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Lizzie2
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Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« on: Jan 27th, 2008, 9:17pm » |
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I know all you guys have heard from me is talk about the stimulator for the past several weeks, so now I'm going to talk about another topic on my mind - and that is: finding somewhere new to live!
The good news: Jason (my boyfriend) and I are moving in together in August
The bad news: There is no bad news. It's just tough finding somewhere new to live!
I currently live in a nice 1-bedroom apartment, which is where I've lived ever since moving out on my own after graduating nursing school. I've lived here since September 2005. I really do like it here, but we are going on a new premise...the idea that if we live cheaply for a few years and pay down our debts, then we will save to buy a house. So that's very exciting!
All I want is just a few seconds to rant about how damn hard it is to find a cheap place with everything you're looking for! I know I still have like 6.5 more months to look, but still - I like to start early! We're hoping for a place that is "newer" than where I live now - which is on a really old estate property. And while I have really enjoyed living here, I'll agree that it is very old-looking. My kitchen is tiny, and the bathroom has no counter or storage whatsoever. I have hard-wood floors, which I think are nice, but Jason thinks they look dirty, and he would like a carpeted place. We would love a place with a balcony, if possible. A washer/dryer in the apartment is not a necessity, but to have one in the apartment building is a must!
And then there's the fact that we seem to work on opposite ends of the planet: with my job in Philadelphia and Jason's job out in Phoenixville, PA....about an hour+ distance from my job.
If anybody has any apartment hunting tips on good sites to find places or good ways to hunt,please let me know! Thanks!
And thanks for listening to yet another long post from me! 
Hugz,
Carrie 
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Lizzie2
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #3 on: Jan 27th, 2008, 9:50pm » |
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Thanks Patience is a virtue I sometimes lack! 
I have spent the last few months pouring over rent.com, and that has helped some. We have a few options, but it is frustrating sometimes! The best places are too far for me to commute to Philly from. We'll find something!
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sandie99
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #4 on: Jan 28th, 2008, 12:04pm » |
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Carrie, lots of good luck with the apartment hunt!
When Timo and I first begun to look for our apartment, we simply made a list: what kind of place, what area, what kind of neighbourhood, what floor, how many rooms, what kind of view, the price range... all sort of things.
Then we searched the websites of all the agencies we could think of and because nearly all apartments had pictures available online, we knew instantly which ones we were interested.
The first time when we had made an appointment to see one apartment, the realtor called Timo and canceled it the day before. But the first place we actually got to see is this one we now live in. We simply fell in love with it and made an offer there and then. I got a call the day after and heard the good news: the owner accepted our offer.
Sanna
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Annette
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #5 on: Jan 28th, 2008, 3:49pm » |
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Can you register with the local real estate agent so that they will contact you when they have something similar to what you want ?
BTW, is the rent price on rent.com weekly or monthly ? In Australia its always quoted as weekly, wonder if its different in the US.
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Lizzie2
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #6 on: Jan 28th, 2008, 5:10pm » |
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Annette - It is a monthly rent price. Don't want to go with a real estate agent as they will require a chunk of commission, and I think we'll find something if we keep looking on our own. Neither one of us has anything saved up to pay a middle man too! It's an exciting time of life, really - just a little scary, too!
Sanna - Do you own your apartment? What we say as condo? When you say you made an offer, that sounds like you were putting money down to buy. Or are you saying you made an offer to rent the apartment? We are looking to rent for now. We want to save our money by living somewhere inexpensive (but still decent!), and then paying off our loans and saving up to buy a house. That's our plan anyway!
We are looking to spend $1200 a month on rent, if possible. We originally wanted a 2 bedroom apartment, but we could make do with a large one-bedroom if that's all we can find for the right price. I live in a one-bedroom now for $1015/month, but my place isn't big enough for us both to live here permanently - we would like somewhere newer/nicer than where I live now. I pay a lot for my place, but a lot of it is location (2 blocks from train, 25 minutes from city, Main Line apartment), excellent maintenance (they fix things the day you call - or at the very least, the next morning), and overall a really nice community to live in. The apartment is very old, however, and we would like to live somewhere more modern.
We'll see what we can find! A friend of mine on the train this morning suggested using Craig's List, which is actually how I originally found this place. I think it's a good idea, but we are definitely searching too early since most people on Craig's List want you to be able to move in next month, and we can't move in until August.
Hugz,
Carrie
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Melissa
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #7 on: Jan 28th, 2008, 5:29pm » |
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on Jan 28th, 2008, 5:10pm, Lizzie2 wrote:| We are looking to spend $1200 a month on rent, if possible. |
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 That is the cost of our mortgage!
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Lizzie2
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #8 on: Jan 28th, 2008, 6:44pm » |
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on Jan 28th, 2008, 5:29pm, Melissa wrote:
That is the cost of our mortgage!
