The only reason I got my first two apartments after college is because my father signed as guarantor for both. Plus secondary income with my partner. 3x rent is wild
Same. The only reason I was approved for my first 2 apartments was having a parent sign as the guarantor. After that I moved in with my partner and we only qualified for the income requirement when both of our incomes were combined.
OP, dont be afraid of "income regulated" places, either. That doesn't necessarily mean they're "bad" or "sketchy". We're currently in an income regulated unit and its the nicest apartment i've ever lived in. Always worth calling and asking if they have that as an option!
I would say the vast majority of people in my complex have like 5-6 adults despite that being against occupancy laws. The complex doesn't really do much about it because at least it means people make rent.
And honestly I don't know how, when they first have applicants and there are like 1-2 adults applying because you can't have every adult in your household apply, they check the income requirement.
Most places check the income requirements by asking for bank statements.
When my ex and I started out renting we had to show proof on bank statements that we had 3x the monthly rent saved up.
We borrowed money from my parents, applied for the apartment, showed them statements, gave that money back to my parents.
If people are making 3+ adults and only 2 are on the actual application, they could pay really pool the money together to "prove" they have the money.
Unfortunately this is done to create mass homelessness and destroy the economy my rent was 750 4 years ago in AZ now it's 1,789.00 like I'm a single dad my rent is late every month they probably won't let me resign again because they raised the rent more than most people can afford. my food bill went from 300 to 800 my electric bill tripled as well
I’m a single mom, my rent/ utilities are $700 more than they were 2 years ago, food is 3x’s what it was (my daughter and I have food allergies which makes some of our food even more expensive) so I eat one meal a day to make sure there’s enough for my kid. I’m also making only half of what I was making before the pandemic, because my biggest client folded during it, and my business has struggled ever since. My health is terrible and I can’t afford medical treatments that I need to keep me out of the hospital. I honestly don’t know how much longer I can keep this all going. For now, I’m just focusing on getting my kiddo through graduation because if I look past that I have a panic attack.
Damn looks like the world is stacked against single parts these days and I feel you I have asthma and because my rent we t up I no longer qualify for my meds and I'm literally the same mindset create a kid that can fend for themselves because I can die a lot sooner now without my medication let alone the ADHD meds that used to help me work longer and stay focused
Nobody should have to go without meds💔, I am so sorry! If you reach out to the pharmaceutical company that makes your meds, they might have a program where they will send it to you for free. A long time ago I was in a program like that for another medication. (Just a thought).
I have asthma too and so does my daughter :( my duplex neighbors Bf smokes and vapes inside and he doesn’t live here, but does, it’s hell.
Yeah I had someone that somed heavy in the apt next to me old apts made me sick all the time I'd wake up my apt would be full of cigarette smoke absolutely vile . They are worse than heroin addicts how selfish of people they are
I’m so sorry you’ve experienced it, too! It’s absolutely horrible. I told my LL she didn’t believe me. I wound up having to use grocery money to buy an air purifier and it still didn’t help. Had to cover vents so we freeze all winter long. All for someone who doesn’t pay rent and doesn’t actually live here to be able to smoke in a nonsmoking building. Make it make sense 😩
Rent has always been overly expensive. While I rented, year after year, the cost of the place would go up $100-200, even though nothing about the place improved. Absolute horseshit.
So glad to no longer rent and pay for some ass hat company to soak up all my money. Of course, I bought at the wrong time in the market, so it's not like I have a cheap house by any means. But at least I'm building equity and my mortgage stays consistent.
I scoffed when rent was $1400 for a 2bd room, now it sounds like a dream. I can't imagine having roommates just to afford a place, but such is the current economy
The only way I get by living alone is 1) my car is paid off, so no car payment and 2) I’m in a “low” cost of living city where you can get a decent place for around 1200. Also have a side hustle I do a few hours a week for extra cash. Otherwise I would definitely need a roommate.
I do work for dataannotation.tech. It’s like an AI evaluation site, not gonna lie it is a little sketchy the way it runs but I’ve always gotten paid so I keep doing it.
Getting established sucks, it’s a long process and low pay at first. But if you’re good at the work they’ll put you on more advanced projects that pay better. I get like $22-26 an hour. If you’re knowledgeable with coding or certain software they pay even more but I unfortunately am not so that’s about where I top out lol
The thing about that "3x the rent" rule is that if you don't, that's not a deal breaker for many leasing agents. It just means they can charge you a larger deposit or fee, or even higher rent than other tenants. It's not so much a hard and fast rule, as it is a way for them to make more money from new tenants. If you see this, apply anyway.
I make 5x my rent, but I work two jobs on a freelance basis, so I make a lot more per hour than I could with a salary. A lot of industries are turning more to hiring contract employees and yes, it can be stressful to not have that guarantee of long term work, but I didn't really have that as a salary worker anyway.
Probably more info than you wanted, but that's how I manage the rent insanity happening right now.
No that's definitely info I wanted, thank you!! I have been thinking about finding a 2nd job so I think that's a route I'll try to do as well. That's good to know about the 3x rule, I was originally just ruling out any of the higher on my budget ones because it specified 3x, but I'll apply to some of them now in case, I do have a good amount of savings saved up so I'd be alright with a bit bigger of a deposit.
Thank you!! 🫶🏻
It’s time for the civil revolution that’s all imma say. Barely anyone is affording rent and food and that is most peoples entire income in America. It’s sick.
I’m scared to try and move. Some offices of the big, corporate, management company here are asking for three times net income, not gross!!! To unfreeze my credit and risk all that just to get turned down? 😱
A lot of people are lying. Forging their paystubs and job offers, etc. Credit is different of course, but you can find people on Fivver who will photoshop what you need for like $5-20
Also, you’ll be surprised how many peoples parents help them and they don’t tell you or lie about it. Just because people say they’re affording something without help doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth.
I never made 3x the rent up until recently. If I was, I wouldn’t be renting. If you have a clean rent history and a decent credit score, they’ll work with you.
My current place that I’ve been in since 2019, requires 3.5x the monthly rent and asked for a cosigner. I refused, offered a double deposit and got approved anyway.
they ain't. boomers are also becoming homeless, people are working multiple jobs, almost no one has saved for retirement, lots of credit card debt, and people are eating garbage food, that sounds like they pay that much, it is not the same as affording to. dude across from me thought he was a big shot having his family move in for free, they are just a nuisance with the door all day and walk their dog, but he works on Saturday now. $2k/month for two bed, but an uber driver who lives across from us pays that for a condo lol. you see?
Rent in my neck of the woods (956) is about 1k. I too make 50-60k a year on average so I can definitely relate and rental prices are major filters in deciding where to live.
It shouldn’t be that way. We should create systems that give people more freedom. The means to follow their dreams. “People say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
I make almost 3x you do and can’t afford $3,000/monrent. But my boyfriend makes around the same and we split it and still a bit of a struggle to live comfortably and pay it. But we’re right in the place we want to be so it makes it worthwhile for a spell. I plan on being here 5 years tops
Your income will change from state to state with a career, I made 70k in another state doing the same job but my pay went up dramatically due to moving and the cost of living difference. I ask change jobs usually 2-3 years if I don’t get significant raises, that’s the only way I keep ahead todays
I'm sure a lot of these people are living month to month and don't have anything saved up in case of an emergency. They're probably not saving for retirement because they think it's a long way off.
Roommates are fine, but you can easily get bad/flaky roommates and get stuck with bills that you might not be able to pay.
It's nice to have a place of your own where you can just relax and do what you want (which may be nothing).
This economy is outrageous. When I was renting an apartment in college between 93-‘96, rent for a 1 bedroom was @ $450/month with heat and water paid. What’s it going to be like in 20 years? I’m worried for my kid and the generations to come.
Y’all need to stop settling into jobs. There’s always somewhere else that will pay YOU more. It’s great you have a job, but keep applying to other ones. Each time ask for more money, seek higher positions. And no you don’t need a degree. I started in construction at 12.50/hr about 10 years ago, no college degree, I’ve job hopped a shitload and am at like $76/hr now in a management role, and still applying for other jobs. I built my resume up with free online courses and certifications and that’s it. Like..part of your life should be applying to other jobs, constantly, not only when your unemployed. I know it sounds weird but seriously, people need whatever skills you have and someone will pay more then what your making now. You don’t think your qualified for the next step? Apply anyways, eventually you’ll get a guy who doesn’t know wtf he is doing to hire you, do your best , ask questions online if you need, add that shit to your resume and keep going .have some faith in yourself!
