Apartments and Housing - General

[QUOTE=Vault Hunter;53091230]Do you guys have your landlord pay your bills as part of your rent? Because I'm from Britain and I pay my own bills. It's very rare here that a landlord will include water in the rent charge, and it's usually advised to avoid those tenancies.[/QUOTE] In the US it's pretty random whether or not utilities are included or not.

Yeah in the UK utilities are very rarely included in your rent in my experience unless you are living in student halls or something. However when I was looking for places to live when I moved to the Netherlands utilities were generally included (as well as rent prices being like half the price for much better quality than in the UK to boot) Then again I only looked around the Northern Netherlands and I imagine it would be different in places like Amsterdam or Rotterdam.

[B]What do you look for in an apartment/house?[/B] Big kitchen - a small kitchen is discouraging to cook in, whereas the inverse is true for a large kitchen Land Storage space Garage if my price range allows(it didn't) What's your current place like? ~1k SQFT, underground house, wood stove for heat with baseboard as supplemental individual heating. House. Mortgage No mortgage, my only payments are on personal loans that were used to acquire the home, I pay roughly $1,350/mo, but expect to have it cut down to $800 within a few months, and I aim to pay the entire thing off by the end of 2018. What are your tips, favorite apartment listings sites, price range Zillow, Estately, and Redfin will show you almost everything you need for home buying, for renting just add Craigslist. What kind of countertops or cabinets do you want Right now I have some ugly basic laminate, I would like to get some basic black laminate to replace it as it is cheap, and doesn't scratch or stain as easily as marble or granite, as pretty as they are. I do use a dining room table with a marble top as my island though. What kind of area do you want to live in? Suburbs or the city? Fuck them both, I live rural, no piece of shit neighbors to deal with, I can grow my own shit, I can piss and shit on my own property and nobody could ever know or see. Feelsgoodman What can you expect to pay in your area? Rent: $700-800 for studio, $900-1,200 for 1bed, 1,100+ beyond. Purchase: $100,000-200,000 is a wide variation, however almost all housing in the area is in this range, be it small one bedroom cabins or 4 bedroom homes. I paid $55k for mine, but it was not habitable by government or FNMA standards, thus the personal loans.

I've looked at several apartments, and I've found two that I really liked. One is in the suburbs and I love the layout, floor plan, etc., and the other is in the downtown part of my city and I love it just as much. I think, ultimately, I want to live in the suburbs more than I want to live in the city. I'm just really not a city person.

I own a small real estate agency, and do most of my work with first time home buyers. So, if any of ya'll have any questions at all, feel free to ask me. I'm pretty bad about remembering to come check threads though, so if I don't respond to your post shoot me a PM to jog my memory. As for the following: [B][U]What do you look for?[/U][/B] I'm quite flexible as far as personal housing styles go. As long as I've got a private office space and a game room for my friends and I, I'm a happy camper. I don't like excessive space, so the biggest factors for me are location and financial sense. I bought my home before becoming a Realtor, but would work much harder on my next deal to find a sweetheart deal for myself, now that I've got the knowhow. [B][U]What's your current place?[/U][/B] Nice little starter house in a lower income area. Two beds, one bath, nice little office, cute kitchen, big fenced yard, hardwood floors. About 1050 sq ft. A bit dated, but in good repair. [B][U]House / Mortgage[/U][/B] Paying only $450/month on my mortgage, including home insurance and property taxes. Thanks to my history in the military, I was able to get a 0% downpayment loan from the VA and buy my house with less than $600 out of pocket. [B][U]What are your tips?[/U][/B] Honestly, too many to put in one post. For first time homebuyers, I'd just want to let you know that buying a home may be much easier than you think, especially if you don't live in a major metropolitan area with hugely inflated real estate prices. There are lending programs that will let you purchase a home for a very small down payment. FHA loans can get you in at 3.5% down, for example. USDA loans, for more rural properties, can be 0% down. Your down payment can be further reduced with down payment assistance programs. These vary by location, but it's quite typical for first time home buyers to be able to qualify for help paying for their home from the city or county in which they're purchasing. This can amount to thousands of dollars of free money, basically. [B][U]What Kind of countertops...[/U][/B] That answer is going to be dependent on the purpose, location, and price range of the property. My home was only $62k, in an area where few homes are more expensive than $80k, and it isn't going to appreciate much, if at all. So, it doesn't make financial sense to put in expensive countertops. I'll stick to a simple laminate. [B][U]What area do I live in?[/U][/B] Lower income suburban area near Saint Louis. As property values across the river skyrocket, homes in my neck of the woods, and surrounding areas, are starting to become more popular with first time homebuyers. [B][U]What can I expect to pay in my area?[/U][/B] Very little. You can get a lovely, fully updated 3-4 bedroom home with 2 baths, a finished basement, and a large fenced yard for less than a $100,000 (mortgage payment of ~$480 plus taxes and insurance).

