patrick.net

When we lived in rent controlled building, our rent was approaching $500/month while new renters were paying over a $1000... that's why we ended up staying there so long, we couldn't get that kind of deal even if we were poor in section 8.

as long as moronic fobs can squeeze their family back home for the millions to be squandered living their American silicon valley dream, it will rise and rise and rise.

On $40k income a family of four doesn't pay federal or state income tax. In fact, they do qualify or are close to being able to get free money from feds in the form of the EIC.

Also, at least in city of LA, they qualify for the low income housing benefits. This is significant. I know that the building next to mine in downtown LA actually is actively advertising for low income tennants...2bd that would normally go at $2300 is advertised at $1400 if you qualify. But truthfully, there plenty of 2bd in ok to slightly bad areas at $1000-1100 per month.

Squatting in East CoCo says

Rent $1400 (average 2 br rent in Alameda & CoCo County $1402)
Live in a cheaper area in a 1 bedroom.

Food $500 (Eatin' cheap)
Eat cheaper. Clip coupons.

Power $100 (A little high for a 2br)
Turn off the air. I live in a house and my average bill is less.

Phones $100 (Home and Cells estimate could be low)
Gotta have a phone.

Gas $160 (30 mile round trip to work @ 15mpg $4/Gal)
15mpg? Dump the SUV. What's wrong with you?

Maintenance $300 (Car & personal)
Smaller cars cost less to maintain.

Med & Hygiene $200 (Work covers insurance)
OK. No choice here. Damn medical bills.

Entertainment $240 (all thats left!)
You can't afford it. Take a walk in the park...the best things in life are free.

Kids $0 (can't afford the time or money)
Total = $3000
Income - Expenses = ZERO. Not counting all of the expenses I left out.

Get a second job. It's not a crime.

Now redo the math.

Raw says

Get a second job. It's not a crime.

Now redo the math.

Or a third. Sleep is so overrated

how about credit cards and other debt PLUS you declare BK every 7 years like clockwork.

If both working people max out credit cards and declare every 7 years on schedule - thats every 3.5 years one is declaring BK and gets a 'fresh start on fresh cards' every 3.5 years.

I bet if done right, you can 'get' more than you 'pay' from cards even with high intrest rate cards. At least in theory. Plus no one can garnish your child support, alimony, or income from turning tricks on the side.

Do like some of the guys I know. Drive a rust bucket, or your dead grandma's old car you inherited, east pasta, don't date women that expect anything from you, stay home allot, live with roommates, and don't get sick.

New renter says

Raw says

Get a second job. It's not a crime.

Now redo the math.

Or a third. Sleep is so overrated

Don't laugh, I know people with two and three jobs. They also don't pay 1400/mth. They rent a room for 300-500/mth. The people getting paid $10/hr send a good chunk of that money back to their families in another country. You will be hard pressed to find someone making $10/hr that doesn't fit this profile.

Squatting in East CoCo says

The answer to my original question would be government subsidies, section 8, food stamps, tax evasion, illicit substance dealing, sharing house and rent with other families, etc.

you mean there are no private jobs to provide incomes and thus rents in the region.. seems that the landlord is overcharging and will go bust very soon...you dont need Govt assistance just let the market find equilibrium.

yes, thats happened before... Landlords go bust/bankrupt.

FortWayne says

When we lived in rent controlled building, our rent was approaching $500/month while new renters were paying over a $1000... that's why we ended up staying there so long, we couldn't get that kind of deal even if we were poor in section 8.

Kind of shoots down the notion that renters are mobile. If to keep your housing costs low, you have to stay put in your rental for years on end.. so much for job flexibility vs. a mortgage.

Because your math is not appropriate for fulltime adult employees.

My kids make $10/hr working part time while they are in school. That's kids working part time. For stuff like video games for the younger kid, saving up for a trip to Europe for the older one.
$10/hr?, -Not adults who work full time for a living.

Uncle Sam recently graduated Berkley and he has deep pockets.

oh please, there are plenty of adults working for ten buck an hour all over the country. they are just smart enough NOT to live in KANIFORNIKA..
sunny

It seems as though the housing system is being taken over by "investors" who try to get higher and higher rents until they can't

Why can't they? You see those here on patnet that play landlord, they just lobby for government assistance every step of the way. I guess they figure the government is just a tool for forcing others to fund their investments.

