Is This Salary Doable? (Portland: renters, condo, mortgage)

[suaz]

Is 80'ppp to 85'ppp doable for a single person living in NW Portland in a 1 bedroom rental?

[suaz]

I mean 80k to 85k. Typo!

[Nell Plotts]

Yes. It should support a rental of $1,700+.

[Leisesturm]

What good is a salary of $80K if you have to eat Ramen noodles and drink tap water? I think $100K minimum for living in the city. $80K if you live in the sticks.

H

[patches403]

Yes, 80 - 85k should be plenty for a nice 1 bedroom rental and still leave funds available for enjoying other activities.

[VTHokieFan]

Originally Posted by suaz

Is 80'ppp to 85'ppp doable for a single person living in NW Portland in a 1 bedroom rental?

I think you're throwing away money at that amount of rent and should consider buying a condo with that salary. They will always rent out and can easily be sold if you decide to move on.

[Nell Plotts]

Lots of condo CC&Rs limit renting to a very small % of the units. I don't think there is a limit at the American Plaza ('presidents buildings') but most of the others do. The reason for this is that lenders appraise a condo development over a certain % of renters like rental property - lower value and higher mortgage rate.

I agree that mortgage rates are lower than they ever have been in my lifetime... over 70 years. If you find a sound home (condo building) and can qualify buying would be smart. Keep in mind the fact that some condo buildings have 'issues' and have inadequate reserves to address them.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

What good is a salary of $80K if you have to eat Ramen noodles and drink tap water? I think $100K minimum for living in the city. $80K if you live in the sticks.

H

Wrong. This is a single person not a family of five.

A single person can live decently on that in San Francisco, never mind Portland.

[bler144]

You'd be spending about 30% of take home on rent. Not clear if that $1700 figure is even including your parking or utility costs.

Can you make it work? Sure. Might even save a tiny bit after paying rent and presumably taking advantage of the local dining and night life. But in your case I'm not sure why you'd opt to spend so much of your income on housing, since it seems to be opting for the premium option rather than need or lack of alternatives.

I spend about the same percent of income on rent, but mostly because I don't have a viable alternative in the short run (less income, larger household). It's not really an ideal long-term strategy, but can you live it up without going completely broke? Sure, probably.

[almostjay]

Nell threw out that $1,700 rental price as an upper threshold for affordability. You can have a nice 1BR anywhere in Portland for that, and in most places for significantly less. I have a good friend who makes $80k, lives on 23rd, eats out a lot, and takes several vacations to far away lands every year.