speaking of financing tips, look into what credit unions are available in your area, there's a fair amount of places that will do 0% financing so long as you have >720 midscore, and you're a first time homebuyer. Another thing is to check with your local agencies to see if you qualify for a first time homebuyer credit, like down payment assistance, I see plenty of people getting anywhere from 1-6% in assistance with no repayment required, unless you sell the house within a set amount of time. An example is AHFC or the Nevada Division of Housing. I am on the financing side of housing, I am a mortgage underwriter, so if anyone has questions about financing give me a holler.

That first time homebuyer credit is great, but its not eligible for mobile homes, modular, or prefabricated homes. So if you live in an area with retarded housing prices, the 5 or $6,000 maximum might not cut it, and you dont want to dump the majority of your savings into your downpayment. If you put all your savings into your downpayment, you'll be fucked if something needs repairs. And that $5,000 would be great to put towards a cheaper modular home, but its not eligible. I haven't seen any banks offering 0% down loans since the housing market crashed 10 years ago.

[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;53100884]I own a small real estate agency, and do most of my work with first time home buyers. So, if any of ya'll have any questions at all, feel free to ask me. I'm pretty bad about remembering to come check threads though, so if I don't respond to your post shoot me a PM to jog my memory. As for the following: [B][U]What do you look for?[/U][/B] I'm quite flexible as far as personal housing styles go. As long as I've got a private office space and a game room for my friends and I, I'm a happy camper. I don't like excessive space, so the biggest factors for me are location and financial sense. I bought my home before becoming a Realtor, but would work much harder on my next deal to find a sweetheart deal for myself, now that I've got the knowhow. [B][U]What's your current place?[/U][/B] Nice little starter house in a lower income area. Two beds, one bath, nice little office, cute kitchen, big fenced yard, hardwood floors. About 1050 sq ft. A bit dated, but in good repair. [B][U]House / Mortgage[/U][/B] Paying only $450/month on my mortgage, including home insurance and property taxes. Thanks to my history in the military, I was able to get a 0% downpayment loan from the VA and buy my house with less than $600 out of pocket. [B][U]What are your tips?[/U][/B] Honestly, too many to put in one post. For first time homebuyers, I'd just want to let you know that buying a home may be much easier than you think, especially if you don't live in a major metropolitan area with hugely inflated real estate prices. There are lending programs that will let you purchase a home for a very small down payment. FHA loans can get you in at 3.5% down, for example. USDA loans, for more rural properties, can be 0% down. Your down payment can be further reduced with down payment assistance programs. These vary by location, but it's quite typical for first time home buyers to be able to qualify for help paying for their home from the city or county in which they're purchasing. This can amount to thousands of dollars of free money, basically. [B][U]What Kind of countertops...[/U][/B] That answer is going to be dependent on the purpose, location, and price range of the property. My home was only $62k, in an area where few homes are more expensive than $80k, and it isn't going to appreciate much, if at all. So, it doesn't make financial sense to put in expensive countertops. I'll stick to a simple laminate. [B][U]What area do I live in?[/U][/B] Lower income suburban area near Saint Louis. As property values across the river skyrocket, homes in my neck of the woods, and surrounding areas, are starting to become more popular with first time homebuyers. [B][U]What can I expect to pay in my area?[/U][/B] Very little. You can get a lovely, fully updated 3-4 bedroom home with 2 baths, a finished basement, and a large fenced yard for less than a $100,000 (mortgage payment of ~$480 plus taxes and insurance).[/QUOTE] Hey hey, another Facepuncher from St. Louis! Kinda rare to see on here, maybe you'll have some suggestions for me. I'm living with my parents while I finish out my college degree. I help them out around the house, especially with car and home maintenance, so it's some form of rent I suppose. I'm hoping to find an apartment in St. Charles County once I get a job that pays better than retail. All I really want is a place close to home with in-unit laundry machines, everything else is negotiable. I've been keeping my eye out for cheapy houses that just need some cosmetic upgrades, but I'm a little pessimistic that I'll find one. I've seen a lot of houses on this side of the Missouri River that are picked up a few days after going on the market, then flipped and rented out indefinitely. My only criteria is finding a restorable house with at least an acre of land, pretty much everything else I could DIY out.

