Frustration/Renting a home

[NorthernFamily]

I just need a spot to vent publicly in hopes I will receive some sage advice.

How on earth do people who have only one working adult in the family, afford to rent a home?! I have been looking around, nearly obsessively, for a couple of days and even the homes in the shady areas (which we would not move to) cost a thousand dollars  PLUS utilities!!! I am heartsick. I so want a house and a yard for me and my family. We live in an upstairs apartment and we have two pugs which makes it extremely difficult to take them potty when DH isn't home; and when baby comes in July it will be impossible in the winter. Okay, not IMPOSSIBLE, but sometimes quite dangerous in Minnesota winters. 

If you rent a home on one income, how do you do it? 

Prayers welcome and desired. Thanks everyone. 

[micah_mae_]

Sigh...we live in a 700 sq ft home in the ghetto. :/ But the boys and the dog have a yard...

[pek64]

In my area, there are houses divided into two units, each with half a yard (one gets the front, the other the back). You don't get the whole house, but either the upstairs or the downstairs. They are wanted by many, and disppear quickly when they are available! So, it's an apartment with access to a yard. The floorplan may be odd. Usually they are advertised on craigslist.

[bmcneal]

It probably has a lot to do with the area you are living in, too. Right now, DF is the only one working (that started mid-December, when I had to quit my job), we rent a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house with yard, garden area, and 2 car garage, and it's $600/month + utilities, which each (water/electricity and gas) run around $100/month each, so total of $800. (I'm not trying to rub it it, just showing differences of cost/area.) Just rent/utilities is over 1/2 of his income, so we're oftentimes tight on money, but we live right next door to my mom, which the kids love, and it's small town, close to a couple of cities, but far enough not to have to worry about the drama of living in the city. (We live in Indiana, if that helps.)

[JunebugsMom]

It's really frustrating.  We live in a small 2bd/1ba in a decent neighborhood and we pay $1780.  And that is a good price for around here.  That's because we live in San Diego.  DH has a good job, but he doesn't make any more money here than he would in any other city.  I have had to take on a part time job (2, actually).

[phathui5]

We rent a mid-sized 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom townhouse for $850/month. I'd prefer a single-family home or at least something with a decent sized yard, but this is what we can afford on dh's income.

[Poddi]

Ya look for small townhouse and they might be more affordable.  $1000 hardly rent a 2 bedroom apartment here.  We used to rent a 1 bedroom apartment for $875 and that was 12 years ago.  Single family houses start from $2000.  Your area's rent doesn't sound too bad.

BTW don't forget to look for apartments on the main floor.  Many of them have a yard or patio that they can use for their own.

[erinmattsmom88]

We rent half of a 2-family duplex in Atlanta. It's 2 bed/1bath, less than 800 sq ft. It is 850/month and includes water/sewer/trash. Electric has been running around 65/month, gas is averaging 100/month right now. There is a brief period in the spring and fall that we don't need heat or AC, and our electric/gas bills are soooo cheap. I think we'll stay here another year, but after that we will need to find something bigger. We will probably not be able to stay in this area because anything bigger will have more expensive rent to go with it, and I haven't seen anything cheaper than 1200/month in this area for what we'll need down the line.

From what I've been noticing, rents continue to increase. It is frustrating because it seems as though it would be cheaper to buy, but we can't right now, too many strikes against us in that department.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Poddi 

$1000 hardly rent a 2 bedroom apartment here.  We used to rent a 1 bedroom apartment for $875 and that was 12 years ago.  Single family houses start from $2000.

This. I'm in a totally different area but similar prices to the above. COL is fairly high here, and salaries are on the low side (plus lots of unemployment/underemployment). We are homeowners but will likely lose our home soon thanks to the economy & some personal issues. The problem, if we can't afford our mortgage, I don't see how we'll be able to rent in our price range either. Most likely we'll have to find a tiny 1-bed apartment in the worst part of the city (dangerous) with no yard and no parking. I'm already getting rid of half our possessions in anticipation.

Anyway, it's expensive because owning a home is expensive and rent has to at least help the landlord break even (and preferably come out a bit ahead, especially with all the labor landlords usually put into it!) It's much easier for landlords to pay their mortgage when they're able to charge rent to multiple families instead of just one. If only one family is renting the place, that family essentially has to pay full costs of home ownership. If the mortgage is $1400/month, real estate taxes $200, insurance $100, repair/maintenance costs $100, they need to charge at least $1800 just to break even, and the landlord can't afford to pay your utilities, which are often much more costly than for a small apartment.

The only person I know who is able to rent a house on one income is family with the landlord, plus they do work in exchange for a lower rent. And the mom has worked part-time most of the time too so it's not even truly one income. Everyone else I know on one income is renting apartments (usually small ones). I hate the way things are these days... so sorry you are having trouble finding a place! Like the others said, look for townhouses or duplexes, they might be slightly more affordable and still give you a lot of what you're looking for.

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by micah_mae_ 

Sigh...we live in a 700 sq ft home in the ghetto. :/ But the boys and the dog have a yard...

What does a 700 sq foot home look like? By that I mean, is it super tiny or an okay size home? I just don't know how to visualize it... Yeah I wish we could move to the ghetto and be okay, but I have PTSD so I just wouldn't be able to handle it. Maybe in the future, who knows..

The homes in my neighborhood are easily 2k-3k to rent, plus utilities. Our utilities/etc in an apt are $200-$300. I just cancelled the internet () so that will save us $90 and in the fall/spring it should be down to $90 for electric. 

