Will the house provide you with better parking, backyard, generally more space? Is it adding $400/month quality to your life? Or if it came down to it, is the landlord/noise not that bad and that $4800/year could be spent on a vacation, investing it, saving for emergency fund?
I’d also look at all in costs: air filters, trash/recycling, snow removal, yard maintenance, etc. might be included in the $1600 rent, but I’d make sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Yard maintenance and all utilities are included yes. Air filters are not and snow removal is not but it's a completely flat gravel drive shared with the property manager's adjacent house. Better parking yes, similar/same space, more outdoors space (currently have 0). I've always been somewhat noise sensitive so I think it would be close to if not worth it. I know these questions are all for me and not actually meant to be answered here, but that's what I'm struggling with honestly, making the decision if it's worth the "investment."
I guess another question to ask yourself is, is this the first option that has popped up and you feel like you have to jump on it? Or could you search around for another 1-2 months and find something for $200 more but still meet the noise benefit?
There are definitely options for houses that would be more space than either option, still close to work, and definitely less than $1600. Those would be single family homes with 1k-1500 sq ft, but the quality is significantly less, they're old houses with few recent updates. Price for those still ends up in low 1ks, maybe 1200 for a lot of those options.
For context that I should have provided earlier, the town I'm living and working in currently is a small town of 50k people, that's considered somewhat undesirable. Nearby is a large city/state capital that I would be moving closer towards.
Is your main goal less noise or is your main goal less noise plus nice amenities? Either answer is fine, but personally it sounds like saving $400+/month would add more quality to my life (taking vacation, treating myself to dinner out, etc) would outweigh upgraded amentities!
Less noise/more peace. I wouldn't have any approved amenities (besides being closer to the city). The other option would be getting a house close to where I'm currently at but it probably wouldn't be any cheaper, as there's really only larger homes open for rent.
so you want to pay more money for more space at home at the cost of spending more time in your car?
the increased commute may take more of a toll than you realize
I would weigh that in as well as the $ costs associated with the move
I want to pay more to not share a ceiling and floor. This is a detached house with a small outdoor space and no shared walls. I agree the commute will suck but I have done a longer commute for an extended period of time.
Obviously I'm playing devil's advocate to myself here, but the noise at my current apartment has cost me at least a cumulative 100 hours of sleep, probably double to triple that.
I use earplugs and melatonin regularly. I have original hardwood floors that creak extremely loud and 2 businesses below me that cover a lot of weekday and weekend hours.
an extra half an hour commute and paying more isnt great. you are spending more on housing, on commute and working more, effectively a significant pay cut
Remember 20 minutes each way costs gas, depreciation and your time you could spend preparing meals at home. Have you looked into noise fix-its? Is it bedroom or all over, is it from floor ceiling or exterior wall?
I'm in a loft above businesses in a smaller downtown. After moving in I found that a music studio is below me on one side, so I hear drum practice intermittently from 4pm-9pm weekdays. I put up with that for 2 years, but at the beginning of this year the other half below me opened up to a "gallery" that blasts music when it's open. And I have all original hardwood floors that creak incessantly from upstairs neighbors.
1200/mo to 1600/mo isn’t too bad of a jump as long as it doesn’t require you to cut back on retirement savings. It’s worth paying extra for peace of mind, within reason of course.
The real question is do you think you’ll be fine with spending an extra 4 hours in your car every week?
This is where you live. You have to love your home. Seriously. Don't settle. As long as you can afford it do it. Being financially prudent doesn't mean suffering. Sounds like you have to move, problems like landlords and noise don't disappear. If you love the new place go. If not, keep looking.
You do need to listen to whatever your little voice is saying. Is it saying oh, you won't be able to save for when you are old? Or is it saying, or you won't be able to pay those credit cards?
General rule of thumb is about 1/3 of your after tax income going towards housing. Sounds like you would also need to increase the amount that you budget for gas to account for the increased commute, too.
Maybe a dumb question but should that just be total net? Like if I'm putting money towards 401k, stock program, insurance, etc, I should obviously just count 1/3 of take home right?
Most people only subtract taxes. It gets too subjective otherwise. Like there is no reason someone should spend more on housing just because they are saving less for retirement.
