The hourly rate you need to afford a two-bedroom apartment in every state

[Griever]

jobs where you get to work from home?

[Au165]

(06-08-2016, 09:49 AM)GMDino Wrote: Then you have more transportation costs.

If you are in an area with bad public transportation then you have to invest in your own.

Right back where you started.

You can buy a beater for a couple hundred bucks one time. A couple months of saved rent more than pays for it. You are trying to  move the discussion of the point that the numbers are inflated for most of the housing in each state.

[GMDino]

(06-08-2016, 09:58 AM)Au165 Wrote: You can buy a beater for a couple hundred bucks one time. A couple months of saved rent more than pays for it. You are trying to  move the discussion of the point that the numbers are inflated for most of the housing in each state.

I already said it is an average.

But a beater needs more work more often.  That's more money.

There is no easy, across the board answer is all I am saying.

[Benton]

(06-08-2016, 09:41 AM)Au165 Wrote: You can move outward short distances and see massive drops in housing costs. Back to my example, the are my brother was in was over inflated because of it being close to campus and being pushed up by the demand from the university. By moving 5-10 miles further away he was able to drop his rent by hundreds a month. This isn't just true there it applies in many places, but that was just a recent example I have been dealing with.

Normally 5-10 miles isn't going to make a big difference. Colleges are a little left of center because property owners know there's only so much land within walking/biking distance of the school, so they charge a premium. But, generally, if you're within 2 miles of a city center and you move out to 8 miles of the city center, you aren't going to see a huge difference. Generally, with larger cities, you aren't going to notice the difference until you get well outside public transportation... which brings in other costs.

In my area a lot of people commute 1-2 hours to Nashville. Mainly because it's cheaper to get a bigger house. But there really isn't a difference in the housing cost 10 minutes outside in places like Joelton than there is for getting a place on closer to town. Go 50 miles out and the prices start dropping. But what you save in rent/mortgage, you pay out in gas and mechanical upkeep.

[Brownshoe]

Another thing people are overlooking is that a 2 bedroom apartment most likely means that you will be living with someone else, so you can split the rent. If you're a single parent and have a 2 bedroom apartment then you're likely getting child support or government assistance (or both). There's just too many variables to make those numbers relevant.

[Sovereign Nation]

(06-07-2016, 10:56 PM)GMDino Wrote: Thanks for that. ™ 

Your welcome.  Glad you approve.

[GMDino]

(06-08-2016, 10:29 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: Another thing people are overlooking is that a 2 bedroom apartment most likely means that you will be living with someone else, so you can split the rent. If you're a single parent and have a 2 bedroom apartment then you're likely getting child support or government assistance (or both). There's just too many variables to make those numbers relevant.

And one variable is the pay being received for working.

[Sovereign Nation]

(06-08-2016, 12:46 AM)Rotobeast Wrote: As a landlord I can tell you the biggest reason that rents are increasing (in my area) is the destruction of properties from Section 8/ Metro Housing tenants that have no accountability in the care of the property.
You can take them to court for damages, but they have no money to take.
The uptick in rent is to cover those losses.
There are also municipalities that hold the property owner responsible for a water bill that has went unpaid for several months by a tenant.

Pretty much.

[Sovereign Nation]

(06-08-2016, 01:11 AM)Benton Wrote: If you pay taxes, it pertains to you. Much in the same way taxpayers subsidize companies like Wal-Mart by picking up the cost of living for their employees, taxpayers pick up the difference in what landlords charge and what those on lower incomes can afford.

Gee, I wonder how I can stop paying taxes in the US?

[Brownshoe]

(06-08-2016, 10:37 AM)GMDino Wrote: And one variable is the pay being received for working.

True. If they raise the minimum wage then inflation will make the housing prices go up.

[GMDino]

(06-08-2016, 10:57 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: True. If they raise the minimum wage then inflation will make the housing prices go up.

Or not.

[Au165]

(06-08-2016, 10:57 AM)Brownshoe Wrote: True. If they raise the minimum wage then inflation will make the housing prices go up.

Bingo. It is not as easy as people pretend it is. The guy who was making the new minimum wage before the change will demand a pay increase, as he was obviously worth more than minimum wage before, and then what he gets increased to will have the same effect on the next guy and so on. Now minimum wage gets reset and we are back where we started with inflation. It may take a couple years, but eventually it'll all come back around. For some reason people think in a capitalist society there can be no poor class. There has to be a poor class, it is a matter of how bad the conditions are for the poor class. I think we are better off doing work in the subsidies department over a flat increase.

[Brownshoe]

(06-08-2016, 11:02 AM)GMDino Wrote: Or not.

You might want to read up on economics.

[GMDino]

(06-08-2016, 11:03 AM)Au165 Wrote: Bingo. It is not as easy as people pretend it is. The guy who was making the new minimum wage before the change will demand a pay increase, as he was obviously worth more than minimum wage before, and then what he gets increased to will have the same effect on the next guy and so on. Now minimum wage gets reset and we are back where we started with inflation. It may take a couple years, but eventually it'll all come back around. For some reason people think in a capitalist society there can be no poor class. There has to be a poor class, it is a matter of how bad the conditions are for the poor class. I think we are better off doing work in the subsidies department over a flat increase.

Same thing with just moving further away.  It is a complicated issue.

But some would rather not discuss the pay end of it.  Because...economics. 

[Au165]

(06-08-2016, 11:18 AM)GMDino Wrote: Same thing with just moving further away.  It is a complicated issue.

But some would rather not discuss the pay end of it.  Because...economics. 

I gave you my thought and that is to look more to subsidizing things like housing and food rather than creating inflation through massive wage jumps. Economics isn't the answer, but its the reason why just increasing wages won't work. You could do smaller incremental raises over many years, which could help slightly, but most people don't like the idea of waiting 10 years to slowly bring it up they want it now. In the end though, as I pointed out, there always has to be a poor class. No matter what the minimum wage is they will end up the poor class if they are working at minimum wage.

[*PhilHos*]

Why is a single person looking to live in a 2-bedroom apartment and pay the whole rent?

[Au165]

(06-08-2016, 11:27 AM)PhilHos Wrote: Why is a single person looking to live in a 2-bedroom apartment and pay the whole rent?

Because it makes the point the article set out to do. I am not normally an "agenda" guy, but the article was written to assist in proving a point. It would have been better down if they broke it down by areas of states, or if they used a single bedroom apartment or dual income at minimum wage.

[GMDino]

(06-08-2016, 11:27 AM)PhilHos Wrote: Why is a single person looking to live in a 2-bedroom apartment and pay the whole rent?

Because they are a single parent?

Maybe a widow or widower who makes just above the amount to get assistance?

You know.  A human.

[Au165]

(06-08-2016, 11:36 AM)GMDino Wrote: Because they are a single parent?

Maybe a widow or widower who makes just above the amount to get assistance?

You know.  A human.

If they are making minimum wage and have kids then they aren't making more than enough to get assistance. Are we talking about minimum wage or aren't we?

[*PhilHos*]

(06-08-2016, 11:36 AM)GMDino Wrote: Because they are a single parent?

Maybe a widow or widower who makes just above the amount to get assistance?

You know.  A human.

A single parent would not be a single person, now would they? (Yes, they'd be single in terms of relationships, but not in terms of the number of people in their household). And the second type of person you mention, as we know, applies to the vast majority of people in this country, so, yeah, I guess that makes this article justified. 

The fact is, if you're a one-person household and you're looking for a two-bedroom domicile that you cannot afford, then you're an idiot.