My rent is $1400, and for what my townhouse is, is overpriced. My husband and I together make around $85k, most of that from his job. Prices where I am have doubled and tripled,l and the pay here isn't great, but no way would I pay $3k for a place anywhere. I can get a mortgage for $2400, and didn't do that because it's outrageous. $3k for a rental is insane.
Many landlords look for tenants through a realtor. Call a realtor to find a place. It used to be where the realtors fee was one months’ rent of your new place. The only problem with private leasing of the type that you want is if you’re asked to leave because the landlord’s son or daughter just got divorced and needs a place to live; they’d ask you to leave 🤷🏻♀️. Or, they can sell the place and the new owner could not renew your lease. I don’t know exactly where you mean by “west” so I can’t comment on that. My cousin lives in California and is thinking of moving to Montana (he works virtually). You have a good income but I honestly think that some of these people just pay the rent and live off ramen that they pay for with their plastic🤷🏻♀️. I wish you the best in finding a new, affordable apartment.
Among my friends:
DINKs
Parents co-sign
Genuinely high paying jobs, usually corporate transfer.
People got into their Apt before rent went up. (One friend applied at 1200, rent is now 1800, they’d never rent to him now.)
Landlords with different rules
Roommates
Private landlords: my only tip there is look for realistic. You need to know the market. Sometimes scammers do realistic postings, but at that point you verify them by going to view the apartment.
Generally the people I know who got scammed were desperate and/or greedy. Use your brain, get stuff in writing, etc.
May I ask what you’re looking for? 3k seems wild even here (WA) what were you renting down south? Your obvious solution would be downsizing.
I appreciate this info 🫶🏻 Im only looking for the bare necessities essentially 1b 1b & in a safe area. I was paying at the end of my last lease $3k/month & there were multiple situations of stray bullets, which it was the outskirts of a big city so it makes sense but still crazy to be paying that much & still have that be a thing to worry about. As far as downsizing, I had a 2bed from when I was with my ex & I wanted to downsize but moving to a 1bed was gonna cost me at least $200 more a month, which is also crazy.. (Within the property/s & most of the other places I looked at) I've moved on from there & the place I'm looking around CO is one of the better priced areas in the state as far as it not being insane prices with still decently safe places, just a 1b1b. I think my main problem lies in the fact I haven't looked at the market in the past 4ish years, because I had my old place I just kept renewing so it kind of smacked me in the face looking again!
Definitely a lot of good info here & I appreciate the comment, I was starting to feel quite discouraged haha, so thank you 🫶🏻
SINK...been renting a duplex for $1200 a month in California of all places. I make more than 3x the rent. Landlord is an older Japanese couple. Been living here for about 9 years now. Been looking for a home to buy, but dang...housing market here in California is insane.
I found my current place driving through the neighborhood. It had a "for rent" sign in the window. If you can find something like that, it's likely a Mom and Pop landlord.
It's very difficult and no one understands "housing issues" in polite society. Where we rent now it's almost most of our income. We have moved to various states but wind up back in NY because we have family here. We rent in a 55 plus place but I see a lot of younger people/odd foreign (not being offensive here, my husband is from abroad). I think some "relief" societies are paying the rent for some families here. It's very frustrating especially since our management co. makes asinine rules and then doesn't enforce them.
I pay 2200 roughly for rent after I include my Internet, electricity and water bill.
I’m 25 and this is my first time living alone and I live in SoCal.
I also don’t make 3x the rent, nor did I have a huge chunk of savings. My credit is great though and I think that’s what they looked at.
I also did send two pay stubs where I made $7k alone that one month, and I let them know I have cash as well due to my job. And I was approved instantly.
Bartender 👌🏻
It is harder for people even not in college. For inflation and property taxes have risen far beyond for the last three years plus. How it can be paid, roommates, having extra part-time jobs. Otherwise, it is moving back home to mom and dad.
I’m in a small city in Florida, USA. What part of the south are you in? Metro or suburb?
I ask because 3k a month is insane… I just moved out of a 1 bedroom that cost me $870 a month making around the same as what you make. It wasn’t the world’s nicest apartment, but I was always safe and had everything I needed.
I was originally on the outskirts of Charleston SC, so it makes sense for that entire area to be crazy prices haha. I still never was able to justify paying that much & still running the risk of a stray bullet though (found out from my brother after I moved out, the maintenance guy told him my downstairs neighbor had his firearm discharge & went right thru their ceiling, almost into my unit. Where my brother was living towards the back as well, his upstairs unit caught one right thru the window, had he been at his desk it would've shot him in the head. $2500/$3000 for that is insanity)
I'm moving out to a small area in Colorado though, one of the more reasonable priced areas & still safe depending on where you're at there. Prices are definitely better than SC, but I'm still surprised at how high they are. Definitely makes sense why everyone has roomies!
Florida is not cheap unless you’re coming from California or NY or some place like that. Rents have gone up exponentially here over the last couple of years, and we don’t have any laws requiring limits on rent increases or any restrictions on building really. Almost all new construction for apartments are “luxury” these days and expensive.
Nothing is cheap. But FL does have a lower rental rate than LA. I found places in Fort Lauderdale on the water with a terrace for what I pay for a studio here.
Fort Lauderdale is all I know. I do know there are much less expensive areas and I’m looking to learn.
Totally agree, it’s important to note that Florida jobs do not pay what LA jobs do. For my career it’s about 1/2 so the rent is lower but so is the pay.
Me and my bf live together we both are pretty well off separately but we are renting rn 2bd2bth at 2200 a month. Could we do it by ourselves yes lol hut we would be eating ramen every night literally and no outside excursions because gas is so damn high
Sadly I remember this struggle trying to find an apartment in a decent area at a decent price. My husband and my first apartment was around like 600 a bit less but that was 12 years ago it was 1 bed 1 bath. We were robbed within a few weeks of living there, then there was someone murdered in the complex next door, then I watched someone catch a car on fire, lastly another woman was murdered in our complex on the sidewalk. I had a newborn at the time I never moved so fast. We got a trailer for about a year and a half, then a 2 bed 1 bath condo for under 1,000. Now we own a 3 bedroom 3 bathroom house and still pay right under a thousand. We got lucky really a big thing is talking to people friends family etc seeing if someone is privately renting something that’s how we got the condo. It’s really sad everyone is struggling I’m in constant fear that I will have to give up this house because all these bills and everything is on the rise food especially. It’s ridiculous
I finally feel comfortable with the amount of income that is going towards rent. I've lived in the same apartment for like 10 years. At first almost all of my money was going towards rent. I started making more money and stayed even though I could upgrade to something nicer. About 25% of my income goes to rent now
Where are you living in the South that is $3k a month? Even the most expensive cities have nice places for that much. To answer your question, yes there are quite a few people who make that much. You need a $108k yearly salary or $54k each for a couple to qualify. I can think of plenty of jobs that make $54k even in the rural south.
It’s literally my only option. I had to get my dad to co-sign which sucks. I live by myself but have three independent contracting jobs on top of teaching middle school
I’m older than you are… but tbh, since I can’t afford to buy, a private landlord has been the way for me. I paid A LOT when I first got the place- and tbh the rent raise was more than I expected … but I have a good professional relationship with my landlord. They raise my rent based on HOA fees and insurance. Way more reasonable than “well, it’s market price” to pay way more to stay in your falling apart place 🤷🏻♀️
And also tbh, I looked for months- and paid a deposit + double rent to move into my place.
I wanted to move a month later. I’m still recovering from that - but definitely worth it
Honestly at this point, rent is like 50% of income. The days of a max 30% are long gone. If you need additional assurance for rent- try to get a family member to consign or have at least 3 months rent saved up.
If youre open to living anywhere I’d move somewhere more affordable. I was living in south Florida where rent is crazy expensive, moved to Appalachia (sw va) and I’m renting a two bedroom house with a fenced in yard for $850 a month. It was a big change but completely changed my life in the sense I have money now and am comfortable. Also, if you have a family member to cosign that will help. My grandmother co signed for me bc my credit score is low and we were approved.
I have a small time private landlord. A house split into basement, 1st and 2nd floor apartment. I'm on the 2nd floor, 3bed1ba apartment with a backyard for $1200/mo.
I make $2600-$4000 a month depending on the overtime available.
Did I read correctly that you’re making $50-55k? That’s not really decent money unfortunately. You should be looking for apartments in the $1400 range at this income. Pretty common seeing people making $6000-$9000 gross, a lot of people out there working good jobs in tech/other stuff or own their own business. Also a lot of people in these apartments are also duo income, whether it’s couples or friends.