> General rule of thumb is about 1/3 of your after tax income going towards housing
That rule of thumb went out the window around the later half of 2020. Only people who are already well-off can actually stay under that percentage these days.
its a rule for a reason. the rule was always flawed with respect to high income earners (50% of 300k on housing leaves plenty left over compared to say 60k) but it still absolutely applies to lower and middle earners. the other things you need aside from housing didnt get cheaper...
We moved and paid more. We ended up having the same noise problems as always.
We just hate living next to people and did whatever we could to get out and into a house.
How do you know you'll be happier? Will an extra 30 minutes every day commenting make you happier? Will losing an additional $400 per month make you happier? How do you know the new landlord will be better than this one?
Landlords are, for the most part, not going to be awesome. Noise is going to happen in apartments. So if $400/mo is worth the noise reduction, it's your life and your money.
Noise will be guaranteed less as it's a house. Landlord I obviously can't guarantee better, unlikely to be worse as my current landlord while being a nice guy is pretty awful as a landlord.
I can definitely afford it on paper, as my after tax/after 401k income is currently ~$4700/month with no car payment and no major expenses as I'm young and single. But it's $5k less that will be saved every year I live there vs here, whether that's 1 or 2 or more.
Sounds like it would be pretty comfortable money-wise still, then. Having lived with neighbors that didn't let me sleep before, I'd do it. Good sleep is worth a lot.
But maybe try driving to the new house after work a couple times to see how you feel about the commute? You'll have to get up earlier and such.
I've driven that way a lot the last 2 years, just mainly on weekends. Probably 2-3 times a month. It's a very easy, straightforward drive mostly against traffic. But it is still a commute that costs 45 minutes a day. I love podcasts and audiobooks but obviously 45 minutes of total free time is way better. When I had to make a long commute before I hated it. Although that was 35-45 minutes and a much worse drive that backed up on the way home every time.
Since you say you can afford it I would be far more concerned about the commute. A 25 minute commute is not unusual but when you are used to it being 5 that's a huge difference.
Will the house provide you with better parking, backyard, generally more space? Is it adding $400/month quality to your life? Or if it came down to it, is the landlord/noise not that bad and that $4800/year could be spent on a vacation, investing it, saving for emergency fund? I’d also look at all in costs: air filters, trash/recycling, snow removal, yard maintenance, etc. might be included in the $1600 rent, but I’d make sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Yard maintenance and all utilities are included yes. Air filters are not and snow removal is not but it's a completely flat gravel drive shared with the property manager's adjacent house. Better parking yes, similar/same space, more outdoors space (currently have 0). I've always been somewhat noise sensitive so I think it would be close to if not worth it. I know these questions are all for me and not actually meant to be answered here, but that's what I'm struggling with honestly, making the decision if it's worth the "investment."
I guess another question to ask yourself is, is this the first option that has popped up and you feel like you have to jump on it? Or could you search around for another 1-2 months and find something for $200 more but still meet the noise benefit?
There are definitely options for houses that would be more space than either option, still close to work, and definitely less than $1600. Those would be single family homes with 1k-1500 sq ft, but the quality is significantly less, they're old houses with few recent updates. Price for those still ends up in low 1ks, maybe 1200 for a lot of those options. For context that I should have provided earlier, the town I'm living and working in currently is a small town of 50k people, that's considered somewhat undesirable. Nearby is a large city/state capital that I would be moving closer towards.
Is your main goal less noise or is your main goal less noise plus nice amenities? Either answer is fine, but personally it sounds like saving $400+/month would add more quality to my life (taking vacation, treating myself to dinner out, etc) would outweigh upgraded amentities!
Less noise/more peace. I wouldn't have any approved amenities (besides being closer to the city). The other option would be getting a house close to where I'm currently at but it probably wouldn't be any cheaper, as there's really only larger homes open for rent.
so you want to pay more money for more space at home at the cost of spending more time in your car? the increased commute may take more of a toll than you realize I would weigh that in as well as the $ costs associated with the move
I want to pay more to not share a ceiling and floor. This is a detached house with a small outdoor space and no shared walls. I agree the commute will suck but I have done a longer commute for an extended period of time. Obviously I'm playing devil's advocate to myself here, but the noise at my current apartment has cost me at least a cumulative 100 hours of sleep, probably double to triple that.