[QUOTE=Cheshire_cat;53104413]Hey hey, another Facepuncher from St. Louis! Kinda rare to see on here, maybe you'll have some suggestions for me. I'm living with my parents while I finish out my college degree. I help them out around the house, especially with car and home maintenance, so it's some form of rent I suppose. I'm hoping to find an apartment in St. Charles County once I get a job that pays better than retail. All I really want is a place close to home with in-unit laundry machines, everything else is negotiable. I've been keeping my eye out for cheapy houses that just need some cosmetic upgrades, but I'm a little pessimistic that I'll find one. I've seen a lot of houses on this side of the Missouri River that are picked up a few days after going on the market, then flipped and rented out indefinitely. My only criteria is finding a restorable house with at least an acre of land, pretty much everything else I could DIY out.[/QUOTE] The real estate market within Saint Charles is a bit bonkers right now. It's definitely slowed down over the winter, but 2017 was the most gangbusters year for real estate in St Louis history. Rapidly inflating property values, incredibly low inventory, high buyer demand. Most hallway decent homes in Saying Charles county were gone within a few days of being listed. It was tough for buyers. Time will tell if it bounces back quite as strong after the winter, but for the time being it seems quite possible. Rising interest rates could slow things enough for it to begin balancing out, however. I'm not sure what kind of price range you're looking at, but as a firdt time home buyer you are likely looking at the Florissant area for homes in the best condition at the lowest price. Markets a bit stagnant, but you can pic so up some really nice deals, especially if you don't mind getting your hands a little dirty. Your hurdle there would be finding a property with the acreage you're looking for. Lots that large aren't common in Florissant. If you don't mind going a little more "rural" however (up by Wentzville, for example), you may qualify for a zero down USDA loan, and acreage will be much more available. Would be something to talk to a lender about, for sure. Big thing for now would be preparing yourself financially. You don't actually need a fortune in the bank (could buy a house with very little out of pocket with the right loan and assistance programs), but you do need good credit. Start building it now, so that you're ducks are all in a row when you're ready to start your hunt. Also, frankly, don't rent if you're planning to stick around for at least a few more years. Huge waste of money. Hundreds of dollars per month higher than a mortgage, for a worse property that you have no control over, and that money disappears forever once you make your payment. Owning is cheaper on a month-to-month, your payments build equity, and you can get a heck of a lot nicer place that's yours to do with as you please. Here in Saint Louis, there are few reasons to rent over owning. If I'd known how accessible and affordable home ownership here actually was, I'd have done it right out of high school.