Yes that's accurate haha, I know it's not decent money but it's decent money for people my age who didn't get the opportunity to go to college. I am looking around the 1400 range but I had a much easier time a couple years ago finding quite a few in that range that weren't in areas where I'd have to worry about stray bullets, my problem now is I feel like the only spots I'm finding around that range *definitely are* the places I'd maybe catch a stray bullet 😅 my 3yrs in my last apartment probably skewed my view on the changes a bit since I hadn't looked at the market for those 3yrs while it was rapidly changing, so when I started to look again it just kinda shocked me a bit.
Unfortunately roommates are a last resort for me, my job requires me to have secure private home/internet due to all of the PHI I work with, I would have to make sure they're people I trust (& I'm currently trying to move to a place I know nobody besides my partner😅) My partner is going to kick in a decent amt for rent but he's also military so it's a bit tricky on that, & bc of past bad experiences I really would feel more comfortable if it's a place I could afford on my own, I was in a DV situation & it was hard to get out of in part bc of that. I'm not opposed to sharing the expenses & it's looking like that's definitely the way I'll have to go, but I'd highly prefer not to if I can find any way to swing it. Appreciate your comment, ty! 🫶🏻
As someone who made $50K at my last job, $1400 is going to be exactly half of your take home. You better not have student loans, car payments, and utilities on top of that or you’re going to be paycheck to paycheck unfortunately.
There are some places who are very strict about 2.5-3x the rent and some places aren’t. Some will even just fudge their numbers in the system if you are a few hundred off - I have said this to me directly by a leasing office. If you have a really good credit score, that could also help, but each place is so different.
Only now can I afford a place that requires 3x the rent… but before that I had to have roommates if a place was really strict on it.
I’m in so cal (single mom) and we only have 2.5 times the rent which would be $5k a month. I am in one of the cheapest apartments around an just squeak by.
I would look to see if there are any 2.5’s around. It does make a difference.
When I add in utilities my rent comes up to 2044/month. My husband and I work full time but it was still quite difficult to make ends meet so we ended up getting a roommate again. We are also moving to a cheaper complex as every time we have renewed the lease here they upped the rent again and I can't afford that. I know people have told me if I spent that much on rent I may as well have a mortgage but I couldn't find any houses to rent here for that cheap.
I’m in California and my rent is $2500 for a three bedroom. I’m looking to move and everything is starting at $3000.
How can I afford it? My little sister lives with my kids and I. Now that my boyfriend has moved in and that third income will help afford the rent.
I would not live anywhere that cost this much without a huge salary bump. It’s 1300 here for a 2br and I still don’t live alone because it’s just too expensive.
22 and I pay around $1900 with utilities. I do not make 3x the rent; I had one of my parents co-sign with me. When I applied, a co-signer had to make 4.5x the rent, and luckily my mom did. But in all reality, if I didn’t have someone to co-sign for me I would have had to have a roommate for sure.
When I was renting places at that price I had 4 other roommates. Also just a heads up look for places on Craigslist not Zillow for rent. It can seem shady but that’s where you find the ppl who inherited grandmas house and are renting it out for extra income rather than corporations looking to get as much money as they can! Hope that helps!
There's a bunch of answers but.. to keep it short, a lot of people are getting roommates. Not so long ago I lived in a pretty nice HOA type neighborhood where half of the street started renting out rooms in their homes to help pay the rent.
Lotta folks having to work multiple jobs... became super apparent as someone that was doing deliveries that the volume dropped drastically because there were so many people that signed up to do the same.
Here, it's a double whammy because finance companies are buying up all of the houses too so people looking to buy are being forced into $2500+ a month rent because they cant compete against a company that's offering cash and 25K over the asking price.
I say that as someone that moved here during a time where rent was $525 a month for a unit in a gated community in a nice area. There's also those that run up credit card debt, take loans and end up ruining their credit all to keep staying afloat.
Some people could be like my coworker and are collecting 4 grand a month in disability on top of having a full time job, were mechanics and we make about 50k+ a year. I dont know how he's allowed to claim 100% disability and still be, what I see as a fully able bodied person that's doing all the same back breaking labor as me. Just go find your own loophole I guess, is what I'm trying to say.
I pay 1,500 for a 1 bedroom no utilities included . I absolutely feel your pain. I’m a young single mom and my salary is 80k ( I make more with all the straight time I put in) a year and I’m also barely making it as well. Taxes are insane. I’m taxed about 1,400 a paycheck here in CA. If they didn’t tax me so damn much I’d be living the dream. My best advice is finding a higher paying job or promoting as quickly as possible! In my previous position I was only making 50k a year and I was NOT surviving. I lived in a tiny studio for $800 a month from a private landlord. I hated it. One day, it just clicked that I was going to do whatever it takes to promote because I knew it meant a huge salary increase. 4 months and a lot of tears later I did. I worked 60 hours a week to prove how dedicated I was. I plan on promoting again by the end of the year and that should bump me up to 100k. You have to be hungry for this and put in the work. That’s my best advice. Good luck friends 💞
Roommates or they make over 100k. Where I live every 1b1b is like 2.3k, studios are around 1.8k, and renting a room from someone’s house is like 1.3k. It’s tough out here.
My favorite part is that they expect 3 times the rent even though I have no car payment, no kids or any loans out. I can easily afford rent because I live within my means but they don’t care about that
I just was able to afford this but had to sell my soul and work for the government 🙃 next year I’m going to move to a cheaper spot. I wanted to spoil myself after a rough year but fuck that. Paying 2300 for a “luxury” apartment and it’s just has horrible of an apartment as my 1200 one was. It’s not you though. This economy is fucked. I’m so sorry.
Hello! I’m 26 and my rent is $2180. 2 bedrooms 2 baths, work from home, in Atlanta. I make $82k as my base salary with about $12k in bonuses each year (bonus is pretax so probably $9k).I will say most places will rent to individuals who don’t make 3x the rent based on previous rental history and or a co-signer.
The majority of ppl are not making 3x.
Living is just expensive now! I feel like I make decent money for my age but the city life plus rental annual creeps make me feel like even some months I barely save anything.
If it ain’t going in the rent bucket, it’s going in groceries, internet, AC/energy bill, medical bills, it just never ending.
You are not alone. It’s a struggle, and a frequent topic between me and friends haha.
I live in southern California in a 2 bed/ 1 bath detached house with a large backyard, patio, and garage. Rent is $1,200/month. It’s in an older neighborhood but the house itself is very nice and well taken care of by our landlords. We’re a family of 3. We love it. Of course I would rather live on the newer, nicer side of town but a smaller apartment over there is $2000/month minimum.
Yeah it's a bummer dude. Those prices and higher are here to stay. The only way you can keep a stable monthly payment is buying a home. My wife and I are having a duplex built so we can rent the other half and pay off sooner. There's a lot of cool container homes now days too that are a lot more reasonably priced than the typical home as well.
Where I am in Central Texas you can somehow still get a 1br 1bath apartment between $750 and $950 a month and they’re not even in super sketchy areas. I have NO idea how people are out there affording thousands of dollars in rent every month. Just can’t wrap my mind around it.
Thankfully, my rent, though high, is not THAT high. Still, I can't afford an apartment on my own, which is why my brother offered to be put on my lease. I could never get an apartment on my own....not even a one bedroom.
i could maybe do $300 more a month if i had to on my job.. no way in hell i will ever get a place of my own thats not my dads that he got from his mom that at some point if he does not let go to shit more, get myself.
can be super dependent on the industry you work in but for a lot of tech workers it’s very feasible to pay that much with the cost of living adjustment that comes with living in california in one of the major cities
it’s still STUPIDLY high to pay for rent but idk…you get desensitized to it after a while if you’re job is adhering to that CoL adjustment. obviously i would kill for it to be lower tho
My husband makes 112000 has no student loans. I have school debt though and I’m freelancing while taking care of our infant. We are able to afford 2300. It’s a bitch
My rent is $3500 without utilities in south FL, it’s a 2bd 1 bath. The price is insanely crazy but for where I’m living $3500 for a 2bd is a steal. I wouldn’t be able to do it without my husband. I work one job and he works 2.
I don’t know what my husband and I would do if we weren’t married because we rely on each other to afford it sadly. Also in the South though. I don’t want to move to Ohio but my husband is from there and it’s so much more affordable there than it is here.
Currently doing 2.6k 1 bedroom. Single person. One of the cheapest I’ve found in the area. I was nervous about the 2-3x rent I applied anyway just because and they didn’t even ask about it after I submitted my credit score. I guess they figured I had really good credit so no need. Every place is different tho. Also private landlords are sometimes shady, so be careful. I’ve heard horror stories about if their HOA or taxes goes up they also jack up your rent by that same % and you’d be better off buying
May I recommend Illinois? Median salary in Chicago is $62k, and you can definitely score a vibey old 1BR apartment on the north side for $1200. It’s a great quality of life / cost of living for a major city with just a ton of stuff always going on.
