is $5ok enough for a family of 6 to live there? (Pittsburgh: apartment, rentals)

[algia]

of course that's base pay before taxes/state tax.......
3 adults and 3 kids? 2 in elementary school, one with Autism...that will be transitioned to regular Kindergarten. (My mom is living with us). We're not overweight/food obsessed....if that matters, I know people who spend $1000 on groceries a month! we're NOT them! no debts to pay monthly and our cars are paid off too.

But is it realistic rent/utilities wise? in any of these zip codes?
15238
15220
15228
15234
15243
15237

Thanks,

[Burghgirl17]

How much space do you need to rent? 3 adults and 3 kids would require a large amount of space. An apartment wouldn't likely be enough room. Rentals of homes/townhouses can be difficult to come by (because there's so few of them and they're in high demand) and aren't going to be cheap. Several of the zip codes you listed place you in some more upscalish areas - Mt. Lebanon, McCandless. How much can you afford for rent each month?

If you have the money for a down payment, you should look into buying.

[algia]

Not much space, 1700 square feet tops will do it. But would really want a back yard, now we have 2600sqf and it is TOO MUCH. Considering how much time we actually spend inside, my kids are at school half the day and I am out while they are in school with my little guy....we spend no time in our bedrooms during the day....wasted space..........and we wanted a 3/2 with finished /livable basement.

We need the GOOD schools, and when I checked greatschools.net those were the zip codes that came up around Pittsburgh that had the highest rated elementary schools. We definitely want a family friendly SAFE area, with nice people area no crack town (sorry).

We don't have any down payment and are not interested in buying until we really know everything there is to know in Pittsburgh.

I don't know how much rent we can afford as I don't know what is left off the $50k after all the taxes come out.....we pay $1300 now...would like to stick around that give or take a couple of hundred, anything over $1600 would be too much in general.


But again!? would the water bill be $120? would electric be $400? $500? gas? $1000? I don't know what that would run us next to the rent....is there anyone else there making $50k and doing fine? or they're on welfare? That's the question, what kind of income is $50k up there? is it welfare? middle class?

Originally Posted by Burghgirl17

How much space do you need to rent? 3 adults and 3 kids would require a large amount of space. An apartment wouldn't likely be enough room. Rentals of homes/townhouses can be difficult to come by (because there's so few of them and they're in high demand) and aren't going to be cheap. Several of the zip codes you listed place you in some more upscalish areas - Mt. Lebanon, McCandless. How much can you afford for rent each month?

If you have the money for a down payment, you should look into buying.

[Burghgirl17]

Personally, I don't think what you want is doable in some of the areas that you have mentioned. There just are not many houses for rent in general, and not that meet the specifications you require in the areas you want.

You need to open yourself up to other options in other areas with other schools. They may not be ranked at the top, but that doesn't mean that they're not just fine and won't serve your family well.

I think that with how particular your needs are, you need to work with an agent that deals with rentals.

For instance, I found this on Craigslist: http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/2276861674.html (broken link)
3/2/Finished basement/yard in Bethel Park (pretty good school district) and only $1000/month.

Here is one in Mt. Lebanon, but not sure if there is a finished basement. $1300/month for a 3/2, not sure if there is a yard. This one will go quick, IMO. http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/apa/2276540418.html (broken link)

It is possible, but not likely. You will have better success if you expand your options. The difference between the two is $300/month, which is $3,600/year - that's a significant difference when dealing with a $50K pre-tax income.

[Burghgirl17]

Originally Posted by algia

But again!? would the water bill be $120? would electric be $400? $500? gas? $1000? I don't know what that would run us next to the rent....is there anyone else there making $50k and doing fine? or they're on welfare? That's the question, what kind of income is $50k up there? is it welfare? middle class?

How much water does your family use? I am married with a toddler, our water/sewage bill is about $50-$55 a month. But I also live in a house that is a year and a half old- no leaks, everything is energy efficient.

Can't say with any accuracy what an electric/gas bill would be. Depends on the house, depends on the weather, etc. You can ask for previous utility bills.

Honestly, I think you want too much for what you can afford. 3 adults and 3 kids on $50K is doable in some areas, but not in the areas you seem to have singled out. $50K for that sized family is probably lower middle class here? Others will surely have opinions.

[SteelCityRising]

At the risk of bursting your bubble, algia, I really would prefer it if you spent $1,300/month or less on rent---not anywhere above that price point. In NoVA I was paying roughly $1,200/month in rent on a 1-BR apartment on a $50,000 salary, and I was just about "breaking even" in terms of my bills being paid (utilities, groceries, car payment, insurance, student loans, gasoline, cell phone, cable/Internet, credit cards, going out, etc.) I can't foresee a family of six living comfortably on a $50,000 salary spending anything more than $1,300/month, and even then that's pushing it.

You don't want to be so "house poor" that if something unexpected arises (i.e. your husband's car needs a new transmission or little Suzie Q needs a medical procedure not covered by insurance) that you won't really be struggling. Is there a possibility one of you (or your mom) can pick up something menial and part-time to help reinforce the household budget? I work for Edible Arrangements, for example, and while the pay is meager it's a very low-stress job. You can also try doing some work from home. If you go online to ChaCha, you can try out to be one of their compensated guides where you get paid for each text message question you answer for their clients.

I just don't want to see you living at the very tippy-top of your budget. I'm living that way now, which is why I'm searching for a second job to give myself a bit of a safety net.

[algia]

Ohh, I agree, we definitely don't want to be house poor, but also because our son is autistic, we need to make sure that whatever public school we find, it has the means to help him, as we can't afford private.

Having rent be just $1000 seems like an unachievable dream! I wish I was wrong and find that though!

We will be enlisting an RE, as finding what we're looking for long distance is even more unachievable! LOL Sadly craigslist where we're from is filled with scams, so, it makes it hard to "trust" it...I even emailed a few listings I saw and haven't gotten an answer yet, so...I am not sure how safe it will be to go that route.

Speaking of NOVA, we entertained Vienna VA until we found out how crowded the schools were and also that you needed proof of income being $80k or over to rent a $2000 property. That killed it for us of course! (P.S. ALL properties were over $2k even 3/2s)

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

At the risk of bursting your bubble, algia, I really would prefer it if you spent $1,300/month or less on rent---not anywhere above that price point. In NoVA I was paying roughly $1,200/month in rent on a 1-BR apartment on a $50,000 salary, and I was just about "breaking even" in terms of my bills being paid (utilities, groceries, car payment, insurance, student loans, gasoline, cell phone, cable/Internet, credit cards, going out, etc.) I can't foresee a family of six living comfortably on a $50,000 salary spending anything more than $1,300/month, and even then that's pushing it.

You don't want to be so "house poor" that if something unexpected arises (i.e. your husband's car needs a new transmission or little Suzie Q needs a medical procedure not covered by insurance) that you won't really be struggling. Is there a possibility one of you (or your mom) can pick up something menial and part-time to help reinforce the household budget? I work for Edible Arrangements, for example, and while the pay is meager it's a very low-stress job. You can also try doing some work from home. If you go online to ChaCha, you can try out to be one of their compensated guides where you get paid for each text message question you answer for their clients.

I just don't want to see you living at the very tippy-top of your budget. I'm living that way now, which is why I'm searching for a second job to give myself a bit of a safety net.

[Craziaskowboi]

No, $5 is not OK enough for a family of six in Pittsburgh.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Excellent contribution!

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

Excellent contribution!

Reread the title of the topic.