Seems like quite contradictory positions to have. To care so much about those that need more government help, and then make sure that you devour those handouts via rents

Squatting in East CoCo says

My real question is, given the underlying financial situation, how high can rents go before thay can't go any higher?

BUYERS (renters) make value. When tenants move to more economically feasible locations, landlords reduce rents to "What the market will bear". In the meantime, gubmint no longer allows mobile home park construction, increases building requirements, fees etc.
We are NOT living in the bay area on $3k per month, just surviving.
Will tenants keep coming ?

BoomAndBustCycle says

FortWayne says

When we lived in rent controlled building, our rent was approaching $500/month while new renters were paying over a $1000... that's why we ended up staying there so long, we couldn't get that kind of deal even if we were poor in section 8.

Kind of shoots down the notion that renters are mobile. If to keep your housing costs low, you have to stay put in your rental for years on end.. so much for job flexibility vs. a mortgage.

Not really. It's always been this way, some areas are just too expensive and families with certain incomes can't move into them. Place where we live it is not the case. But if you go north just 20 minutes on 101 you'll run into places that are too expensive for probably most Americans.

The point is that we should not have to work 2 or 3 jobs and give up having a family, having a pet or having a night out now and then. Incomes should reflect the current cost of living and allow at least a chance at an independent life free of government programs and hand-outs. We should not have to rely on anyone to help us pay our bills if we are working hard and often.

If those companies who took jobs out of the country would bring them back, it would be good for the country... but they don't care. They keep their fat bank accounts out of reach and don't even pay appropriate taxes. Our government made this possible. Lobbying for the rich is going to destroy our country. While a few lined their pockets with loads of pay-offs, the rest of us lost everything we had and worked so hard for.

I am not talking about lazy welfare-loving people with no ambition here. I mean people who paid into the system, worked their butts of for a good life and then lost it all due to the corruption in the banking and finance, real estate, and investment industries rush to profit.

If more jobs were in the USA that paid appropriately, then incomes would be more stable... then we could possibly buy some of the products those outsourced companies produced and the fate of our citizens would not be in the hands of corporate greed and banks who are well above their deserved profit margins.

Its easy for some one who has escaped a cut back or a lay off to tell another to 'get another job' when they are not feeling the sting of what is happening around them. It takes 6 to 12 months to get a job that pays even minimum wage ($7.65 per hour) where I am. Unemployment benefits are temporary and not what real working families need or want. We need to be able to take care of ourselves and our families. The current state of the economy has all but the wealthy in a state of emergency and hopelessness.

The example in this post does not include any type of emergency. Flat tire, new washer or dryer, renter's insurance etc. Anything can happen and any one of them could place the example household into complete failure. Its all broken and we need to fix it.

hj2222 says

The point is that we should not have to work 2 or 3 jobs and give up having a family, having a pet or having a night out now and then. Incomes should reflect the current cost of living and allow at least a chance at an independent life free of government programs and hand-outs.

That won't happen without tarriffs and protectionism. And the global banking elite won't allow tarriffs and protectionism.

hj2222 says

The point is that we should not have to work 2 or 3 jobs and give up having a family, having a pet or having a night out now and then. Incomes should reflect the current cost of living and allow at least a chance at an independent life free of government programs and hand-outs. We should not have to rely on anyone to help us pay our bills if we are working hard and often.

This is a reflection of:

a) The rich hoarding all the money for themselves.
b) People in other countries willingto do your job for less.
c) Increasing automation of meanial jobs.

I'm not concerned with the very poor.

Plus, my Randian Gospel tells me that they're poor for a reason, and my normal Gospel tells me that they're devil spawn.

hj2222 says

The point is that we should not have to work 2 or 3 jobs and give up having a family, having a pet or having a night out now and then. Incomes should reflect the current cost of living and allow at least a chance at an independent life free of government programs and hand-outs. We should not have to rely on anyone to help us pay our bills if we are working hard and often.

Communism failed. Forget it.
Income is earned, it does not come from thin air. So go to college, earn a skill, get a job and live within your means. That is what most people do.
The opportunities are there for everyone.