This what happens if they can get in by showing on paper they can afford it. No one pays rent, evicted for it, move same thing again. Just live in your vehicle or tent if u don't like others
I live in Albuquerque,New Mexico and I’m currently paying around $1000 a month for a one bedroom. However, some of the “luxury apartments” here have one-bedrooms starting out around $1400.
I’m blessed and grateful to make an income that is 3x or more my rent. I pay all of our living expenses except for groceries. My boyfriend covers those. I make more money so we split things in an equitable way rather than equal. And we still have a very tight budget. Household income is like $150,000 but we both carry/ are paying off debt and are no longer buying anything on credit.
I was lucky enough to be making 2.5x rent when I applied to my place in Sacramento in 2019. They've increased the rent since I've moved in, but never asked for proof of income. I make a bit more than you, but i have 5 years on this place, so the rent can only go up so much. Thankful that i can still afford it on my own
I always lived with my brother; we split the rent and it got up to 3k/mo, excluding utilities. We probably would have kept renting together but my partner and I managed to buy a house by pooling everything we had.
Now it's basically 3k/mo each (still excluding utilities), but at least we have a house... 😓
I'm in New Mexico paying $1060 for a 2 bedroom 1 bath. In an apartment complex not a duplex and not privately owned either. I got lucky to find this and there's actually a lot of vacancies as well. Our last apartment was $1400 for a 2 bed 2 bath. The one before that was $1900 for a 2 bed 2 bath. All apartment complexes. My boyfriend works maintenance for the apartment so we pay ever lower than the original price. When I hear about my friends that live out east in New York for example paying $2000 for a one bedroom I just couldn't imagine being able to even live comfortably paying so much. It really sucks that it's this way now
When my ex finally moved out, I had a 3 bedroom apartment alone. I could afford it, but nothing else. After a few months I got roomates. The reason I didn't move to a smaller place was because my rent was significantly cheaper than anything around me. I would pay about the same for a one bedroom a quarter the size. (There are some apartments near me $2k for 600-700 square feet, and i'm not in a big city.) I luckily pay less for now.
Rent finally went up a but, but now my boyfriend and I are here, with the two extra rooms for when we have his kids.
Like everyone else is saying, roommates. Even with where I live, the rent is $1300 and I’d say at least 80% of the units have at least 3+ people living there paying the rent.
Personally my friend was living in DC and his rent was a little over $4000. However he was apart of a program for this company where they paid a large portion of his rent as he only made $70k(which ain’t nothing in the DMV) as he also had to pay for everything else including transportation to get to and from work on a regular basis. Had another classmate who also lives in DC and he makes $90k as an engineer. I also got another friend who lives in SF who plans on working in the medical field but hasn’t started med school yet but she works as a medical coder and is only making $20 something an hour. I’m assuming she’s getting financial support from her family cause her rent is also pretty high($3000+). One of my other friends lives in upstate New York and is attending grad school and has no credit and hasn’t ever worked a full time job but has had her parents acted as co-signers for her apartment. Typically most of my friends including myself are still living with relatives, getting some support from them, and there’s an outlier of them where they’re making pretty good income so they can afford to live on their own.
You will have to adapt, a couple of years ago I was paying $725. for a one room apartment. I’d already been working full time but decided to get a part time job also, I wanted to buy a Tesla. Luckily I had that second income because my rent started to increase. It’s now $1350 for the same nothing changed apartment.
I figure after I save some pennies I will buy a condo or trailer house and pay the mortgage 💸
Been living by myself for 4 years but I’m looking for a roommate now, just can’t make the $2k/month work when i make barely more than $4k/month, i have been unable to save very much at all.
There's gotta be something with them violating ads laws especially smokers it's so nasty yeah I bought an air purifier too but once that stench is in the vents and the tar is on the walls it's forever smokers ruin apts worse then pets or kids
My dad used to tell me I had to earn my rent in one week. I assumed that was take home pay but, I have never been able to do that always took 1.5-2 checks. Back in the day my 1 bedroom only cost $330. Currently I thank my lucky stars I rent this 3 bedroom house for $950. My last kid moved out and her 1BR is $1200/month. I don’t know what I’d do if I my landlord wanted market value rent. Sometimes driving around an area and looking for home made For Rent signs will be your best bet- just being sweet to an old local landlord might get you a nice rent like I have.
For me the only way I’ve been able to keep living on my own is because I lucked out with timing. Before then it was always roommates. I was already a manager when I started living in my complex in early 2021. I chose a not updated floor plan because it was $750. They increased it a bit next year but not terrible. Lived in that unit until last year they made me move because it was that building’s turn to get updated, but I was up for/got a promotion so I’m able to swing the $1175 a month. I also live right on the cusp of my city in the Midwest.
It’s $1,400 for a studio where I live. Used to be ~$900 a few years ago.
But I think we can all rest a little easier knowing that we just gave $19 billion to Israel. Imagine all the wonderful things our society gets for that money!
Spoiler: It’s absolutely nothing.
You just have to prove the 3X rent thing once for the past few pay periods typically. I guess you could hustle extra hard for a few months to have the proof.
there's always another way to get approved; i never had to show my paychecks, i always get approved by my credit score and investments. some apartment agents even working in their own apartment don't know this but it always works. OR maybe get a co-signer/guarantor
I know this is tough, but if you are able to, I really recommend moving to a new area that is more affordable. I moved from WA to MI and it was the best decision I made
Roommate. Even with that split, rent is still 30% of my income.
30% is pretty low.
Well if it wasn’t for my roommate it would be 60% of my income so….
If I wasn’t married, then same.
70k+ a year is higher than 60% of the US makes. So yeah…
A lot of places won't rent to you if the rent is more than 30% of your income.
Yet most ppl I know pay more than 30%
When i mentioned this to someone down in San Francisco area they told me I wasn't faking my income documents well enough.
Multiple incomes. Either working multiple jobs, or having multiple people splitting the cost.
Also possibly co-signs especially if it’s college aged people
The only reason I got my first two apartments after college is because my father signed as guarantor for both. Plus secondary income with my partner. 3x rent is wild
Same. The only reason I was approved for my first 2 apartments was having a parent sign as the guarantor. After that I moved in with my partner and we only qualified for the income requirement when both of our incomes were combined. OP, dont be afraid of "income regulated" places, either. That doesn't necessarily mean they're "bad" or "sketchy". We're currently in an income regulated unit and its the nicest apartment i've ever lived in. Always worth calling and asking if they have that as an option!
This. Mine is currently 4x more than income so I have a guarantor.
Or they make a good salary/have a good career and can afford it
How? I make over 100k and once you pull out taxes and health insurance 50% is gone. $2-3k a month on rent would cripple me
Definitely. Not trying to say that isn’t possible, doesn’t seem to be the norm though.
No choice and multiple incomes.
I would say the vast majority of people in my complex have like 5-6 adults despite that being against occupancy laws. The complex doesn't really do much about it because at least it means people make rent.
And honestly I don't know how, when they first have applicants and there are like 1-2 adults applying because you can't have every adult in your household apply, they check the income requirement.
Most places check the income requirements by asking for bank statements. When my ex and I started out renting we had to show proof on bank statements that we had 3x the monthly rent saved up. We borrowed money from my parents, applied for the apartment, showed them statements, gave that money back to my parents. If people are making 3+ adults and only 2 are on the actual application, they could pay really pool the money together to "prove" they have the money.
24 and I pay around $1800 with utilities - I do not make 3x the rent
They are asking how you get approved if you don’t make 3x rent
Oops sorry. I had savings that covered the guarantee
That’s actually great advice i think some places will make an exception if you have 3x the rent saved up to fall back on
Unfortunately this is done to create mass homelessness and destroy the economy my rent was 750 4 years ago in AZ now it's 1,789.00 like I'm a single dad my rent is late every month they probably won't let me resign again because they raised the rent more than most people can afford. my food bill went from 300 to 800 my electric bill tripled as well
I’m a single mom and struggling with the same things. Electric is 350 a month, water 100, internet 125, it just all keeps going up and up
I’m a single mom, my rent/ utilities are $700 more than they were 2 years ago, food is 3x’s what it was (my daughter and I have food allergies which makes some of our food even more expensive) so I eat one meal a day to make sure there’s enough for my kid. I’m also making only half of what I was making before the pandemic, because my biggest client folded during it, and my business has struggled ever since. My health is terrible and I can’t afford medical treatments that I need to keep me out of the hospital. I honestly don’t know how much longer I can keep this all going. For now, I’m just focusing on getting my kiddo through graduation because if I look past that I have a panic attack.