When your lease on an apartment ends and you go to sign to continue your lease, I've heard that there's usually a rent increase on the apartment. How does that work? Is it usually just a small amount? Is it percentage based? Does you calling and requesting maintenance on your apartment affect it? I'm curious because we've been having issues lately with the dryer in our apartment making some hellish noise, and I'm worried that constantly calling in maintenance tickets is going to bite us in the ass come signing time.

like 10 posts down is a dude living in Chicago with a Kawai Grand Piano lol

What do you look for in an apartment/house? Allows pets, contemporary aesthetic with hard floors, reasonable utilities, a good size kitchen. What's your current place like? 600 sq foot studio apartment with about 25' ceilings and a lofted bedroom area. Rent? $700/m with all utilities included. Electric, gas, water, trash, etc Financially independent? Live with my girlfriend What are your tips, favorite apartment listings sites, price range? Visit the property several times at different times of day to scout out the unexpected. Walk the neighborhood. Check crime maps on sites like Trulia. Schools are nice to have nearby, but not too close. Hospitals allow for clear terrain to walk dogs when the weather sucks because they are concerned about ice related liability. What kind of countertops or cabinets do you want? Granite, walnut. Is an in-unit washer/dryer a dealbreaker? Depends on the quality. Mine included those. What kind of area do you want to live in? Suburbs or the city? Remote countryside or the inner city, nothing in between. What can you expect to pay in your area? Housing is very cheap here, as low as $300 a month.

Doing your own research is important. Not many people realize this, but it is illegal for a real estate agent to tell you whether an area is "good" or "bad" -- at least here in Missouri. It can be considered "steering," which was made illegal because of unethical and racist real estate and lending practices back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's, wherein people were steered towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on race, sexuality, religion, etc. So, don't rely on the Realtor to tell you whether or not the location is good for you or not. Go and do the research. Check schools, crime rates, nearby businesses, public transit access, etc. The Realtor can help you with anything related to the property, but for the area it's on you to make sure you like where you're buying.

I've been watching some UK doco on renting problems in the UK, what the heck is with the rule that lets squatters stay in commercial buildings because its not illegal its a civil matter I need to do some research of my own laws around it in Aus.

I kind of miss how small my old room was. One thing that really pleased me was how well I laid it out despite it only being ~70 sqft. My new room is about double and the extra space kind of irks me. Anybody else like it cozy?

related: commute to and from your place of work from the potential property at the times you'd leave to/from work if you've got two comps, but one of them the sun blasts you in the eyeballs 90% of your commute, you might pick the other one

What do you look for in an apartment/house? place to sleep, eat and shit What's your current place like? shit hole House? duplex, luckily we have a brick wall and acoustic insulation between us Rent? $1600 a month Financially independent? Unfortunately yes What are your tips, favorite apartment listings sites, price range? Tip is definitely vet neighbours before renting. I have screaming children all around and the shittiest neighbours next door. They have a tiny backyard with two huge dogs that bark all the time, not cared for at all. Also leaving turds out to bake in the sun. My backyard always smells like fresh asshole. Is an in-unit washer/dryer a dealbreaker? Nah. Already own my own. What kind of area do you want to live in? Suburbs or the city? I want to live somewhere that I don't smell shit. What can you expect to pay in your area? $1600+ per month for anything worth-while. Living in the cities in AUS is too darn expensive.

The most important advice I've ever gotten about renting is to ensure that you make four times the rent with your income. Most apartment complexes will only ask for you to prove 3 times the rent; people assume therefore that that level of income 'fits' with the apartment they've chosen - or that therefore it's automatically affordable. This is a mistake in logic as the complex only cares that you have the money to pay the rent - not pay the rent and your other expenses. You should always be trying to get your income budgeted so that you save about 20% of what you make a month (even though in a lot of cases you're liable to only be able to scrape together 10% if not 5%) - not just for retirement but also in case you lose your job you've got money saved to pay the next six months of rent.

