Rents are high because taxes, insurance and repairs are extremely high. I just had someone do damage to an apartment and tell me that their security deposit should cover the damage. They did $1500 worth of damages that I have receipts for and I did most of the work and my time is not figured in there. Going to court to get the money is not worth it. I pass these expenses on to the next tenants by raising the rent. I never really get it all back. But dead beat tenants and the high cost of everything run up the rents. The only thing I can do is that if I get good tenants, I don't raise the rent because they take care of the place. Yes, the rents are high but you should see the bills associated with running the place.
Plenty of rooms for rent for $250/month.
It's true - rents are higher than they were 20 years ago compared to cost of living.
One reason in my area is many investors bought rentals at current prices and had to increase the rent (because they had to make a good ROI - return on investment).
Owner before bought it for less and cleared a higher profit.
Cost of buying a higher priced property is being passed on to renters.
USA is getting a lot like Europe - where also very few working class can afford to buy a home and rent is high.
Maybe join the military - free room and board, job skill training and you will have a much easier time getting a good job as a Vet - same with getting a good loan rate (VA loan).
Your rent (or mortgage) should be about 25% of your income....so someone looking for a $250/month apartment is typically earning $1,000 a month ($12K a year, barely above the poverty line), or $6.25 an hour...
Federal Minimum Wage is $7.25 an hour
New York State Minimum Wage is $8.00 an hour
So we KNOW you can afford more than $250 a month...
Either you are a troll, or you are REALLY bad at Math, or you have hopelessly unrealistic expectations!
Where are you from? I see rents in Spain that are in the $300 range, but then the wages for everyone are pretty modest. If you want to live a middle class lifestyle here, you have to hustle and get a middle class job. Otherwise it will have to be rent sharing with someone else. I see lots of waitresses here that make $40,000 per year.
The price range you seek is totally unrealistic.
How is someone supposed to afford rent here? I am looking for apartments in the $250 a month range and I'm not finding much. The wages here and the rents do not match.
