pettie4sox Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Not sure if there is a topic for this but If there is, I figure the admins will make quick work of it. What is the generally rule of thumb regarding rent and your salary? (i.e. Rent should not exceed 1/3 of your gross monthly salary) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmteam Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 QUOTE (pettie4sox @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 08:29 AM) Not sure if there is a topic for this but If there is, I figure the admins will make quick work of it. What is the generally rule of thumb regarding rent and your salary? (i.e. Rent should not exceed 1/3 of your gross monthly salary) Not sure what the general rule is, but it also depends on a lot of other factors. If you have student loans, that can be the same as a rent payment, or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamshack Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Generally, your mortgage should probably not exceed 28% of your household income....not sure if the same general percentage applies to rent or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggsmaggs Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I've heard 20-30% is a safe number. I'm moving into an apartment in August with my girlfriend and we are spending 15% of our gross income since we want to save more than spend on apartment where we aren't building equity. Keep in mind that you still have utilities and that should be included in the 20-30% range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 We've planned on mortgage/proptaxes/homeowners to be less than 30% to still allow adequate additional saving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Depends on what your disposable income is. The lower it is, the lower the percentage should be, if possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chi Town Sox Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 My wife and I got our first place in Bridgeport, $850 a month, 2 years old. Place is beautiful and an absolute steal. Oh and Schaller's is steps away, score Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniKrush Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 I followed Suze Orman's general rule: Monthly housing payment (PITI) This is your total Principal, Interest, Tax and Insurance (PITI) payment per month. This includes your principal, interest, real estate taxes, hazard insurance, association dues or fees and principal mortgage insurance (PMI). Maximum monthly payment (PITI) is calculated by taking the lower of these two calculations: Monthly Income X 28% = monthly PITI Monthly Income X 36% - Other loan payments = monthly PITI Note that you calculate this stuff off your gross pay per month, not your take home pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 By that calculation my wife and I could be paying as much as $2300 per month. We bought a house for half that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenksismyhero Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Has anyone obtained a construction or home equity loan? Or done a major remodel? We have a smallish place and after looking at houses the last month, basically anything we want in terms of size is going to cost way more than we can afford - 600-700K and up - and will require us to move further west of the city. We bought a pretty "cheap" single story ranch for $260k back in 2010. I feel like we could build a huge addition and a second story for way less than that, though admittedly I have no idea how much a reconstruction would cost. Ideally we'd add a second floor on the existing house, and also a two story addition above and out from our attached, two-car garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 02:53 PM) Has anyone obtained a construction or home equity loan? Or done a major remodel? We have a smallish place and after looking at houses the last month, basically anything we want in terms of size is going to cost way more than we can afford - 600-700K and up - and will require us to move further west of the city. We bought a pretty "cheap" single story ranch for $260k back in 2010. I feel like we could build a huge addition and a second story for way less than that, though admittedly I have no idea how much a reconstruction would cost. Ideally we'd add a second floor on the existing house, and also a two story addition above and out from our attached, two-car garage. You'll have to check on your easements and covenants first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenksismyhero Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 23, 2014 -> 03:01 PM) You'll have to check on your easements and covenants first. I think we're all good there. Only thing I can find is an easement for ComEd on the back 10 feet of my property, but that's nowhere near where an addition would be. I've heard too I need to check for "green space" requirements, but I have a huge yard so I don't see that being an issue either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Anyone ever use Airbnb? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pettie4sox Posted July 25, 2014 Author Share Posted July 25, 2014 QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 10:33 PM) Anyone ever use Airbnb? Yes, what do you need to know about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted July 26, 2014 Share Posted July 26, 2014 I'm looking at different options for a place to crash for a couple days at the end of the month when I move out of my apartment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Y2HH Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 QUOTE (Chi Town Sox @ Jul 18, 2014 -> 04:52 PM) My wife and I got our first place in Bridgeport, $850 a month, 2 years old. Place is beautiful and an absolute steal. Oh and Schaller's is steps away, score You don't live all that far from where I grew up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 QUOTE (Heads22 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 10:33 PM) Anyone ever use Airbnb? Used it for a vacation in Idaho and everything went smooth as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigruss Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Used it in Paris actually, great experience even there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatnom Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Any suggestions for neighborhoods to live in Chicago as a 23 year old? I don't have a car, so living near public transportation is a must. I have a pretty general idea of where I think I'd like to be, but I was wondering if anybody here had any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 QUOTE (gatnom @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 05:27 PM) Any suggestions for neighborhoods to live in Chicago as a 23 year old? I don't have a car, so living near public transportation is a must. I have a pretty general idea of where I think I'd like to be, but I was wondering if anybody here had any suggestions. Depends what you're looking for really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggsmaggs Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 05:38 PM) Depends what you're looking for really. Definitely. You really enjoy the Lake? Then Uptown-Lincoln Park, etc. You like the "hipster" scene: Bucktown and Wicker Park. Wanna be close to the Loop but not in the Loop? West Loop. South Loop. Edited July 28, 2014 by maggsmaggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Any suggestions for neighborhoods to live in Chicago as a 23 year old? I don't have a car, so living near public transportation is a must. I have a pretty general idea of where I think I'd like to be, but I was wondering if anybody here had any suggestions. Well, not exactly in Chicago but meets the public transit requirement: Oak Park. I lived there for 5 years and absolutely loved it. Lost of time spent on the Green Line between the Harlem and 35th stops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUSTgottaBELIEVE Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 If you were picking a Chicagoland suburb to buy a home and raise a family, which one would it be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUSTgottaBELIEVE Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 and please provide a brief explanation as to why you recommend that suburb (i.e. great schools, good location, activities, restaurants, good investment, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) If you were picking a Chicagoland suburb to buy a home and raise a family, which one would it be? Munster. First of all, Indiana's government and taxes are far, far less f***ed up than Illinois. So having narrowed the choices down to NW Indiana, Munster has by far the best public school system. Edited July 29, 2014 by HickoryHuskers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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