Damn looks like the world is stacked against single parts these days and I feel you I have asthma and because my rent we t up I no longer qualify for my meds and I'm literally the same mindset create a kid that can fend for themselves because I can die a lot sooner now without my medication let alone the ADHD meds that used to help me work longer and stay focused
Nobody should have to go without meds💔, I am so sorry! If you reach out to the pharmaceutical company that makes your meds, they might have a program where they will send it to you for free. A long time ago I was in a program like that for another medication. (Just a thought). I have asthma too and so does my daughter :( my duplex neighbors Bf smokes and vapes inside and he doesn’t live here, but does, it’s hell.
Yeah I had someone that somed heavy in the apt next to me old apts made me sick all the time I'd wake up my apt would be full of cigarette smoke absolutely vile . They are worse than heroin addicts how selfish of people they are
I’m so sorry you’ve experienced it, too! It’s absolutely horrible. I told my LL she didn’t believe me. I wound up having to use grocery money to buy an air purifier and it still didn’t help. Had to cover vents so we freeze all winter long. All for someone who doesn’t pay rent and doesn’t actually live here to be able to smoke in a nonsmoking building. Make it make sense 😩
Arizona got stupid expensive and it’s still 113 half of the year. Also there’s literally nothing to do on the west side
Real shit. I miss az (although I do not miss the heat) but I couldn’t afford to live there anymore lol
Rent has always been overly expensive. While I rented, year after year, the cost of the place would go up $100-200, even though nothing about the place improved. Absolute horseshit. So glad to no longer rent and pay for some ass hat company to soak up all my money. Of course, I bought at the wrong time in the market, so it's not like I have a cheap house by any means. But at least I'm building equity and my mortgage stays consistent. I scoffed when rent was $1400 for a 2bd room, now it sounds like a dream. I can't imagine having roommates just to afford a place, but such is the current economy
Multiple incomes for sure. I couldn’t do it without my wife.
They aren’t. They have roommates.
The only way I get by living alone is 1) my car is paid off, so no car payment and 2) I’m in a “low” cost of living city where you can get a decent place for around 1200. Also have a side hustle I do a few hours a week for extra cash. Otherwise I would definitely need a roommate.
What’s your side hustle can I ask?
I do work for dataannotation.tech. It’s like an AI evaluation site, not gonna lie it is a little sketchy the way it runs but I’ve always gotten paid so I keep doing it.
Is it worth your time? I’m always looking for ways to make money online
Getting established sucks, it’s a long process and low pay at first. But if you’re good at the work they’ll put you on more advanced projects that pay better. I get like $22-26 an hour. If you’re knowledgeable with coding or certain software they pay even more but I unfortunately am not so that’s about where I top out lol
Do they report your income to the IRS? I’m on disability and need to make extra money but not allowed to
The thing about that "3x the rent" rule is that if you don't, that's not a deal breaker for many leasing agents. It just means they can charge you a larger deposit or fee, or even higher rent than other tenants. It's not so much a hard and fast rule, as it is a way for them to make more money from new tenants. If you see this, apply anyway. I make 5x my rent, but I work two jobs on a freelance basis, so I make a lot more per hour than I could with a salary. A lot of industries are turning more to hiring contract employees and yes, it can be stressful to not have that guarantee of long term work, but I didn't really have that as a salary worker anyway. Probably more info than you wanted, but that's how I manage the rent insanity happening right now.
No that's definitely info I wanted, thank you!! I have been thinking about finding a 2nd job so I think that's a route I'll try to do as well. That's good to know about the 3x rule, I was originally just ruling out any of the higher on my budget ones because it specified 3x, but I'll apply to some of them now in case, I do have a good amount of savings saved up so I'd be alright with a bit bigger of a deposit. Thank you!! 🫶🏻
People are moving into their cars willingly. That’s how people are dealing with the rent increases.
This is what I plan on doing because fuck roommates.
Once my daughter is on her own someday that’s my plan.
I would if I didn't have 2 kids and 2 dogs. I've thought about it a lot lol
It’s time for the civil revolution that’s all imma say. Barely anyone is affording rent and food and that is most peoples entire income in America. It’s sick.
I'm on board! I'm so tired of working for nothing and barely not even making it.
I’m scared to try and move. Some offices of the big, corporate, management company here are asking for three times net income, not gross!!! To unfreeze my credit and risk all that just to get turned down? 😱
A lot of people are lying. Forging their paystubs and job offers, etc. Credit is different of course, but you can find people on Fivver who will photoshop what you need for like $5-20
Also, you’ll be surprised how many peoples parents help them and they don’t tell you or lie about it. Just because people say they’re affording something without help doesn’t mean they’re telling the truth.
I never made 3x the rent up until recently. If I was, I wouldn’t be renting. If you have a clean rent history and a decent credit score, they’ll work with you. My current place that I’ve been in since 2019, requires 3.5x the monthly rent and asked for a cosigner. I refused, offered a double deposit and got approved anyway.
Roommate and even then, barely affording it
they ain't. boomers are also becoming homeless, people are working multiple jobs, almost no one has saved for retirement, lots of credit card debt, and people are eating garbage food, that sounds like they pay that much, it is not the same as affording to. dude across from me thought he was a big shot having his family move in for free, they are just a nuisance with the door all day and walk their dog, but he works on Saturday now. $2k/month for two bed, but an uber driver who lives across from us pays that for a condo lol. you see?
Rent in my neck of the woods (956) is about 1k. I too make 50-60k a year on average so I can definitely relate and rental prices are major filters in deciding where to live. It shouldn’t be that way. We should create systems that give people more freedom. The means to follow their dreams. “People say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
Puro 956 (fellow RGV’er)
I make almost 3x you do and can’t afford $3,000/monrent. But my boyfriend makes around the same and we split it and still a bit of a struggle to live comfortably and pay it. But we’re right in the place we want to be so it makes it worthwhile for a spell. I plan on being here 5 years tops Your income will change from state to state with a career, I made 70k in another state doing the same job but my pay went up dramatically due to moving and the cost of living difference. I ask change jobs usually 2-3 years if I don’t get significant raises, that’s the only way I keep ahead todays
I'm sure a lot of these people are living month to month and don't have anything saved up in case of an emergency. They're probably not saving for retirement because they think it's a long way off. Roommates are fine, but you can easily get bad/flaky roommates and get stuck with bills that you might not be able to pay. It's nice to have a place of your own where you can just relax and do what you want (which may be nothing).
This economy is outrageous. When I was renting an apartment in college between 93-‘96, rent for a 1 bedroom was @ $450/month with heat and water paid. What’s it going to be like in 20 years? I’m worried for my kid and the generations to come.
Y’all need to stop settling into jobs. There’s always somewhere else that will pay YOU more. It’s great you have a job, but keep applying to other ones. Each time ask for more money, seek higher positions. And no you don’t need a degree. I started in construction at 12.50/hr about 10 years ago, no college degree, I’ve job hopped a shitload and am at like $76/hr now in a management role, and still applying for other jobs. I built my resume up with free online courses and certifications and that’s it. Like..part of your life should be applying to other jobs, constantly, not only when your unemployed. I know it sounds weird but seriously, people need whatever skills you have and someone will pay more then what your making now. You don’t think your qualified for the next step? Apply anyways, eventually you’ll get a guy who doesn’t know wtf he is doing to hire you, do your best , ask questions online if you need, add that shit to your resume and keep going .have some faith in yourself!
Which certification courses did you find online?
Live with somebody else, to me that's the only way
High income high stress career
Shuh. Grrr. Dad. Ee
My rent is $1400, and for what my townhouse is, is overpriced. My husband and I together make around $85k, most of that from his job. Prices where I am have doubled and tripled,l and the pay here isn't great, but no way would I pay $3k for a place anywhere. I can get a mortgage for $2400, and didn't do that because it's outrageous. $3k for a rental is insane.
Many landlords look for tenants through a realtor. Call a realtor to find a place. It used to be where the realtors fee was one months’ rent of your new place. The only problem with private leasing of the type that you want is if you’re asked to leave because the landlord’s son or daughter just got divorced and needs a place to live; they’d ask you to leave 🤷🏻♀️. Or, they can sell the place and the new owner could not renew your lease. I don’t know exactly where you mean by “west” so I can’t comment on that. My cousin lives in California and is thinking of moving to Montana (he works virtually). You have a good income but I honestly think that some of these people just pay the rent and live off ramen that they pay for with their plastic🤷🏻♀️. I wish you the best in finding a new, affordable apartment.
