The Apartment
Replies
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Okay.. I'm interested. What can you buy for 300K in your area?
For Vancouver BC http://www.realestatevalley.ca/listing/f1216519-32774-7th-av-mission-bc-v2v-2c1/
EEEKKK.
This is an hour and a half outside Vancouver also in a really crappy suburb.0 -
Danielle, educate us on Vancouver, British Columbia. There's got to be a very strong job market with a lot of people making a ton of money in that area. Is it big second home area for wealthy Chinese?
What's the big industry there? Tech? Finance?0 -
Okay.. I'm interested. What can you buy for 300K in your area?
For Vancouver BC http://www.realestatevalley.ca/listing/f1216519-32774-7th-av-mission-bc-v2v-2c1/
EEEKKK.
This is an hour and a half outside Vancouver also in a really crappy suburb.
It is a nasty house too.0 -
No outside maintenance.
Something breaks, you call someone, they come to fix it.
Maintenance at no cost as well.
Mobility is another factor that is good in apartment life. Jobs are less secure now, so if you work in a field with little job security, you can be prepared to move in fairly short order.
What Dave said - I know that better than most - I was month to month in my apartment when I got laid off - I was able to put in 30 days notice and GTFO. Not having to sell something was literally priceless...0 -
I liked apartment living, but hated have neighbors that was so close. I lived Downtown in the high rises for awhile and that was great, was close to everything. Now I have my own 2500 sqft home w/ a pool and love it! Love the gardening, not so much the mowing or shoveling my driveway when it snows, but I won't change it!!0
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No outside maintenance.
Something breaks, you call someone, they come to fix it.
Maintenance at no cost as well.
Mobility is another factor that is good in apartment life. Jobs are less secure now, so if you work in a field with little job security, you can be prepared to move in fairly short order.
What Dave said - I know that better than most - I was month to month in my apartment when I got laid off - I was able to put in 30 days notice and GTFO. Not having to sell something was literally priceless...
Month to month has applicability as a leasing arrangement in certain scenarios. For the most part, I don't recommend it.
Apartments usually don't have lease terms greater than 1 year at a time.
If you sense that a layoff is forthcoming or things are not going well at work around a lease renewal time, that's a good time to either go month to month or sign a shorter lease like 6 months.
Worst case scenario, always check a lease's buyout terms. Leases can often be broken mid lease. When choosing an apartment, ask about buyouts. Sometimes they can be relevant in the case of a job transfer or a layoff with a substantial amount of time left on the lease.0 -
bought my house when I was 20 and really can't imagine living anywhere else.0
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Danielle, educate us on Vancouver, British Columbia. There's got to be a very strong job market with a lot of people making a ton of money in that area. Is it big second home area for wealthy Chinese?
What's the big industry there? Tech? Finance?
No.. there really isn't a lot of people making a ton of money here and the job market is not overly spectacular. We are highly overloaded with debt in general. Apparently more than 68 per cent of the average disposable income is spent on housing costs. I'm not kidding when I say pretty much everyone I know (Higher level degrees, professional designations and well paying jobs or not) is struggling financially.
Please..play our favorite game - crack shack or mansion : http://www.crackshackormansion.com/0 -
Danielle, educate us on Vancouver, British Columbia. There's got to be a very strong job market with a lot of people making a ton of money in that area. Is it big second home area for wealthy Chinese?
What's the big industry there? Tech? Finance?
No.. there really isn't a lot of people making a ton of money here and the job market is not overly spectacular. We are highly overloaded with debt in general. Apparently more than 68 per cent of the average disposable income is spent on housing costs. I'm not kidding when I say pretty much everyone I know (Higher level degrees, professional designations and well paying jobs or not) is struggling financially.
Please..play our favorite game - crack shack or mansion : http://www.crackshackormansion.com/
Ouch, that's a lot of money allocated to housing. Most people I know spend less than 40%, not close to 70%. I wonder how people afford new cars, nice clothes, and vacations there?
