$1000/month for 160 sq ft "micro apartment" in DT Raleigh? Maybe! (low income, tenants)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I showed some of the condos years ago. I had a tenant who used to live there. He told me to tell my investors, "If you buy on the 3rd or 4th level, you will have less vandalism. The vandals won't climb all the steps."
And, Moms and Pops bought those condos, figuring their little geniuses would do better than in the dorms, and they might make some money.
They were the original Air BNBs. Flexible tenancy, maybe paid, maybe a favor. And, Mom and Pop usually figured out it was a bum deal.
We scheduled 10 units to see on a Saturday morning. The investor saw 4 or 5 and said, "I don't need to see any more. I'm an alumni advisor to my frat at Applachian, and I have never seen anything like this."
It is amazing the squalor young people will tolerate, inside and out. EVERYTHING smelled like stale beer and rotten food.
I imagine Preiss has a slightly tighter rein on things.
I lived in a $250/month unit in Clemson in 2008. If you turned the lights on in the kitchen at night you could see the cockroaches scatter
It seems the developer thinks the target audience is “people who are beginning their careers” according to the WRAL article. Another story says “graduate students and young professionals.”
It’ll be interesting to see who these ultimately appeal to if the project gets off the ground. Personally, I can’t imagine being so committed to living in that area and not having a roommate that a 160 square foot apartment seemed like a good idea, and I really like that area and am use to relatively small living spaces.
I lived in a $250/month unit in Clemson in 2008. If you turned the lights on in the kitchen at night you could see the cockroaches scatter
Ditto my $300/month (individual lease per bedroom of a 4 bedroom condo) in Chapel Hill in 2009. University Commons. Property Manager should have had his license revoked. I'm still surprised I haven't seen them in on the RE bulletin disciplinary actions yet.
Ditto my $300/month (individual lease per bedroom of a 4 bedroom condo) in Chapel Hill in 2009. University Commons. Property Manager should have had his license revoked. I'm still surprised I haven't seen them in on the RE bulletin disciplinary actions yet.
We split $600/mth rent on a 3BR unit in Bolinwood in Chapel Hill in the mid-90s. I had fewer issues in the 4 years I lived there than the 1 year my son lived in Union Chapel Hill last year ($1200/mth per person in a 4BR unit). And a Bolinwood 3BR still only rents out for $1100-1200 per unit today.
So I didn’t read about these but I assume all utilities are included? Probably no or limited parking. The company vacuums the halls occasionally.
Now this would work for some to live there (no storage) and others for an office or study site. BUT the sound dampening would have to be Enormous. And maybe outlaw all TV, music, home exercise. That building would need all the sound proofing methods currently available. And great air purification and cooling. What about mail? Amazon deliveries? Wireless overload? Good luck.
160sqf would be difficult for me now as I've accumulated too many possessions, or to be frank, clutter. Retired now I own a 1200sqf house, but I could compact down to 600sqf easily.
So, lemme think back to my early adulthood, with a much less baggage lifestyle. Given sensible room dimensions that follow 2-foot mins of perhaps 20x8 and 10x16, you end up with a layout not much smaller than many hotel/motel rooms I've stayed in, I think. Presuming a minimal-sized bathroom, I think I could cobble together a comfortable and functional living space using the 20x8 base by applying the established marine, tiny house, and RV space conservation techniques.
I could have done it then and given a life circumstance change that required it, now - it wouldn't bother me that much. I recognize it would bother many though. I'm also thinking more like $750-800 (based on my own, eight times back then costs).
And ... some of us better get used to the idea, what with some of the dire baby boomer retirement saving projections.
Last edited by ncwheeling; 01-13-2023 at 10:34 AM..
Ditto my $300/month (individual lease per bedroom of a 4 bedroom condo) in Chapel Hill in 2009. University Commons. Property Manager should have had his license revoked. I'm still surprised I haven't seen them in on the RE bulletin disciplinary actions yet.
I was paying about $150-200 for a room in a 4 bd Mill Creek Condo back in 1994.
In that case I would rather have a $400 camping tent from Amazon. Now that would be affordability that makes sense.
Just look at the math on this:
$1000 / 160 sq ft = $6.25 per sq ft
If I were to rent a 1400 sq ft apartment for $2500 per month, that would be:
$2500 / 1400 sq ft = $1.79 per sq ft
I would much rather pay $1.79 per sq ft, than $6.25 per sq ft. Regardless of what city it is in.
The developer of these units would be making a killing.
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