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That's right. Living in Philadelphia is very very very $$$$! Price I pay for living here and working in the city. $1200 for a 2br apartment is actually cheap here. I do know people who pay about the same for their mortgage, but we are doing this so that we can save to pay 20-25% down on a mortgage. So we'll see!
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sandie99
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #9 on: Jan 29th, 2008, 11:11am » |
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on Jan 28th, 2008, 5:10pm, Lizzie2 wrote:
Sanna - Do you own your apartment? What we say as condo? When you say you made an offer, that sounds like you were putting money down to buy. Or are you saying you made an offer to rent the apartment? We are looking to rent for now. |
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We rented this place, that's right. And back in here great places are scarce, so making an offer is needed to make sure that you can get the place you want, even when you just rent. Sorry, if I confused you, I didn't remember that condo - word at all...
Sanna
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CH happends, Live anyway! PF days to us all!
"Do what you can and let God take care of the rest. Leave your heart wide open and always wish for the best" (Sanna Hillu)
"No matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible" (Marketa Irglova)
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Woobie
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #11 on: Jan 29th, 2008, 2:28pm » |
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Holy BATS!
I remember when Ramon and I rented our first 3 br HOUSE.... it was $225 a month - all utilities paid...and we we bitchin.... 
HOW can people afford to live?? One bedroom over 1000 a month??? You kiddin me??
Congrats on moving in with your man -
good luck finding a place. I'm so glad those days are over for me!
woobie
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Cathi_Pierce
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #12 on: Jan 29th, 2008, 6:47pm » |
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Property management companies work for the LANDLORDS, therefore, any commish will be paid by the landlord. The good news is, you, as a prospective tenant, should pay nothing to get into the apt, other than the usual first,last, etc............go for it, and ask questions to verify, coz I'm speaking from theWest Coast.
Further, and this is nationwide, if your credit scores are good 20% is not required as a down..and if you end up with mortgage insurance, it is now tax deductible. That being said, first, get your finances in good shape, then go see a banker and 2 mortgage brokers, to talk of home purchases. Even though the mortgage industry is in an huge state of flux, there are plenty of new products out there to make a safe-as well as intelligent- purchase.............
OH, and interest rates are at 5.375% today!!! Go get em!!!!
RealtorCathi
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Lizzie2
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #13 on: Jan 29th, 2008, 8:04pm » |
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Cathi -
So you think it makes sense to buy now? Even if we can't really pay anything down? We would be first time buyers - and we both have excellent credit. The loans we have are all educational, with the exception of one loan I have to pay off credit card debt, but it's not a very big loan. We both have public and private educational loans from school. I know now is the time to buy, and I really don't want to make the wrong choice. We were thinking of renting 3-5 years and then paying a big chunk down on a house, but maybe it makes more sense to buy now with the market the way it is, and then just put our money into a mortgage instead of throwing it down the rent hole. Thanks for your advice!!
Woobie - Right - it is difficult to live! That's actually how I got myself into credit card debt before. I had to take out a loan to pay it off because it was killing me. I am a saver, and I rarely spend money on things I don't need, but with all my medical costs, plus the basic costs of living, I ended up relying on my credit cards for food and other basic things, which had gotten me into trouble. I actually am working more than I used to because of the cost of living. I even considered taking a 2nd job, but I haven't had to yet - just live very tightly!
The BEST news is that my hospital just decided to give all the nurses a market raise to make us more competitive with other city hospital wages! So maybe that will make things a little bit easier!
Hugz,
Carrie
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Charlie
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #14 on: Jan 29th, 2008, 10:02pm » |
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$1200 Yikes
You can get a 6 roomer over here for about a third of that.
Good luck kid.
Charlie
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Lizzie2
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Re: Apartment Hunting is Tough!
« Reply #15 on: Jan 29th, 2008, 10:32pm » |
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on Jan 29th, 2008, 10:02pm, Charlie wrote:$1200 Yikes
You can get a 6 roomer over here for about a third of that.
Good luck kid.
Charlie |
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I'm starting to think that I would be better off living almost any other place in the country other than Philadelphia! I know that's not really true. Washington DC is more expensive. NYC and surrounding areas are wayyyyy more expensive. Parts of Cali are more expensive. But Philadelphia is certainly not cheap!
What I don't understand is how someone with my exact salary lives in this area as a single mom. Holy crap that must be hard! I can barely afford to take care of myself, let alone if I had kids, too! I know it happens all the time, but I don't know how... Lots of debt, I guess!
I talked to Jason about buying tonight, and he said no way in hell. He thinks we should save to pay a big down payment. He's very conservative with money - even more than I am. We are looking at one apartment place, and the difference between 675sq feet and 720 sq feet is $100, and he doesn't want to pay it. I would prefer to have a bit more space, however. I can't know how much that extra space would matter, though, until we start looking at the apartments themselves.
We have plenty of time - no need to stress now!
Take care,
Carrie
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