Spending that much of your paycheck on housing sounds downright miserable.
BTW, I got nearly every house wrong on that quiz.0 -
I had a 400 sq ft apartment in the South End section of Boston for 4 years. That place was old, not updated, and just a piece of crap. I lived close to the Pine Street Inn (homeless shelter) and had to dodge panhandlers everyday. Humans aren't meant to live in such close quarters.
Why did you live there?
400 square feet is ridiculous.
Was it unsafe?0 -
Ouch, that's a lot of money allocated to housing. Most people I know spend less than 40%, not close to 70%. I wonder how people afford new cars, nice clothes, and vacations there?
Spending that much of your paycheck on housing sounds downright miserable.
BTW, I got nearly every house wrong on that quiz.
Everyone seems to do it on credit...or we just don't get them. Ask me the last time I took a vacation.
Those of us who live near the border do tend to shop in the States as it is so much cheaper, even factoring in exchange. Your food, clothing, gas and flights are SO much less. We will console ourselves with our healthcare plans.. sigh.0 -
If humans were not meant to live is such close quarters, you would hate living in Manhattan.
I could not picture a more miserable place to live on the planet than New York City (OK, maybe San Francisco). All the crowds, cost of living, small apartment, miserable people, high taxes, restricted firearm carry, etc etc. To me, it just seems like a miserable place to live.
Note: No offense to New Yorkers. Just don't know how you do it.0 -
Note: No offense to New Yorkers. Just don't know how you do it.
Not many New Yorkers actually live in Manhattan. I grew up in Brooklyn and we had a 5 bedroom 2 and 1/2 bathroom house with a pool in the yard.0 -
Ouch, that's a lot of money allocated to housing. Most people I know spend less than 40%, not close to 70%. I wonder how people afford new cars, nice clothes, and vacations there?
Spending that much of your paycheck on housing sounds downright miserable.
BTW, I got nearly every house wrong on that quiz.
Everyone seems to do it on credit...or we just don't get them. Ask me the last time I took a vacation.
Those of us who live near the border do tend to shop in the States as it is so much cheaper, even factoring in exchange. Your food, clothing, gas and flights are SO much less. We will console ourselves with our healthcare plans.. sigh.
Good Lord Danielle, why do you live there? You should move across to the states to Seattle (even though it's not exactly cheap there). To me, not being able to buy a good sized house would be a deal breaker.
Plus, if one was able to buy a house, how could they afford all the fun stuff in life, like a sports car, vacation, etc? To me, living in a high cost area would only be worth it if you made absolute bank ($400k+ / year).0 -
Note: No offense to New Yorkers. Just don't know how you do it.
Not many New Yorkers actually live in Manhattan. I grew up in Brooklyn and we had a 5 bedroom 2 and 1/2 bathroom house with a pool in the yard.
That would easily cost over 1 million now (if not a lot more).
Real estate in the outer boroughs, especially a large detached house, is very desirable and will certainly cost a lot of money.
Note: I had NO IDEA you're a former NYer, you really don't seem like one. I haven't detected much sass from you
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If humans were not meant to live is such close quarters, you would hate living in Manhattan.
I could not picture a more miserable place to live on the planet than New York City (OK, maybe San Francisco). All the crowds, cost of living, small apartment, miserable people, high taxes, restricted firearm carry, etc etc. To me, it just seems like a miserable place to live.
Note: No offense to New Yorkers. Just don't know how you do it.
Here's a video of a woman who lived in a 90 square foot apartment in Manhattan. She paid $700 per month for that back in 2010. I bet that unit leases for about $800 per month now.
There are some upsides to living in NYC. But I am not there.Note: I had NO IDEA you're a former NYer, you really don't seem like one. I haven't detected much sass from you
Not all New York/New Jersey people are sassy. Or Jersey Shore types.0 -
I haven't lived in an apartment since the mid-90s. I really dislike everything about apartment life.