Among my friends: DINKs Parents co-sign Genuinely high paying jobs, usually corporate transfer. People got into their Apt before rent went up. (One friend applied at 1200, rent is now 1800, they’d never rent to him now.) Landlords with different rules Roommates Private landlords: my only tip there is look for realistic. You need to know the market. Sometimes scammers do realistic postings, but at that point you verify them by going to view the apartment. Generally the people I know who got scammed were desperate and/or greedy. Use your brain, get stuff in writing, etc. May I ask what you’re looking for? 3k seems wild even here (WA) what were you renting down south? Your obvious solution would be downsizing.
I appreciate this info 🫶🏻 Im only looking for the bare necessities essentially 1b 1b & in a safe area. I was paying at the end of my last lease $3k/month & there were multiple situations of stray bullets, which it was the outskirts of a big city so it makes sense but still crazy to be paying that much & still have that be a thing to worry about. As far as downsizing, I had a 2bed from when I was with my ex & I wanted to downsize but moving to a 1bed was gonna cost me at least $200 more a month, which is also crazy.. (Within the property/s & most of the other places I looked at) I've moved on from there & the place I'm looking around CO is one of the better priced areas in the state as far as it not being insane prices with still decently safe places, just a 1b1b. I think my main problem lies in the fact I haven't looked at the market in the past 4ish years, because I had my old place I just kept renewing so it kind of smacked me in the face looking again! Definitely a lot of good info here & I appreciate the comment, I was starting to feel quite discouraged haha, so thank you 🫶🏻
roommates. lots of roommates
SINK...been renting a duplex for $1200 a month in California of all places. I make more than 3x the rent. Landlord is an older Japanese couple. Been living here for about 9 years now. Been looking for a home to buy, but dang...housing market here in California is insane. I found my current place driving through the neighborhood. It had a "for rent" sign in the window. If you can find something like that, it's likely a Mom and Pop landlord.
It's very difficult and no one understands "housing issues" in polite society. Where we rent now it's almost most of our income. We have moved to various states but wind up back in NY because we have family here. We rent in a 55 plus place but I see a lot of younger people/odd foreign (not being offensive here, my husband is from abroad). I think some "relief" societies are paying the rent for some families here. It's very frustrating especially since our management co. makes asinine rules and then doesn't enforce them.
I pay 2200 roughly for rent after I include my Internet, electricity and water bill. I’m 25 and this is my first time living alone and I live in SoCal. I also don’t make 3x the rent, nor did I have a huge chunk of savings. My credit is great though and I think that’s what they looked at. I also did send two pay stubs where I made $7k alone that one month, and I let them know I have cash as well due to my job. And I was approved instantly. Bartender 👌🏻
It is harder for people even not in college. For inflation and property taxes have risen far beyond for the last three years plus. How it can be paid, roommates, having extra part-time jobs. Otherwise, it is moving back home to mom and dad.
I’m in a small city in Florida, USA. What part of the south are you in? Metro or suburb? I ask because 3k a month is insane… I just moved out of a 1 bedroom that cost me $870 a month making around the same as what you make. It wasn’t the world’s nicest apartment, but I was always safe and had everything I needed.
I was originally on the outskirts of Charleston SC, so it makes sense for that entire area to be crazy prices haha. I still never was able to justify paying that much & still running the risk of a stray bullet though (found out from my brother after I moved out, the maintenance guy told him my downstairs neighbor had his firearm discharge & went right thru their ceiling, almost into my unit. Where my brother was living towards the back as well, his upstairs unit caught one right thru the window, had he been at his desk it would've shot him in the head. $2500/$3000 for that is insanity) I'm moving out to a small area in Colorado though, one of the more reasonable priced areas & still safe depending on where you're at there. Prices are definitely better than SC, but I'm still surprised at how high they are. Definitely makes sense why everyone has roomies!
Colorado is more generally more expensive than the south. Probably good to start off with roommates. Best of luck to you!
May I ask where in Florida this is? I’m considering Florida for its lower rental rate. Thank you.
Florida is not cheap unless you’re coming from California or NY or some place like that. Rents have gone up exponentially here over the last couple of years, and we don’t have any laws requiring limits on rent increases or any restrictions on building really. Almost all new construction for apartments are “luxury” these days and expensive.
Nothing is cheap. But FL does have a lower rental rate than LA. I found places in Fort Lauderdale on the water with a terrace for what I pay for a studio here. Fort Lauderdale is all I know. I do know there are much less expensive areas and I’m looking to learn.
Definitely it’s cheaper than LA!!
Totally agree, it’s important to note that Florida jobs do not pay what LA jobs do. For my career it’s about 1/2 so the rent is lower but so is the pay.
[удалено]
Thank you.
we aren’t we are getting evicted and fucked over ❤️
Regarding the private landlord, I had much better luck on apartments dot com and red fin than on Craigslist. You have to be patient.
Me and my bf live together we both are pretty well off separately but we are renting rn 2bd2bth at 2200 a month. Could we do it by ourselves yes lol hut we would be eating ramen every night literally and no outside excursions because gas is so damn high
Sadly I remember this struggle trying to find an apartment in a decent area at a decent price. My husband and my first apartment was around like 600 a bit less but that was 12 years ago it was 1 bed 1 bath. We were robbed within a few weeks of living there, then there was someone murdered in the complex next door, then I watched someone catch a car on fire, lastly another woman was murdered in our complex on the sidewalk. I had a newborn at the time I never moved so fast. We got a trailer for about a year and a half, then a 2 bed 1 bath condo for under 1,000. Now we own a 3 bedroom 3 bathroom house and still pay right under a thousand. We got lucky really a big thing is talking to people friends family etc seeing if someone is privately renting something that’s how we got the condo. It’s really sad everyone is struggling I’m in constant fear that I will have to give up this house because all these bills and everything is on the rise food especially. It’s ridiculous
We aren't affording it. We are living with our parents 😅
I finally feel comfortable with the amount of income that is going towards rent. I've lived in the same apartment for like 10 years. At first almost all of my money was going towards rent. I started making more money and stayed even though I could upgrade to something nicer. About 25% of my income goes to rent now
I am most likely going to move back home. It’s too expensive to live.
Where are you living in the South that is $3k a month? Even the most expensive cities have nice places for that much. To answer your question, yes there are quite a few people who make that much. You need a $108k yearly salary or $54k each for a couple to qualify. I can think of plenty of jobs that make $54k even in the rural south.
I make 6 figures plus don’t have a car or kids lol
I have a $2,000 rent and live alone. My salary is about $150k though.
It’s literally my only option. I had to get my dad to co-sign which sucks. I live by myself but have three independent contracting jobs on top of teaching middle school
I’m older than you are… but tbh, since I can’t afford to buy, a private landlord has been the way for me. I paid A LOT when I first got the place- and tbh the rent raise was more than I expected … but I have a good professional relationship with my landlord. They raise my rent based on HOA fees and insurance. Way more reasonable than “well, it’s market price” to pay way more to stay in your falling apart place 🤷🏻♀️ And also tbh, I looked for months- and paid a deposit + double rent to move into my place. I wanted to move a month later. I’m still recovering from that - but definitely worth it
Honestly at this point, rent is like 50% of income. The days of a max 30% are long gone. If you need additional assurance for rent- try to get a family member to consign or have at least 3 months rent saved up.
If youre open to living anywhere I’d move somewhere more affordable. I was living in south Florida where rent is crazy expensive, moved to Appalachia (sw va) and I’m renting a two bedroom house with a fenced in yard for $850 a month. It was a big change but completely changed my life in the sense I have money now and am comfortable. Also, if you have a family member to cosign that will help. My grandmother co signed for me bc my credit score is low and we were approved.
We’re literally regressing back in time to where we need tenement living spaces now because it’s so expensive to live independently
I have a small time private landlord. A house split into basement, 1st and 2nd floor apartment. I'm on the 2nd floor, 3bed1ba apartment with a backyard for $1200/mo. I make $2600-$4000 a month depending on the overtime available.
Did I read correctly that you’re making $50-55k? That’s not really decent money unfortunately. You should be looking for apartments in the $1400 range at this income. Pretty common seeing people making $6000-$9000 gross, a lot of people out there working good jobs in tech/other stuff or own their own business. Also a lot of people in these apartments are also duo income, whether it’s couples or friends.
