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 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.

Generally, your mortgage should probably not exceed 28% of your household income....not sure if the same general percentage applies to rent or not.

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.

We've planned on mortgage/proptaxes/homeowners to be less than 30% to still allow adequate additional saving.

Depends on what your disposable income is. The lower it is, the lower the percentage should be, if possible.

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

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.

By that calculation my wife and I could be paying as much as $2300 per month. We bought a house for half that.

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.

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.

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.

 

Anyone ever use Airbnb?

Anyone ever use Airbnb?

 

Yes, what do you need to know about it?

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.

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!

Anyone ever use Airbnb?

 

Used it for a vacation in Idaho and everything went smooth as possible.

Used it in Paris actually, great experience even there.

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.

 

 

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.

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, 201411 yr by maggsmaggs

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.

If you were picking a Chicagoland suburb to buy a home and raise a family, which one would it be?

and please provide a brief explanation as to why you recommend that suburb (i.e. great schools, good location, activities, restaurants, good investment, etc)

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, 201411 yr by HickoryHuskers