How to Determine What You Can Afford When Living on Your Own

The first move out on your own is a glorious one. You live your day to day life as you see fit without your parents there telling you otherwise. You may be in a hurry to find a place so that you have your own place to settle down. There are many things that you should consider when you make that decision, though. The biggest and most important is knowing how much you can afford to spend on housing.

The best way to determine this is to look at your current finances. What do you make per month at your current workplace? This should be the Net Income (the after tax is taken out amount). Once you find that amount, you then have a starting point. From there, you will need to figure out how much you are already spending on your current bills. These can be car payments, insurance payments, and student loans. As well as credit card debt or medical bills.

Most landlords or property managers will set a certain income amount that is needed. Usually, they will require you to make at least 4x the rental amount to be approved. This ensures that you have money for your current bills, food, and extra money for any emergencies.

If you do feel that your income alone is not enough to cover your expenses, you may opt to find a roommate. That way the cost of housing is divided up between yourself and another person. This can reduce your expenses for housing and utilities and make it more manageable on your wallet.

If you are not able to find a roommate to ease these costs, you have other options. Local county offices may offer financial help when you are searching for a house with limited funds. If you reach out to your local housing authority, they may be able to assist you. Whether they offer housing vouchers or income based housing, if you do your research, you can be sure to find help.

There are also many “Rent Calculators” on Google, if you want a general idea of what budget you should be searching for. These will provide you with a general idea of what you can afford before you start to search for a rental.

You should also keep in mind that you will have to pay more upfront, for a security deposit and possibly a pet fee if this applies to you. This can be a big expense to pay upfront when you are moving out for the first time.

Other costs associated with a move would be if you need to hire a moving company. You may even have to place a start-up deposit on starting new services, such as gas or electricity. All these costs are important to take into consideration.

Once you determine the budget for what you can afford to move out, you can start searching for a property. When you go into the search with realistic expectations of what you can and can’t afford, it will make the process a lot smoother. There are many options out there for any variety of budgets, you just have to search.

Goodman Properties would love to help you find your first rental home! Give our office a call today at 740-695-3131 to see what options we have for your needs. If we don’t have the perfect fit for you, we can place you on a waiting list for the specific needs that you have.