How much would you pay for a one bedroom apartment?

[amastewa93]

I am looking to move into a one-bedroom apartment in my area. I live in Charlotte, NC (a GREAT place to live). Most one-bedroom apartments in the area, however, are $900 a month. Apartments starting at what I think to be a reasonable price (around $600-$700 a month) are in areas you wouldn't necessarily want to live. What do you all think is a reasonable price for an apartment? How much would you pay for a one bedroom?

[disneysteve]

I am looking to move into a one-bedroom apartment in my area. I live in Charlotte, NC (a GREAT place to live). Most one-bedroom apartments in the area, however, are $900 a month. Apartments starting at what I think to be a reasonable price (around $600-$700 a month) are in areas you wouldn't necessarily want to live. What do you all think is a reasonable price for an apartment? How much would you pay for a one bedroom?

If decent apartments in that area go for $900, then I would expect to pay $900, not $600.

[MonkeyMama]

Since I grew up in San Francisco area, I've never seen even a studio apartment for less than something like $1,500? (Of course, that was crazy so I never rented an apartment. A one-bedroom might as well be a mansion - so I never priced them out). In comparison, I was able to rent a room in a nice house for $400/month. That I could live with.

I agree with DS that if $900 is the going rate then that's probably what you will have to pay. If you don't want to pay that much, you'll probably have to look at other options?

[TexasHusker]

It's crazy what rents are these days. I live in a 3500 square foot custom home for $2035 per month - the entire PITI.

While that's high, it's dirt cheap compared to paying $900 for a 700 sq. foot apartment. Never thought I'd see the day that a one bedroom is $900.

[snafu]

I've spent some time in Charlotte, NC, it's a terrific city [except when under threat of vicious hurricanes] The fact is housing is still what capitalism is all about. Housing [rent/buy] everywhere is primarily priced by availability, size, features and what renters/buyers are willing to spend. Rental is mostly based on location, square footage [sf], parking and amenities.

You could likely rent a studio apt for less. You give up space and stuff. Sometimes safety is perception so it might help to verify true numbers with police statistics. What is the cost for a shared, large apartment rental? You get a private bedrm & bathrm but share kitchen and 'public' areas like entry, living rm, home office/den, patio etc. You needn't know your 'roomies,' it's all defined in the contract.

Older apartments in old retail malls are pokey, with old fashioned accoutrements and often noisy but convenient services are at street level. A basement room in someone's house in the suburbs, unreasonable commute, no social amenities is usually cheapest. Downside is more costly and stressful commute and safety.

It comes down to what's most important to you.

[GoodSteward]

I think "reasonable" really includes your income as much as price for the location. I mean, someone from SFC wouldn't want to come down here in a LCOL area and pay the same price for rent for the same space, because you sure won't make the level of income around here. haha

[bjl584]

If most apartments where you live are $900 a month, then that's what I'd budget for. Unless you want to move or commute further to work.

If you happen to find a place for $600, then you might be moving into a warzone.

[sv2007]

I am looking to move into a one-bedroom apartment in my area. I live in Charlotte, NC (a GREAT place to live). Most one-bedroom apartments in the area, however, are $900 a month. Apartments starting at what I think to be a reasonable price (around $600-$700 a month) are in areas you wouldn't necessarily want to live. What do you all think is a reasonable price for an apartment? How much would you pay for a one bedroom?

Depends entirely on location.

If the 1 br is too expensive for you, consider sharing a 2br. They are < 2x the 1br price and you can find ones with 2 baths; just need to share the common areas.

[safari]

Totally depends on the location. In Los Angeles, where I live, a decent 1-bedroom apartment starts at around $1,600 a month, but that would be in an older building. Newer buildings would be $1,800+. We were looking to rent a 2-bedroom apartment, but the places we liked were around $3,000 a month, so we decided to buy a 2-bedroom townhouse instead. It's a lot bigger, has an attached garage and will cost us less per month. Fortunately, we had the money to put 20% down, but a lot of people only have one option, which is to rent.

[Magnificence]

i am living in Singapore and the costs of living here are quite high. You can easily spend a few thousand bugs in the month on a adequate apartment in the right spot. Before I moved here I lived in Bangkok.
To rent a spot there is incredible cheap you can rent a modern 4 room apartment for less than 1000 US in a good destination.