Opinion How much of your income goes into rent?

Hektor

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Nov 1, 2018
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I'm currently hunting for a new apartment and i'm just not sure how much i can and am willing to pay.

I see some good Apartments for about 500€ at 50-70m² but then i also see some real rad ones for 650-750€.

Now i don't really want to spend more than a third of my monthly income on rent, but that 750€ is 125M² and while it would be a bit over a third of my income, it's comparably cheap for what you get, price here in the area is about 90€ per 10M² afterall. So i'm feeling almost enticed to apply for that one against my better knowledge, The Steam sale mentality. But then again, this almost feels a bit sleazy cheap.

(All numbers warm rent obviously.)

What about ya'll? How much are you paying and are you satisfied with what you get?
 
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Ruvon

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May 15, 2019
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Don't know where you live but it seems it's a little more expensive where I live.

I rent a house about 70m² for nearly 700€, with a garden (~100m²). It's really cheap for my town, where you can find something similar for easily 200 or 300 more.

Totally happy with it (even if neighbours could be a little more quiet sometimes :) ).

It's burning almost 45% of my revenue because I live here with my gf and she's unemployed, so I have to cover for both of us. When she'll find a job again, it will only costs me 23% of my revenue.

For your situation, I'll say go for comfort. If it's a good place, no issues like isolation or leaks in plumbing or bad neighborhood, you'll pay a little more but you'll enjoy it.
Counterpart : it's more work to clean and when you have more room, you usually stock more things so moving is a pain in the ass. Been there :)

But I'll always go for comfort over space or price. I want to feel home, with no stress about coming home after work or parties. That's my advice, even if I know it's not always easy to know that before living somewhere and it may change over time.

Good luck finding your place ;)
 
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Ge0force

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Jan 12, 2019
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Now i don't really want to spend more than a third of my monthly income on rent, but that 750€ is 125M² and while it would be a bit over a third of my income, it's comparably cheap for what you get, price here in the area is about 90€ per 10M² afterall. So i'm feeling almost enticed to apply for that one against my better knowledge,
Have you considered buying an apartment instead of renting? For €750 a month, you should be fine to pay off a loan to buy something nice. This would already benefit you in a couple of years, because unlike rent, the monthly sum you pay for your loan doesn't increase, while your income does.

I'm not a financial adviser so if you're interested, it's best to go to your bank (and a few other banks) to talk about this. But personally, I wish I'd bought something sooner instead of renting for so many years. The price of houses and apartments in decent neighborhoods has been increasing exponentially in Europe in the past 10 years.
 
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OP
Hektor

Hektor

Autobahnraser
Nov 1, 2018
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Have you considered buying an apartment instead of renting? For €750 a month, you should be fine to pay off a loan to buy something nice. This would already benefit you in a couple of years, because unlike rent, the monthly sum you pay for your loan doesn't increase, while your income does.

I'm not a financial adviser so if you're interested, it's best to go to your bank (and a few other banks) to talk about this. But personally, I wish I'd bought something sooner instead of renting for so many years. The price of houses and apartments in decent neighborhoods has been increasing exponentially in Europe in the past 10 years.
Rent is so big as the Default that i honestly never thought about it.
Maybe i should look into it, tho i'm pretty scared of such a commitment.

Don't know where you live but it seems it's a little more expensive where I live.

I rent a house about 70m² for nearly 700€, with a garden (~100m²). It's really cheap for my town, where you can find something similar for easily 200 or 300 more.

Totally happy with it (even if neighbours could be a little more quiet sometimes :) ).

It's burning almost 45% of my revenue because I live here with my gf and she's unemployed, so I have to cover for both of us. When she'll find a job again, it will only costs me 23% of my revenue.

For your situation, I'll say go for comfort. If it's a good place, no issues like isolation or leaks in plumbing or bad neighborhood, you'll pay a little more but you'll enjoy it.
Counterpart : it's more work to clean and when you have more room, you usually stock more things so moving is a pain in the ass. Been there :)

But I'll always go for comfort over space or price. I want to feel home, with no stress about coming home after work or parties. That's my advice, even if I know it's not always easy to know that before living somewhere and it may change over time.

Good luck finding your place ;)
That's definitely a good attitude of yours to have, but i always think of the price first for pretty much everything and i don't think i'll be rid mof that mindset any time soon. That's why i feel guilty just thinking about dropping more than the Minimum on rent.

I believe i gotta think about this long and hard
 

Ge0force

Excluding exclusives
Jan 12, 2019
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Rent is so big as the Default that i honestly never thought about it.
Maybe i should look into it, tho i'm pretty scared of such a commitment.
I suggest you make an appointment with your bank, talk about your concerns and hear them out. Let them make a simulation for a loan for 20-25 years, depending on your income. Next, go to at least one other bank and let them make a simulation for you as well. Banks may want to give you better terms for your loan if you move your accounts and insurances to them. Don't be afraid to bargain! :)

By doing so, you don't have to decide immediately. But at least you are informed and aware of the amount of money you can spend on buying an apartment or house.
 

fsdood

Junior Member
Jan 9, 2019
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I used to save a lot of money by having roommates, but the constant bittering, disagreements and how unsafe it felt were not worth it. I now pay like around 35-40% for myself but it's so worth it to just come back home and not deal with bullshit. I wish I didn't have bad luck with roommates :suicide-blob:

Edit: agree with Ruvon , always pick comfort because there's no point in paying cheap if you live miserably
 
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Rosenkrantz

Once Punched Man
Apr 22, 2019
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I own apartments, so the rent isn't the problem, however bills eat 30-35% of my income, which is still preferable to renting imo, because apartments like mine would cost me about 60-70% of my income excluding bills for electricity and hot water. That being said, if you're single, 1-bedroom apartment outside of downtown is a pretty good deal for someone with an average or slightly above average income (around 20k a month).
 

C-Dub

Makoto Niijima Fan Club President
Dec 23, 2018
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I own a flat and it's definitely cheaper than renting, by a long way. I'd say about 22% of my income goes on my mortgage, but if I was renting a similar place it would be between 45% and 60% depending on how many other properties my landlord had financed the building I live in on. If I didn't own my flat I'd have to work full time just to have disposable income.

Thankfuklly my girlfriend's parents helped us out with the deposit.
 

fokkusu

Burn baby burn🔥🎵
Dec 9, 2018
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I own a flat and it's definitely cheaper than renting, by a long way. I'd say about 22% of my income goes on my mortgage, but if I was renting a similar place it would be between 45% and 60% depending on how many other properties my landlord had financed the building I live in on. If I didn't own my flat I'd have to work full time just to have disposable income.

Thankfuklly my girlfriend's parents helped us out with the deposit.
Owning flat here too with my fiancee. About 21% is my cut monthly from the salary.
 

RionaaM

Vogon Poetry Appreciator
Sep 6, 2018
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Moved on my own last month and rent is a little over 25% of my monthly salary. I also have to pay building expenses, which is an extra 5%, plus gas, electricity and water bills. All in all, I believe I'm paying between 32% and 35% of my salary every month to live here.

Changing jobs is overdue though, so hopefully I'll be able to lower that percentage sometime in the future. If I ever decide to finally start looking around, that is.