done the math, etc.

It really comes down to what you want and/or can tolerate. If you're living at home with your parents and have a good relationship with them, and you're happy, then go for it.

You're making $5K+ per month...I certainly think you can afford to live on your own. Finding a decent place with a decent rent payment isn't easy but it can be done. Maybe just a studio apartment or small 1-bedroom place would be cheaper and ease the hit to the wallet every month.

For me, I couldn't WAIT to get the hell out of my parents house. I slept on a foam mattress on the floor and was happier than a pig in mud. For me, my very own personal space is priceless.

LOL...I lived in a rat hole in my 2nd year of college. It was still better than living at home!

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: Insomniator
I'm currently making... 3500 a month... 1 hour commute from home... 12 year old car.... wierd.... oh and I'm 22, just out of college....

Anyway, a 1 hour commute is normal for a lot of people and I don't mind it at all. I like listening to the radio and it gives me a chance to
wake the hell up on the way to work every morning.

I didn't even think about moving to an apartment.. total pain in the ass and way more expensive as long as gas sits around 1.50 and not 4.50.

You could just try the commute for a while and see how it is... I've been doin it for about a month in the car and had about an hour commute on the train for my internship so I'm pretty used to it..

1 hour is not bad...i did it when i first started my job. being stuck in bumper to bumper for an hour....that is bad.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
$3500/mo net for a college intern is damn good. what do you do and how many hours a wk?

wow....that is around...what...30 an hour? pretty good for an internship.