If you want to know what hell is like, try looking for apartments in Stockholm. It's fucking impossible. The housing queue is purely wait-time based for the mass majority of apartments, and with some 50,000+ people in line of various age groups and with the limitation of needing to be 18 to even register, the likelyhood you'll ever get within the top 10 applicants is basically zero unless you've been in line for 10+ years, and being in the top 10 doesn't even guarantee you're the one who gets it. Hell, being #1 doesn't even always mean you get it since the landlord looks at other values irregardles of your waiting time. What's that, you're 25 years old and want to move out from your parents? Too bad, bucko, 50-year old Sven over here has your lifelengths worth of waiting-time AND he has a higher salary. Some other websites do lottery-based rentals where one person is randomly picked out of a pool of like, I dunno, 5 000 applicants. It's stupid. I hate this goddamn city. The only surefire way to get a place is to purchase it, and that's only viable if you feel like taking a $400,000 loan for a 400sqft 1-room apartment in the suburbs - oh and you need 15% of that cash, otherwise the banks won't even grant you the loan. The only reason I have the place I do is because by a sheer miracle I ticked all the right boxes. It was youth-limited (only singles under 25), there were 45 apartments in one ad, therent was higher than normal for the area and the area itself isn't very popular. What do you look for in an apartment/house? Elevator-access if it's on any floor other than ground-floor, becaues fuck carrying furniture up the stairs. From this point on anything with less than 2 rooms is a no from me unless it's a 1.5'er, or a 1 with lots of planning space so I can do separations with bookshelves or something. What's your current place like? 1-room apartment of 33sqm/355sqft, tiny kitchen area. It's newly rebuilt (the building was previously an office building and honestly I can kinda see it), but you can tell it was a rush job. The ventilation is awful, especially during summers, some of the cupboard/cabinet doors were clearly put in the wrong way around so there's holes for the handles, the hinges for said cupboard doors are awful and have already fallen off once (ouch, by the way) and I'm pretty sure the kitchen sink isn't made of stainless steel because I swear there's rust building up in the edges. Rent? 6580 SEK / 788 USD And they plan to raise it 5% in the coming months. The Tenants Association is negotiating that number which means the raise is delayed, but will be asked of me RETROACTIVELY at the start of next year which means if the raise is planned for, say, October that's 4 months of 5% on that I need to pay them. FUN. Financially independent? Yes. I have a full-time job and I do some artist-stuff on the side. Nothing big, but I'm fine even on bad months. What are your tips, favorite apartment listings sites, price range? Really I'd be fine with an apartment 1500SEK/150USD up in pricerange but it'd need to be slightly bigger. There's not many tips I can give on Stockholm though. Just be patient and pray to the gods that an opening shows up. What kind of countertops or cabinets do you want? I fucking love rustic wood cabinets & countertops. The ones I have now are boring, plain white. My walls are white. My floor is gray. It's so fucking boring. Is an in-unit washer/dryer a dealbreaker? As long as there's a washing room nearby I don't care. What kind of area do you want to live in? Suburbs or the city? Used to wanna live in the city, but I really like the suburbs. It's closer to nature. What can you expect to pay in your area? About 4500-5000 SEK since it's not very popular, but the circumstances on these apartments called for a higher price I guess.

In the two apartments I've lived in, they've never increased the rent after a year. The maintenance man is there for your apartment not really you. I've heard some places lower after second year.

I've been browsing around, and it sure sucks living in the most expensive area in one of the most expensive countries of the EU. €150.000 will get you a 20m² studio in the city. In a town 20km away, you get a 50-70m², 1-bedroom apartment instead. And the loan rates are murderous as well.

my best advice for americans who are looking to ship out someplace new is just to please stop coming to portland

Rates going up isn't guaranteed or consistent. Some places do it and others dont. One place I lived out waived the prive raise if I signed a new lease 3 months in advance. And dont feel bad about calling in maintenance tickets for legit stuff. Theyd rather fix stuff as it comes up rather than fix 2 dozen things when you move out. Maintenance staff are there to fix problems, dont feel bad for making them properly balance your washing machine. Just dont put in an emergency request at 3am because your AC isnt working in the winter.