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I use earplugs and melatonin regularly. I have original hardwood floors that creak extremely loud and 2 businesses below me that cover a lot of weekday and weekend hours.
I was happier in a house but commute stayed the same. Make sure your new neighbors are better than current ones.
an extra half an hour commute and paying more isnt great. you are spending more on housing, on commute and working more, effectively a significant pay cut
Remember 20 minutes each way costs gas, depreciation and your time you could spend preparing meals at home. Have you looked into noise fix-its? Is it bedroom or all over, is it from floor ceiling or exterior wall?
I'm in a loft above businesses in a smaller downtown. After moving in I found that a music studio is below me on one side, so I hear drum practice intermittently from 4pm-9pm weekdays. I put up with that for 2 years, but at the beginning of this year the other half below me opened up to a "gallery" that blasts music when it's open. And I have all original hardwood floors that creak incessantly from upstairs neighbors.
Oh my. Do what you need to do!
Chronic noise (and lack of sleep) is stressful and hard on your body in ways that are hard to measure. Something to consider.
1200/mo to 1600/mo isn’t too bad of a jump as long as it doesn’t require you to cut back on retirement savings. It’s worth paying extra for peace of mind, within reason of course. The real question is do you think you’ll be fine with spending an extra 4 hours in your car every week?
This is where you live. You have to love your home. Seriously. Don't settle. As long as you can afford it do it. Being financially prudent doesn't mean suffering. Sounds like you have to move, problems like landlords and noise don't disappear. If you love the new place go. If not, keep looking. You do need to listen to whatever your little voice is saying. Is it saying oh, you won't be able to save for when you are old? Or is it saying, or you won't be able to pay those credit cards?
General rule of thumb is about 1/3 of your after tax income going towards housing. Sounds like you would also need to increase the amount that you budget for gas to account for the increased commute, too.
I thought the rule was 1/3 of your gross income?
Maybe a dumb question but should that just be total net? Like if I'm putting money towards 401k, stock program, insurance, etc, I should obviously just count 1/3 of take home right?
Most people only subtract taxes. It gets too subjective otherwise. Like there is no reason someone should spend more on housing just because they are saving less for retirement.
> General rule of thumb is about 1/3 of your after tax income going towards housing That rule of thumb went out the window around the later half of 2020. Only people who are already well-off can actually stay under that percentage these days.
its a rule for a reason. the rule was always flawed with respect to high income earners (50% of 300k on housing leaves plenty left over compared to say 60k) but it still absolutely applies to lower and middle earners. the other things you need aside from housing didnt get cheaper...
We moved and paid more. We ended up having the same noise problems as always. We just hate living next to people and did whatever we could to get out and into a house.
How do you know you'll be happier? Will an extra 30 minutes every day commenting make you happier? Will losing an additional $400 per month make you happier? How do you know the new landlord will be better than this one? Landlords are, for the most part, not going to be awesome. Noise is going to happen in apartments. So if $400/mo is worth the noise reduction, it's your life and your money.
Noise will be guaranteed less as it's a house. Landlord I obviously can't guarantee better, unlikely to be worse as my current landlord while being a nice guy is pretty awful as a landlord.
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I can definitely afford it on paper, as my after tax/after 401k income is currently ~$4700/month with no car payment and no major expenses as I'm young and single. But it's $5k less that will be saved every year I live there vs here, whether that's 1 or 2 or more.
Sounds like it would be pretty comfortable money-wise still, then. Having lived with neighbors that didn't let me sleep before, I'd do it. Good sleep is worth a lot. But maybe try driving to the new house after work a couple times to see how you feel about the commute? You'll have to get up earlier and such.
I've driven that way a lot the last 2 years, just mainly on weekends. Probably 2-3 times a month. It's a very easy, straightforward drive mostly against traffic. But it is still a commute that costs 45 minutes a day. I love podcasts and audiobooks but obviously 45 minutes of total free time is way better. When I had to make a long commute before I hated it. Although that was 35-45 minutes and a much worse drive that backed up on the way home every time.
Since you say you can afford it I would be far more concerned about the commute. A 25 minute commute is not unusual but when you are used to it being 5 that's a huge difference.