We are certainly looking for a duplex but those seem to run about the same... but I am keeping my eyes peeled, at least until the internet goes away later this month then I will hit the library sporadically.

Thanks ladies!!

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

In my area duplexes are the better option over apts. I pay 895 for a 3bd 2 bath duplex, i live on spousal and child support alone.

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by ILoveMyBabyBird 

In my area duplexes are the better option over apts. I pay 895 for a 3bd 2 bath duplex, i live on spousal and child support alone.

I am so happy you can stay home with your children! Yay!

[bearski55]

Yikes! Where I live renting is really cheap. I own a huge home way under $600 a month. But we also bought a fixer upper and have been working on it for the last 8 years......and trust me most days I wish we would just rent! We also live on one income.....sorry I really wasn't much helo

[mamarhu]

I am a single mom with one income. I rent a 4 bedroom house in a fairly shaky area for $1200/mo. I was looking to downsize, but found that 3 bedroom apartments in my area start at $1000! Not worth the move to me, and I can do better to rent out the extra room. Utilities are really high though, and an apartment would probably be better.
 

[justmama]

I'm just commiserating.  I've been looking for a better place for YEARS.  YEARS.  No joke.  I'm a single parent to three with a very low income(below the poverty level by quite a bit) and we spend about 65% of our monthly income on rent.  We rent an 800sqft 2 bedroom half of a duplex in a "rough neighborhood" as it's been described by a few people recently.  BUT it's got a good-sized fenced-in backyard(front yard is unusable due to an aggressive dog across the street that has cornered us on our porch before) and I have dug up parts of it for a garden in the summers and we have swings hanging from our tree and there's even a very small bonus room in the basement that's finished for an extra "bedroom."  But it's just under $1000 a month.    And that's cheap in my area.  Like I said, I've been looking for about 6 years for something better but it just hasn't come along.  Renting is all I've ever known but man it's pricey.  And you are always at the mercy of your landlords and neighbors(in my case living in a duplex).  I hate my neighbors right now so it's pretty miserable since we share the deck/yard.

[justmama]

Originally Posted by GarciaFamily 

What does a 700 sq foot home look like? By that I mean, is it super tiny or an okay size home? I just don't know how to visualize it... Yeah I wish we could move to the ghetto and be okay, but I have PTSD so I just wouldn't be able to handle it. Maybe in the future, who knows..

The homes in my neighborhood are easily 2k-3k to rent, plus utilities. Our utilities/etc in an apt are $200-$300. I just cancelled the internet () so that will save us $90 and in the fall/spring it should be down to $90 for electric. 

We are certainly looking for a duplex but those seem to run about the same... but I am keeping my eyes peeled, at least until the internet goes away later this month then I will hit the library sporadically.

Thanks ladies!!

Do you live in a few high cost of living area?  My utilities(I consider gas/electric/oil/water) are in the winter months about $150 at most.  But we have gas heat and plastic our windows and heat only to 60 and wear sweatshirts/sweaters inside.  We have no cable and internet is a necessity for my oldest daughter's schooling needs unfortunately and using the library with littler ones right now instead just isn't feasible.  So I make the choice to have the basic internet package.  We keep electric as low as possible and I think it's averaging $35 a month(running no dryer).  We also have no A/C unit for the summer.  We have shared water in my duplex so there's not much I can do about that if my neighbors waste but I try to keep our water needs low except in the summer when I'm watering a garden(no lawn watering).  But there's NO.WAY. our utilities would even get close to $200-300 a month.  

[bmcneal]

Wow! I'm so sorry to hear that rent is so high! A little surprised, kind of, but I figure some of you live in fairly popular areas, and obviously some very high COL areas. It really sucks, and I hate to hear how hard it is for y'all to find places. 

[NorthernFamily]

Originally Posted by bmcneal 

Wow! I'm so sorry to hear that rent is so high! A little surprised, kind of, but I figure some of you live in fairly popular areas, and obviously some very high COL areas. It really sucks, and I hate to hear how hard it is for y'all to find places. 

Where we live now is certainly desired, yeah, so we are REALLY blessed to be in this apartment for the cost. But I was looking really anywhere really in the greater metro area, just to see and it all seems similar, which seems really odd to me! Maybe it's just the craigslist postings... We have thought about going out in the sticks (something I desire greatly) but there are just NO jobs and DH just might pull a Shining on us ... and we couldn't afford to drive a ton... Plus our minivan has a good amount over 200,000 miles on it. 

DH is also mexican in race (he was born/grew up in small town midwest), and small town life, the farther west and in some cases north in MN we go (which would be cheaper), seems to be pretty hostile to him. So strange and sad and maddening, but that is how it is. 

All of your voices have helped! Thanks!

[MotheringBliss]

We've done a number of exchange situations (caretaking, remodeling ect).  

Recently we found a house outside of Sioux Falls we can manage.  We only use half of it....

Anyone wanna share it? 

[Peony]

My neighbors are desperately trying to find a stand alone 2B house for 1400 + utilities. They've been looking awhile because that is very low for our area. Townhouses/duplexes start at more then that. We currently rent a small 3B row house (so long and skinny) for 2200 + all utilities. No real yard because the lots are so close together, we used to have to walk the dog in the street to pee after going down 2 flights of stairs in the snow and ice. We really wanted a 4B because we are a family of 6, and this house is a little tight but 4B houses are virtually impossible to find, they rarely ever come up. When this one came up, I snatched it knowing we would never find anything better. It is a dead end street so we use the street as our yard most of the time.