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You are simply paying for the consequences of your actions. If you decided to buy the home your mortgage would be a fixed cost that would not continue escalating. You want the freedom of mobility, but you pay for that choice by being subject to fluctuations in market price due to supply and demand. Life is all about choices.
I'm not paying for the consequence of anything. Our housing market it expensive again again I'm not touching real estate until after the next recession. I'm certainly not buying a house now only to have it's value crash in a couple of years.
One bedroom, tinyapartments are over $1,000 a month in most cities across our country! What middle income person can afford that along with all the other expenses that come with renting? NO, THERE ARE NOT PLENTY OF PLACES TO LIVE! Across the entire state of Florida the apartment shortage is skyrocketing rents. What I currently pay almost a thousand for (and my rent is increasing) my parents paid hundreds less for double the space in the late 90s.
We need more supply! I don't care how it happens but apartment building needs to be brought back up to 1970s and 80s levels.
Pretty much any middle income person that budgets their money. LOL
If you can't afford that, it's because you're poor or you can't budget your income. It's one or the other. Middle income is 35k-75k in this country and probably even higher where you live. If you make less than this YOU ARE POOR. You don't get to decide where you live because you make bad decisions.
If you do make a "middle income," which is more like at least 40K where you live, you should have no problems paying $1200 a month for rent if you don't blow your money. And don't give me the sob story about your 3 kids because you still would qualify for a bunch of goodies. Take that 8 thousand dollar tax return and budget it throughout the year instead of buying a new TV and fun.
Review rents in all cities across Florida. Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville. All have average rents approaching a thousand dollars a month and increasing each year by crazy amount. Wages across the state are the same. There isn't an alternative.
And I CURRENTLY HAVE A ROOMMATE!!! That's right, I pay almost $1,000 a month with a roommate currently. And this situation is among the cheapest you can find. It wasn't like this even a decade ago and it was far from this a decade and a half ago. We need more supply and we needed it long ago.
Sounds like your choices are:
1. Stay where you are and suck it up because no developer is going to build apartments that command a $500 a month rent in an area where rents are $1000. Just not going to happen. Maybe you can find a way to bring in more income or cut other expenses so you can afford the rent.
2. Stay in the area, but move farther out away from the center of the city. Typically you can find cheaper housing the farther out you go so might be worth a look.
3. Move to a city/state where rents are cheaper. There are lower COL areas than the cities you mention in Florida. You said you didn't want to buy because you wanted to explore other parts of the country as possible areas you'd want to live in. Sound like this might be the time.
Then move to a more affordable part of the country.
Like I said not all areas will be feasible for your needs. I would love to have a waterfront home, but I can't afford to live at the lake, so I rented, and bought, where I can afford to live.
In my area, you can have a nice apartment for $600 a month. Heck, you can rent a house for less than $1000 a month.
You list your location as "middle of nowhere". Lots of jobs in your area? Opportunities to find social connections?
There is a reason why rural America has lost people since the 1920s. There are no jobs, no chance at find love, or friends, or any type of modern day fulfillment in a rural setting. Rents were cheap in cities through the 1980s. There is no reason to move to a rural area. We need more supply.
Oh you know. " Do something" to make it all better.
Housing is a very local thing.
Why would anyone invest in construction of multi family housing to rent at below market rates unless some form of government was willing to kick in enough juice to make up the difference.?
I tend to hear the unaffordable thing mostly from younger people.
When you point out more affordable and safe areas, they are shocked. There are no Starbucks, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, gyms, trendy restaurants and bars in these more affordable neighborhoods. The commute is longer or more complicated.
Then there's the option of shared housing. This too does not go over well.
Maybe it doesn't go over well because shared housing sucks very badly?
I've lived in shared housing the past ten years and have lived in overcrowded houses (10 ppl 2 bath; 8 people 1 bath; 8 people 1 bath) and have paid rent to two drunks, one domestic abuser, one registered sex offender, and one weed grower/dealer.
Pretty much any middle income person that budgets their money. LOL
If you can't afford that, it's because you're poor or you can't budget your income. It's one or the other. Middle income is 35k-75k in this country and probably even higher where you live. If you make less than this YOU ARE POOR. You don't get to decide where you live because you make bad decisions.
If you do make a "middle income," which is more like at least 40K where you live, you should have no problems paying $1200 a month for rent if you don't blow your money. And don't give me the sob story about your 3 kids because you still would qualify for a bunch of goodies. Take that 8 thousand dollar tax return and budget it throughout the year instead of buying a new TV and fun.
I don't need to divulge to you my income, but I am inside your middle income bracket. And incomes in Florida are much lower than the national average. That isn't some secret. It is commonly discussed on the other forums.
And I don't have kids (don't even want any), so your second paragraph doesn't even apply to me.
We are paying almost $500 more in rent than we did for our house on the east coast. We are sucking it up because 1) we don't feel like losing our butts on buying while he's still in the military and 2) we have no debt 3) it falls under the housing allowance we get and 4) we refused to skimp on schools after what our kids went through before.
It's where our priorities lie. If she goes up on our rent again or sells the house we will have to move to another city if we cannot find another place in the kids school area (which is very difficult to do).
However when you have people moving from one area down into this area because the rent is cheaper it makes things more difficult to find because the demand is going up and the supply is down.
You list your location as "middle of nowhere". Lots of jobs in your area? Opportunities to find social connections?
There is a reason why rural America has lost people since the 1920s. There are no jobs, no chance at find love, or friends, or any type of modern day fulfillment in a rural setting. Rents were cheap in cities through the 1980s. There is no reason to move to a rural area. We need more supply.
Actually, yes. There are jobs here in fact the local auto plant can't seem to get enough people to fill all positions including management, IT, systems, and floor work. They are having to import staff from other plants to fill vacancies. And that is just one business that I have personal knowledge of. There are plenty of affordable options within 30 minutes of Memphis too.
As for social life, there are clubs, groups, short drive to Memphis, and long weekends in NOLA or the coast nearby.
It seems that you want to live in the center of a metropolis and not pay for the amenities that you want. Too bad so sad, but that isn't how it works. More "in demand" locations can demand higher rents. In real estate it's all about location, location, location.
Building multiunit dwellings isn't the problem, owning them is.
You got an Obama phone, Obama healthcare, a raise in he minimum wage since you won't get a better job or can't because Obama says the economy is doing great so what is the problem, you get food stamps in record numbers because of Obamas policies and you want to complain about rental prices?
For crying out loud, go buy a house, Obama says even if you cannot afford one you should have one, get it and don't pay, get under water and let HARP bail you out.
Then go get your NetSpend debit card, you know, the premium one because of your qualifying givernment direct deposit and get happy.
What is the problem?
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