Out of an Apartment, Into a House

Renting is expensive, it just is. But renting a house, that's even more expensive. However, you know what's basically impossible in this market? That's right: buying a house.

So with that being said, your favorite fast-track twenty-one-year-old, and her equally young twenty-two-year-old husband are renting a house. We have been living in a less than 500 sq ft apartment in the city for two years now, and while it is a great deal for what it is (when did $950 a month become a great deal in a small ass apartment?), it is still way too small, and built for one person, not two people, and three animals (including the goldfish).

So we're upgrading to a house just outside the city, $1,250 (which is definitely pushing our budget), and 1,200 sq ft, oh, and a massive back porch (like at least 3/4 of the size of the house). Which is to say that I am very excited to finally have a decent space.

It is so expensive to rent houses, but according to the people whom we got pre-qualified with, we are not able to buy anything past a dilapidated shack at the moment, and yet we are perfectly capable of paying twice that for a rental. That makes sense, right?

With people around me paying nearly $500 more in a house mortgage they took on two years ago, when prices were raging just as they are now, I can't imagine taking on something that expensive. There is no way with my two solid part time jobs (that make up for over a regular full time job) and my husband's forty-hour work weeks that we could afford anything near a $1,700/month housing payment. And who can, really?

The people I do know that are able to afford that are by far on the high end of the spectrum. In the state of North Carolina where I live, there is an issue right now that I'm sure some other states are experiencing. Many northerners are moving down to NC to find more affordable tax rates for housing. Sadly, while I understand the need for cheaper housing, this has led to an increase in overall prices of houses, at a rate that locals are unable to afford.

The influx of people from outside the state coming to NC has forced locals out of housing in their price range and into renting at a much higher rate. Because the people selling houses are realizing they can sell their houses for more, you would not be able to find a decent house for under $200,000. While this might seem to be a decent price for some people, there are also many first time home buyers that could not get qualified for nearly that amount.

So, with all that being said, I am one of those first-time home buyers who couldn't afford something in that price range even slightly (well at least according to the people who pre-qualified us). But instead, we will be paying a rental payment equal to that of a house just above that $200,000 mark. And considering the so-called standards that we met for rent and the portion of our income that it is supposed to be below (one-third or one-fourth is usually the standard needed to rent), we should be able to get pre-qualified for more.

That's not to say that I am unhappy with the situation we are in, I am fully embracing this change, and am very happy to have found a house to live in, regardless of whether it is to rent. Although I would prefer to buy, I am very grateful for this house regardless, and excited to move-in. With that being said, I will definitely be writing more about this process in the coming weeks.

Especially because we move-in in less than a week. Wish us luck!