patrick.net

You should rent where it makes you happy and where you find a balance of income vs living quality(if you can afford it).

I pay 20% of my gross, 33% of my net and live in a trendy upscale area.

I could afford more, but then I'm very happy where I am, and I'd have to save and spend less on other stuff.

i pay about 11% gross salary in a nice area (low crime, 900+ api schools, walking distance to downtown and a couple of parks, we feel safe going for a walk late at night of, also lots of parking).

if you include cap gains, interest and dividends, the percentage is less.

Nice. Dinks ? What city ?

Our mortgage(PITI) is 8.9% of gross, 13% of after taxes. 2800 sq ft home. 940 API K-8 school 1 block away. Asian makeup is 17% which is higher than the California average but lower than your bay area/irvine schools that get that API. >70% whites for you asian phobes who are scared to compete. 1/4 mile away from YMCA and restaurants. 1/2 mile from 2 parks. Another 3 softball field park planned for this year 1 block away. 1 mile from a state/national park which abuts the pacific ocean.

As little as possible.

I pay about 11% of gross, depends on the year because income has gone up and down. I think it has been as low as 7.5-8% in the past. Even when we had what we considered the "super-expensive" place, it was 11% of gross income or less.

If you compare to home purchases, the traditional 30-year fixed loan with 20% down required 28% of gross as a maximum PITI.

Very funny reading this thread.

One of the arguments bulls seem to pound out so loudly is that by renting, one is making a landlord rich. Aside of that being entirely irrelevant, the implication is that by "enriching" a landlord, a renter is somehow becoming poor.

And yet here you have a thread full of renters who are paying a minimal portion of their income as rent.

Hillarious.

no more than 10%. Around there is considered safe. And again that really depends on your income.

If you are making millions you probably aren't going to spend 100k renting.