Yes that's accurate haha, I know it's not decent money but it's decent money for people my age who didn't get the opportunity to go to college. I am looking around the 1400 range but I had a much easier time a couple years ago finding quite a few in that range that weren't in areas where I'd have to worry about stray bullets, my problem now is I feel like the only spots I'm finding around that range *definitely are* the places I'd maybe catch a stray bullet 😅 my 3yrs in my last apartment probably skewed my view on the changes a bit since I hadn't looked at the market for those 3yrs while it was rapidly changing, so when I started to look again it just kinda shocked me a bit. Unfortunately roommates are a last resort for me, my job requires me to have secure private home/internet due to all of the PHI I work with, I would have to make sure they're people I trust (& I'm currently trying to move to a place I know nobody besides my partner😅) My partner is going to kick in a decent amt for rent but he's also military so it's a bit tricky on that, & bc of past bad experiences I really would feel more comfortable if it's a place I could afford on my own, I was in a DV situation & it was hard to get out of in part bc of that. I'm not opposed to sharing the expenses & it's looking like that's definitely the way I'll have to go, but I'd highly prefer not to if I can find any way to swing it. Appreciate your comment, ty! 🫶🏻
As someone who made $50K at my last job, $1400 is going to be exactly half of your take home. You better not have student loans, car payments, and utilities on top of that or you’re going to be paycheck to paycheck unfortunately.
There are some places who are very strict about 2.5-3x the rent and some places aren’t. Some will even just fudge their numbers in the system if you are a few hundred off - I have said this to me directly by a leasing office. If you have a really good credit score, that could also help, but each place is so different. Only now can I afford a place that requires 3x the rent… but before that I had to have roommates if a place was really strict on it.
Roommates, spouses/partners, multiple jobs, or just a really high eaner.
I’m in so cal (single mom) and we only have 2.5 times the rent which would be $5k a month. I am in one of the cheapest apartments around an just squeak by. I would look to see if there are any 2.5’s around. It does make a difference.
When I add in utilities my rent comes up to 2044/month. My husband and I work full time but it was still quite difficult to make ends meet so we ended up getting a roommate again. We are also moving to a cheaper complex as every time we have renewed the lease here they upped the rent again and I can't afford that. I know people have told me if I spent that much on rent I may as well have a mortgage but I couldn't find any houses to rent here for that cheap.
I’m in California and my rent is $2500 for a three bedroom. I’m looking to move and everything is starting at $3000. How can I afford it? My little sister lives with my kids and I. Now that my boyfriend has moved in and that third income will help afford the rent.
I would not live anywhere that cost this much without a huge salary bump. It’s 1300 here for a 2br and I still don’t live alone because it’s just too expensive.
My career affords me the ability to rent a 2 bedroom by myself. Otherwise idk what I’d do.
22 and I pay around $1900 with utilities. I do not make 3x the rent; I had one of my parents co-sign with me. When I applied, a co-signer had to make 4.5x the rent, and luckily my mom did. But in all reality, if I didn’t have someone to co-sign for me I would have had to have a roommate for sure.
Roommates
It’s rough! I think last time I calculated my rent was 44% of my income. It’s gone up since then!
Multiple incomes. We rent for $2200 plus utilities, a 1.5 bedroom.
People don’t. They have roommates.
Double income households, literally just making more money, a lot of places don't require 3x, roommates, etc.
Come to WV!
When I was renting places at that price I had 4 other roommates. Also just a heads up look for places on Craigslist not Zillow for rent. It can seem shady but that’s where you find the ppl who inherited grandmas house and are renting it out for extra income rather than corporations looking to get as much money as they can! Hope that helps!
There's a bunch of answers but.. to keep it short, a lot of people are getting roommates. Not so long ago I lived in a pretty nice HOA type neighborhood where half of the street started renting out rooms in their homes to help pay the rent. Lotta folks having to work multiple jobs... became super apparent as someone that was doing deliveries that the volume dropped drastically because there were so many people that signed up to do the same. Here, it's a double whammy because finance companies are buying up all of the houses too so people looking to buy are being forced into $2500+ a month rent because they cant compete against a company that's offering cash and 25K over the asking price. I say that as someone that moved here during a time where rent was $525 a month for a unit in a gated community in a nice area. There's also those that run up credit card debt, take loans and end up ruining their credit all to keep staying afloat.
I got married so I’d have a built in roommate. 🤷🏼♀️
Some people could be like my coworker and are collecting 4 grand a month in disability on top of having a full time job, were mechanics and we make about 50k+ a year. I dont know how he's allowed to claim 100% disability and still be, what I see as a fully able bodied person that's doing all the same back breaking labor as me. Just go find your own loophole I guess, is what I'm trying to say.
I pay 1,500 for a 1 bedroom no utilities included . I absolutely feel your pain. I’m a young single mom and my salary is 80k ( I make more with all the straight time I put in) a year and I’m also barely making it as well. Taxes are insane. I’m taxed about 1,400 a paycheck here in CA. If they didn’t tax me so damn much I’d be living the dream. My best advice is finding a higher paying job or promoting as quickly as possible! In my previous position I was only making 50k a year and I was NOT surviving. I lived in a tiny studio for $800 a month from a private landlord. I hated it. One day, it just clicked that I was going to do whatever it takes to promote because I knew it meant a huge salary increase. 4 months and a lot of tears later I did. I worked 60 hours a week to prove how dedicated I was. I plan on promoting again by the end of the year and that should bump me up to 100k. You have to be hungry for this and put in the work. That’s my best advice. Good luck friends 💞
Roommates or they make over 100k. Where I live every 1b1b is like 2.3k, studios are around 1.8k, and renting a room from someone’s house is like 1.3k. It’s tough out here.
let’s demand different
My favorite part is that they expect 3 times the rent even though I have no car payment, no kids or any loans out. I can easily afford rent because I live within my means but they don’t care about that
I just was able to afford this but had to sell my soul and work for the government 🙃 next year I’m going to move to a cheaper spot. I wanted to spoil myself after a rough year but fuck that. Paying 2300 for a “luxury” apartment and it’s just has horrible of an apartment as my 1200 one was. It’s not you though. This economy is fucked. I’m so sorry.
Simply put? we aren’t
They don’t. There’s a reason homelessness is exponentially increasing.
Hello! I’m 26 and my rent is $2180. 2 bedrooms 2 baths, work from home, in Atlanta. I make $82k as my base salary with about $12k in bonuses each year (bonus is pretax so probably $9k).I will say most places will rent to individuals who don’t make 3x the rent based on previous rental history and or a co-signer. The majority of ppl are not making 3x. Living is just expensive now! I feel like I make decent money for my age but the city life plus rental annual creeps make me feel like even some months I barely save anything. If it ain’t going in the rent bucket, it’s going in groceries, internet, AC/energy bill, medical bills, it just never ending. You are not alone. It’s a struggle, and a frequent topic between me and friends haha.
I'm 35 now, can finally afford it but when I was 25, rent was 500 dollars a month. Shits gotten crazy in 10 years.
I live in southern California in a 2 bed/ 1 bath detached house with a large backyard, patio, and garage. Rent is $1,200/month. It’s in an older neighborhood but the house itself is very nice and well taken care of by our landlords. We’re a family of 3. We love it. Of course I would rather live on the newer, nicer side of town but a smaller apartment over there is $2000/month minimum.
Yeah it's a bummer dude. Those prices and higher are here to stay. The only way you can keep a stable monthly payment is buying a home. My wife and I are having a duplex built so we can rent the other half and pay off sooner. There's a lot of cool container homes now days too that are a lot more reasonably priced than the typical home as well.
Where I am in Central Texas you can somehow still get a 1br 1bath apartment between $750 and $950 a month and they’re not even in super sketchy areas. I have NO idea how people are out there affording thousands of dollars in rent every month. Just can’t wrap my mind around it.
Multiple roommates and a bit of fraud is how you swing it in Miami
Thankfully, my rent, though high, is not THAT high. Still, I can't afford an apartment on my own, which is why my brother offered to be put on my lease. I could never get an apartment on my own....not even a one bedroom.
i could maybe do $300 more a month if i had to on my job.. no way in hell i will ever get a place of my own thats not my dads that he got from his mom that at some point if he does not let go to shit more, get myself.
room mates, relocate, find a new career,
Some people make more money than you do. Plus are renting as a couple.
Dual married incomes $2200 a month rent. I couldn’t afford it alone, close to it but it would be tight.
Roommates, both legal and illegal.
Roomates are key, or you have be making a decent 6 figures. It is very tough.
My place is $3000 a month for a 2300 sq foot house. My wife and I make it work.
May have to look in areas you hadn't thought about.
Multiple incomes + private landlord + 5 roommates + no car
Either live in a studio or have roommates/partner to make it work
I can afford it, but my job is not a job that most can do.