I own two homes...one in WA... one in AZ. Renting a house in CA. I love older homes....and I've added nothing useful to the thread! Lol0 -
No outside maintenance.
Something breaks, you call someone, they come to fix it.
Maintenance at no cost as well.
Mobility is another factor that is good in apartment life. Jobs are less secure now, so if you work in a field with little job security, you can be prepared to move in fairly short order.
When you say maintenance at 'no cost' wouldn't you say that costs were built into the rent??
When you buy a home, you are paying for the home (plus interest, if mortgaged) so over the course of a mortgage term the house would work out cheaper to buy and maintain. MUCH chepaer. Plus, at the end of it you have an asset.
Do you guys rent off the government or private landlords? Or both?? In terms of pricing, what's the difference?? Government funded housing rents are cheap here. Probably cheaper than buying a home, but in less desirable area's/complexes.0 -
Good Lord Danielle, why do you live there? You should move across to the states to Seattle (even though it's not exactly cheap there). To me, not being able to buy a good sized house would be a deal breaker.
Plus, if one was able to buy a house, how could they afford all the fun stuff in life, like a sports car, vacation, etc? To me, living in a high cost area would only be worth it if you made absolute bank ($400k+ / year).
Darling...am not American. Can't work in the States. Should look into finding self a wealthy American gentleman perhaps.
Yes. Excellent plan.
(kidding!)0 -
:laugh:Ouch, that's a lot of money allocated to housing. Most people I know spend less than 40%, not close to 70%. I wonder how people afford new cars, nice clothes, and vacations there?
Spending that much of your paycheck on housing sounds downright miserable.
BTW, I got nearly every house wrong on that quiz.
Everyone seems to do it on credit...or we just don't get them. Ask me the last time I took a vacation.
Those of us who live near the border do tend to shop in the States as it is so much cheaper, even factoring in exchange. Your food, clothing, gas and flights are SO much less. We will console ourselves with our healthcare plans.. sigh.
Good Lord Danielle, why do you live there? You should move across to the states to Seattle (even though it's not exactly cheap there). To me, not being able to buy a good sized house would be a deal breaker.
Plus, if one was able to buy a house, how could they afford all the fun stuff in life, like a sports car, vacation, etc? To me, living in a high cost area would only be worth it if you made absolute bank ($400k+ / year).
I live in Victoria on Vancouver Island (1.5hr ferry ride from Vancouver). Our housing prices are similar to Vancouver just on a much smaller scale. People enjoy living here and on the lower mainland mainly due to the year round mild weather. It's really the only place in Canada that isn't covered in snow with sub-zero temperatures for 6 months of the year. Summers are also not oppressively hot either. We call it beautiful BC for a reason. We have easy access to some of the most beautiful scenery and national/provincial parks on earth (old-growth rainforests, mountains, rivers, the Pacific Ocean).
I was born and raised here and basically never wanted to leave due to the things listed above. My whole family lives here, I have a good job and I managed to get into the housing market. For 300k I got a nice little 1250 sqft duplex with a nice yard just outside of Greater Victoria. I hope to make the jump up to a single family house preferably closer to work but that is only if I meet someone that also has a good income or some long-distant relative dies and leaves me a ton of $$$$ :laugh:0 -
I would MUCH rather be in a small house or condo where my dogs could have a door of their own and access to a yard. However, I will say I don't mind the "small" part of my apartment becasue it is easy to clean. I do however dislike some of my neighbors well one of them becuase it seems that he NEVER sleeps and is always playing loud music. During the summer months I get to hear one of my neighbors that keeps her windows open having sex of course I think she moved out I could never pinpoint the exact apt but I had it narrowed down to 2...both have moved out so it might be a boring summer this year.
