Help! Moving to Chesterfield Area (St. Louis, St. Peters: apartment complexes, leasing, insurance)

[moving2stl]

Hi Everyone, and thanks for your help in advance!

My husband has a job opportunity in Chesterfield, and we are in the process of negotiating relocation costs, but I am lost when it comes to housing costs and costs of living in that area. We currently pay around 400 per month for 2 beds, 1 bath, 1200sqf house in a decent neighborhood.

I am looking for a few different options for rent to show his employer that the cost of housing and living is so much higher in the Chesterfield Area. We would ideally like something comparable to the house we have now. 2 beds, 1 bath is fine. I have looked on craigslist and realtor.com, but it is either all apartments or huge houses.

Does anyone know what the average cost of utilities is in the Chesterfield Area is? This is our first time negotiating a relocation, and we need to make sure that his employer realizes how much the cost of living is going to go up from where we are currently located. Does anyone have any tips?

Thanks again!

[glamatomic]

Heya! I hate to break it to you but there's no way you'll be able to find a place at a comparable price to what you're paying in Chesterfield or any 'decent' nearby area in St. Louis County. I would probably be preparing to double (or more) my rent budget for a 2 bedroom in a nice neighborhood.

Your best bet though is to not restrict yourself just to Chesterfield but look at surrounding areas as well within commuting distance to get better bang for your buck.

I used to pay about $600 a month for a one bedroom apartment in Maryland Heights.

Right now, DH and I own a 3 bed 3 bath house and our utility bills are very reasonable in my opinion. On a budget billing plan, electric is $50, gas is $84 and then we pay $60 a quarter for water and $25 a month for sewer, and $25 for trash collection.

Obviously for a 2 bedroom you can expect to pay less for gas and electric and apartment rentals often have water, sewer, trash incorporated into the rent.

Hope that helps and good luck with your move!

[moving2stl]

Thanks for your input! The utilities seem pretty on par with what we currently pay.

I definitely understand that we cannot get a 2 bed, 1 bath house for 400 per month. I am just looking for something comparable size-wise that we can take to my husband's employer to show them what the cost of housing comparable to what we have is. Sorry if I didn't word my post correctly, hopefully this has clarified what I am looking for.

We want to be in the Chesterfield area, if possible, because we would rather spend more on rent than on gas and commute times.

[countryboy73]

Chesterfield itself is a high-dollar place to live, most of it is less than 15 years old. All the big chain stores, a plethora of restaurants, and LOTS of money. I did a lot of work(contractor) in that area up until 5 years ago, and I do not really remember even seeing houses like you currently have. Most are at least 3 BR, two story, with two car garage. From there, you get into townhouses and apartments. Most apartments I saw(admittedly, generally new ones, or I simply saw a for rent sign) were in the 6-800 dollar range- 5 years ago. Hugely image-driven part of the area, saw an immediate doubling of my project bidding success rate upon buying a new pickup. Had one customer tell me that she had told her husband to give me the job because of that new truck. Made me chuckle.

If you are looking for smaller homes and more affordable rent, I would suggest Ballwin and neighboring areas, where older neighborhoods can offer smaller, less pretentious homes and a corresponding drop in cost. And you still aren't looking at a really heavy commute, nothing like coming in from St. Peters or points west. Especially with the 141 renovation that went in a few years back, Ballwin to Chesterfield is often a ten minute drive. (Still, 400 a month is not likely to get you any house from Eureka to O'fallon, or east of that line.) Others may be better able to fine-tune my assessment, as I have been out of that area for about 5 years, only visited a few times. Looked pretty much the same in March of this year, though.

[jribe]

As most have posted- chesterfield isn't really the "small house" type area. Here's a few off craigslist:
$1199 / 2br - 1182ft² - Awesome Two Bedroom Townhome with Loft (Chesterfield)
$800 / 2br - 1050ft² - Chesterfield Address, Great Space, Very Affordable! (Chesterfield)
$800 / 2br - 2 bedroom house in Chesterfield (63017)
$1095 / 2br - 1309ft² - Two Bedroom Condo - 1601 Walpole (Chesterfield)
but these are apartments or town homes; houses will be much more. you should be careful in negotiations thought because your husbands employer likely won't care that you want to live in Chesterfield- he either wants to the job or not (unless he's an executive that can't be easily replaced). Most relocation only covers the cost of moving your household, sometimes travel costs and hotel stays while searching for a home.

good luck!

[zach_33]

^ Did the OP mention their income? Also, did you really buy a house in Chesterfield with a combined annual household income of $20k? I must need a new mortgage broker.

@ the OP - I would budget for about $1000 per month in rent for a 2/1 apartment in that part of town. In this area, I think you'd be crazy to spend more than 50% of your net income on rent, so that would imply a salary requirement of about $2000 (net) per month, or about $3000 gross, to cover deductions (taxes, 401k, medical/dental insurance). Based on this logic, it wouldn't make much sense in my mind to accept less than $36k annually.

Of course, I have no idea where you are coming from or what your expectations are in life for creature comforts, lifestyle, savings goals, etc. But I'm guessing you are young and just getting started. Good luck!

[flynavyj]

2 Bd 1 Ba homes in Chesterfield will be scarce, much of the area is a bit larger than that (3+ Bd 2+ Ba) and the newer homes of course will all have much more square footage than you're used to.

Most of the smaller homes are located in the inner-burbs in fairly close proximity to I-170. Similar to Brentwood, Afton, St. John, St. Ann, etc...We have lots of 2 Bd 1 Ba housing stock in St. Ann (close proximity to the airport) but rents are about $650-700/month. Still might be worth looking into. If you'd rather go further south, I'd recommend looking at Afton as being the most affordable. I'd expect Afton would give a slightly longer commute to Chesterfield, both will require a short drive on I-270 to I-64 West, but Afton might require an longer drive on I-55 to reach I-270, where as the short drive on I-70 to reach the same highway would be a bit less. Also traffic coming North on I-270 from that direction is a bit worse than going South.

Good luck in the house hunt and the budget.

[moving2stl]

We don't have an income amount yet, as we are in the process of negotiations, but we are aiming for around 50k annually. We are not wanting to include my income in the 50k, because I do not have a job in place as of right now.

We live comfortably now, and would prefer to keep it that way, but because it is only my husband and I, I think it will be easier.

We would really like a house, and are open to buying if the opportunity presents itself, but as of right now we are planning to rent.

[inahandbasket]

Originally Posted by moving2stl

We don't have an income amount yet, as we are in the process of negotiations, but we are aiming for around 50k annually. We are not wanting to include my income in the 50k, because I do not have a job in place as of right now.

We live comfortably now, and would prefer to keep it that way, but because it is only my husband and I, I think it will be easier.

We would really like a house, and are open to buying if the opportunity presents itself, but as of right now we are planning to rent.

It would be very difficult to afford Chesterfield on a 50K income. As other posters have advised, you'll need to look at Ballwin and unicorporated STL County if you want to live anywhere near Chesterfield.

There are some apartment complexes in Ballwin that will have places for as low as $525:
*Rent this well maintained 2 bed 2.5 bath unit*
NOW LEASING ALL THE ONE BEDROOM COMING IN JULY

[zach_33]

Originally Posted by inahandbasket

It would be very difficult to afford Chesterfield on a 50K income.

I don't doubt this is true, but I will say when I was fresh out of undergrad in Chicago, me and my gf earned a measly $30k combined and we lived in a one bedroom in Lincoln Park with a rent of $800. We didn't live in the lap of luxury, but it was sufficient as an outpost while we were establishing a footing in our respective careers.