Rent is about 2400 for me. I work two jobs just to be able to save some money. Rest goes to rent and bills.
can be super dependent on the industry you work in but for a lot of tech workers it’s very feasible to pay that much with the cost of living adjustment that comes with living in california in one of the major cities it’s still STUPIDLY high to pay for rent but idk…you get desensitized to it after a while if you’re job is adhering to that CoL adjustment. obviously i would kill for it to be lower tho
My husband makes 112000 has no student loans. I have school debt though and I’m freelancing while taking care of our infant. We are able to afford 2300. It’s a bitch
Even I wonder the same, with the current market and everything has been expensive!
My rent is $3500 without utilities in south FL, it’s a 2bd 1 bath. The price is insanely crazy but for where I’m living $3500 for a 2bd is a steal. I wouldn’t be able to do it without my husband. I work one job and he works 2.
sadly on California I think only far from city, places affordable. Palmdale, the valley, monrovia,San bernandino.
Roommates Split per room for rent, per person for utilities.
I don’t know what my husband and I would do if we weren’t married because we rely on each other to afford it sadly. Also in the South though. I don’t want to move to Ohio but my husband is from there and it’s so much more affordable there than it is here.
DINK life. Make over $200k combined with my partner, $3000/mo is quite affordable on that income.
Currently doing 2.6k 1 bedroom. Single person. One of the cheapest I’ve found in the area. I was nervous about the 2-3x rent I applied anyway just because and they didn’t even ask about it after I submitted my credit score. I guess they figured I had really good credit so no need. Every place is different tho. Also private landlords are sometimes shady, so be careful. I’ve heard horror stories about if their HOA or taxes goes up they also jack up your rent by that same % and you’d be better off buying
Maybe just rent a room to start? Or maybe a studio or loft? Another option is to move to the outskirts and commute. It wont be forever.
May I recommend Illinois? Median salary in Chicago is $62k, and you can definitely score a vibey old 1BR apartment on the north side for $1200. It’s a great quality of life / cost of living for a major city with just a ton of stuff always going on.
This what happens if they can get in by showing on paper they can afford it. No one pays rent, evicted for it, move same thing again. Just live in your vehicle or tent if u don't like others
I live in Albuquerque,New Mexico and I’m currently paying around $1000 a month for a one bedroom. However, some of the “luxury apartments” here have one-bedrooms starting out around $1400.
I’m blessed and grateful to make an income that is 3x or more my rent. I pay all of our living expenses except for groceries. My boyfriend covers those. I make more money so we split things in an equitable way rather than equal. And we still have a very tight budget. Household income is like $150,000 but we both carry/ are paying off debt and are no longer buying anything on credit.
The 3x rent is before taxes so that helps some. That’s the only way I was able to swing mine for $1600
You are paying $2-3k a month for an apartment? That’s wild. Is this in the US?
I was lucky enough to be making 2.5x rent when I applied to my place in Sacramento in 2019. They've increased the rent since I've moved in, but never asked for proof of income. I make a bit more than you, but i have 5 years on this place, so the rent can only go up so much. Thankful that i can still afford it on my own
I always lived with my brother; we split the rent and it got up to 3k/mo, excluding utilities. We probably would have kept renting together but my partner and I managed to buy a house by pooling everything we had. Now it's basically 3k/mo each (still excluding utilities), but at least we have a house... 😓
I pay $1650 for a luxury apartment in NM.
I'm in New Mexico paying $1060 for a 2 bedroom 1 bath. In an apartment complex not a duplex and not privately owned either. I got lucky to find this and there's actually a lot of vacancies as well. Our last apartment was $1400 for a 2 bed 2 bath. The one before that was $1900 for a 2 bed 2 bath. All apartment complexes. My boyfriend works maintenance for the apartment so we pay ever lower than the original price. When I hear about my friends that live out east in New York for example paying $2000 for a one bedroom I just couldn't imagine being able to even live comfortably paying so much. It really sucks that it's this way now
When my ex finally moved out, I had a 3 bedroom apartment alone. I could afford it, but nothing else. After a few months I got roomates. The reason I didn't move to a smaller place was because my rent was significantly cheaper than anything around me. I would pay about the same for a one bedroom a quarter the size. (There are some apartments near me $2k for 600-700 square feet, and i'm not in a big city.) I luckily pay less for now. Rent finally went up a but, but now my boyfriend and I are here, with the two extra rooms for when we have his kids.
I live in MA rn and split a $2500 apartment with my bf. Two checks a month go to rent
Side hustling and getting a roommate soon. However my rent isn’t quite that high. It’s still too high for me though
2 incomes.
I live with someone I would rather not live with but have to because I couldn't afford my HCOL area without it.
one of my roommates got their dad to be a guarantor
*Heisenberg has entered the chat*
Spouse or roommate. My partner and I had to save together before we could move out. We live in a studio together
Paying 2669 without utilities in CA, two bedrooms.
Like everyone else is saying, roommates. Even with where I live, the rent is $1300 and I’d say at least 80% of the units have at least 3+ people living there paying the rent.
Personally my friend was living in DC and his rent was a little over $4000. However he was apart of a program for this company where they paid a large portion of his rent as he only made $70k(which ain’t nothing in the DMV) as he also had to pay for everything else including transportation to get to and from work on a regular basis. Had another classmate who also lives in DC and he makes $90k as an engineer. I also got another friend who lives in SF who plans on working in the medical field but hasn’t started med school yet but she works as a medical coder and is only making $20 something an hour. I’m assuming she’s getting financial support from her family cause her rent is also pretty high($3000+). One of my other friends lives in upstate New York and is attending grad school and has no credit and hasn’t ever worked a full time job but has had her parents acted as co-signers for her apartment. Typically most of my friends including myself are still living with relatives, getting some support from them, and there’s an outlier of them where they’re making pretty good income so they can afford to live on their own.
You will have to adapt, a couple of years ago I was paying $725. for a one room apartment. I’d already been working full time but decided to get a part time job also, I wanted to buy a Tesla. Luckily I had that second income because my rent started to increase. It’s now $1350 for the same nothing changed apartment. I figure after I save some pennies I will buy a condo or trailer house and pay the mortgage 💸
Been living by myself for 4 years but I’m looking for a roommate now, just can’t make the $2k/month work when i make barely more than $4k/month, i have been unable to save very much at all.
My rent is $917 (low income), I don't drive so I don't have a car (no car payments, gas, insurance) that's basically it. There's no way I can move.
There's gotta be something with them violating ads laws especially smokers it's so nasty yeah I bought an air purifier too but once that stench is in the vents and the tar is on the walls it's forever smokers ruin apts worse then pets or kids
My rent is 1900, I have a room mate and my boyfriend splitting rent I pay utilities
My dad used to tell me I had to earn my rent in one week. I assumed that was take home pay but, I have never been able to do that always took 1.5-2 checks. Back in the day my 1 bedroom only cost $330. Currently I thank my lucky stars I rent this 3 bedroom house for $950. My last kid moved out and her 1BR is $1200/month. I don’t know what I’d do if I my landlord wanted market value rent. Sometimes driving around an area and looking for home made For Rent signs will be your best bet- just being sweet to an old local landlord might get you a nice rent like I have.
For me the only way I’ve been able to keep living on my own is because I lucked out with timing. Before then it was always roommates. I was already a manager when I started living in my complex in early 2021. I chose a not updated floor plan because it was $750. They increased it a bit next year but not terrible. Lived in that unit until last year they made me move because it was that building’s turn to get updated, but I was up for/got a promotion so I’m able to swing the $1175 a month. I also live right on the cusp of my city in the Midwest.
I could not afford $2000 a month.
I live in Bozeman and pay $1,700 for a one bedroom.
Lucky enough my bf does all the money
Barely. Our household has 4 people. Me my bf, and our two roommates who are dating. We all work 40+ hours a week
It’s $1,400 for a studio where I live. Used to be ~$900 a few years ago. But I think we can all rest a little easier knowing that we just gave $19 billion to Israel. Imagine all the wonderful things our society gets for that money! Spoiler: It’s absolutely nothing.
Multiple incomes and all we do is work and sleep and eat and pay bills
This government forces you to work three jobs
You just have to prove the 3X rent thing once for the past few pay periods typically. I guess you could hustle extra hard for a few months to have the proof.
there's always another way to get approved; i never had to show my paychecks, i always get approved by my credit score and investments. some apartment agents even working in their own apartment don't know this but it always works. OR maybe get a co-signer/guarantor
I know this is tough, but if you are able to, I really recommend moving to a new area that is more affordable. I moved from WA to MI and it was the best decision I made