Cheaper Rent

Discussion in Mortgage & House Payments started by hbmm • Oct 28, 2013.

  1. hbmm

    hbmmMember

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    Hi everyone, So I am hopefully moving in with my partner next year. We are only young and so I was hoping if anyone knows any ways to get cheaper rent, especially living in a city!

    P.S. I'm new here and don't know if I have posted in the correct forum page :/ Sorry
     
  2. SophiaLazar

    SophiaLazarMember

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    It depends on if you and your partner can make plans to relocate to a city with higher pay and lower rent.
    My bf and I were first in Boston, there was no work in our high tech fields, and the rent is higher than New York. We went to stay with our parents in New Mexico, the rent was lower, but there was now work either, so we made the trek to Austin, and we both found high tech jobs. We had to really look around and see what the market can really deliver for the money we were willing to spend. We found that some private homeowners would charge ridiculous rents, and then we looked in an area that was a little farther out, with still quick access to the metro area. We looked hard, we just didn't settle for the first things we saw. I also was very picky on the Realtor, and wouldn't settle until I found a Realtor that really loved her job and helping people. once that happened, we started getting results. We saw and amazing condo, and finally settled on a house that had the HOA fees included, so we got the space and privacy of a house, but with the pool, tennis courts, volleyball etc.. and the lawn service included at no extra cost. There are a few added things with a house, water, and trash but the overall benefit of the updated kitchen, black appliances, those were things I was not going to compromise on.

    So I think the magic for us was to run from Realtors who simply didn't listen to us on what we wanted, and even told we couldn't find anything in the area we wanted for the price. We knew we could dig around and find things. The trick is to realize to when renting homes, that Realtor can play a huge role, because you might answer that trulia listing and never ever hear back on the listing, because a lot of houses or condos are actually for sale and they list them as rentals just to generate internet, and the Realtor which is tenacious will bug the manager or owner until they get the real story, and even get them to come down on rent.

    Definitely look for listings that have been a month and see if they will come down a hundred or so. They did on ours. Offer them the cash that day and dont hesitate if you really want it.
     
  3. hbmm

    hbmmMember

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    Thank you so much for all those tips, that was so helpful!:) It's best hearing from someone who has been there and done it already. I will remember all your tips for next year and jot them down. I've started researching and getting down lots of helpful info and tips, so thank you :)
     
  4. DancingLady

    DancingLadyActive Member

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    It will all depend on your neighborhood. Where I live rent is pretty high, though I have heard it is not as high as in the bigger cities north of us. You should really check out the neighborhoods you are potentially interested in and make sure they feel safe and comfortable to you. In bigger cities there are often neighborhoods where the rent seems really good and affordable, but there is also a lot of crime, gangs, drug issues, ect. Make sure you know what you are getting into. You will likely have to sign at least a 6 month lease, if not a full year, so you don't want to end up stuck in a potentially dangerous situation.
     
  5. legendia

    legendiaNew Member

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    In a city is tough, because demand is usually high and supply is limited. You also want to make sure you're in a safe part of town, so you don't want to save $100 a month but live in a dangerous neighborhood. The best advice I can give is to simply live minimally. I'm currently living with my partner right now. Before I lived with her, I lived alone for a year and a half. I had a big one bedroom that was 917 sq ft. Far too big for just me. I ended up filling it with stuff I didn't need just for the sake of it. As a result, I wasted a lot of money. When it came time to move, I had accumulated a bunch of crap that was just a headache to deal with. I had to deal with packing it and storing it at my new place.

    I've learned to live minimally. My girlfriend and I now live together in a smaller apartment (something like 650 sq ft) which is much more reasonable. We try and just have the bare minimum as far as material things go. This saves us money and also encourages us to be creative with our free time. Yes we could invest in a nice big TV and PS4 and spend our time playing that, or save that money and just go for a walk together instead for free. So I would encourage you to simply find a minimal place and only fill it with the bare minimum. It's a very liberating feeling.
     
  6. wulfman

    wulfmanActive Member

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    Yes if you are adamant about living in the city then you will have to pay steeper rent. So the room mate thing is a good idea to cut your rent in half. If you are a suburb type of guy like me then you don't have to worry about paying outrageous rent. It also depends on what city though. And what kind of suburb. Generally though the farther away you get from the city, the lesser the rent and more affordable real estate is.
     
  7. primalclaws1974

    primalclaws1974Member

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    The best way I can think of to save money on rent is to live outside of the city. I don't mean the suburbs either, because that could potentially be worse. If you can find small towns within a 30-minute drive the much lower rent will be worth the gas to get into the city (assuming you would probably be working in the city). I have considered this, and looked into it. I was able to find small cities within 10 miles of the suburbs that were 40% cheaper!