The best part of my current apartment is LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION it is about 3/4 of a mile from work so I walk to and from work and at lunch. This has been very beneficial to my weight loss not only do I walk alot but I can control what I eat by eating at home daily.
Let's not even talk about the COST as my current rent is more than my house payment was for a 4 bedroom home. (of course the home was about 78 miles away from my apt) In any case, I am hoping to get back into a condo or house next year either buy or rent the convience of my apartment is wearing off and I should have a new car by then and will want to DRIVE more.0 -
Okay.. I'm interested. What can you buy for 300K in your area?
Based on today's rates, $300k will buy a 5Br, 4 Bth 3k SF home in an "elite" neighborhood or a 4Br, 3 1/2 Bth 2.5k SF home with 5 acres in the country.
The thing I really don't like about our elite neighborhoods are that the Homeowner's Associations fees are high (about $500/yr) and they are strict. No flags (even small garden ones), no Christmas lights (even if tastefully done), no sidewalk chalk. It's just too strict for my taste. Even if I didn't have the kids, I like to fly my flag and put my lights up.
The country is too far removed for me, so I went for something in between. We have a HOA, but it's just to make sure lawns are maintained and that the area isn't getting trashed. I have most amenities within 5 minutes of the house, everything else is 15-20 minutes.0 -
Darling...am not American. Can't work in the States. Should look into finding self a wealthy American gentleman perhaps.
Yes. Excellent plan.
(kidding!)
Getting work authorization in a new country is the ultimate Catch 22.0 -
Yes..neither of my citizenships (Canadian and UK) will help in the US!0
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I guess I am the total opposite of most everyone on here. I would prefer the small apartment in a large city over a large house in the suburbs or country. Really 800 square feet would suit me just fine. Also if you are buying in the nyc area you can use SONYM as a first time home buyer and get every cheaper interest that what is going right now. I actually think owning a house is a waste of money. What I pay in PITIA is similar to what I would pay for rent with out the maintanance costs of my house which was new when I bought it 7 years ago.0
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^ Agreed.
I would love a studio apartment somewhere near tons of things to do!0 -
Not sure I understand what 'apartment living' means DM??
Do you guys only RENT apartments? Or do you own them??
For me, the question might be slightly different, as I live in an apartment, but own it! :bigsmile:
Here, you can also live in a house, but rent it!
We rent apartments and buy condominiums.
What's the difference??0 -
I guess I am the total opposite of most everyone on here. I would prefer the small apartment in a large city over a large house in the suburbs or country. Really 800 square feet would suit me just fine. Also if you are buying in the nyc area you can use SONYM as a first time home buyer and get every cheaper interest that what is going right now. I actually think owning a house is a waste of money. What I pay in PITIA is similar to what I would pay for rent with out the maintanance costs of my house which was new when I bought it 7 years ago.
Have you ever lived in a small apartment in a large city? I have.. it's not as great as it sounds.0 -
The best part of my current apartment is LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION it is about 3/4 of a mile from work so I walk to and from work and at lunch. This has been very beneficial to my weight loss not only do I walk alot but I can control what I eat by eating at home daily.
This is a big one for me. I live in a 2 bedroom apartment west of Seattle in suburban town setting. Very peaceful, no city noise or traffic. I'm a 10 min drive from work. It's close to everything like the gym, and shopping. Plenty of trails for going on hikes and/or runs. My upstair neighbors are great. They are EMT's that work the graveyard shift like I do. Very quiet during the day and evening. If I wanted to do the night club scene, I would have to travel to Seattle or neighboring cities, about 1hr away, but it's not my thing to begin with so no loss for me there.0 -
I was watching the People court the other day (true story) and this lady on there was saying how she paid $200/month rent. The judge asked how her rent was so low in Manhattan, she has had rent lock at $200/month for 30 years!!! How on earth does the landlord keep that place running?? I asked some people around work that have lived in NY and they said when people die their kids move in and pretend to be the dead person to keep this rent lock!0
