Congratulations, give us all your money!

November 4, 2009 6:12 PM

Surprise! I'm a new renter. I wasn't expecting the opportunity, but a house is up for rent on the block where I work and they informally accepted my bid. With a deadline. What now?

I've been casually pursuing my own place for awhile now but didn't think I made enough for it to be feasible, so I wasn't really taking it particularly seriously...until this week, when a coworker's friend offered a house for rent for $650/month (the upper end of my budget.) Two bedrooms, 1.5 baths, small but cute and definitely in the right location; it's on the same block as my office, pulling a 40-minute commute out of my day. Multi-part question:

I now have until December 1st to come up with the $650 deposit and $650 for the first month, not to mention the cost of getting the utilities back on. If I don't hit that deadline, the house goes back on the market and will probably get rented out to someone else for more. The monthly costs including utilities are well within my budget, but this larger initial cost will be a heck of a pill to swallow. I don't have any credit to speak of, but my fiancee will be helping out with around $400. She will be moving in after our wedding in six months, which will make the budget much less tight. I have two paychecks, $800 each, before the 1st. (I gave numbers so it's clear how close the first month will be. Ironically, this opportunity came days after my one yearly party, Halloween, which I spent way too much money on given I had no idea I might be moving out. Not to mention the worn out tires I just replaced!)

I think if I just flat out declare a moratorium on all non-prior-obligation spending, we can do it--get over the initial financial hump, when monthly cost of living will be manageable again. Then slowly trickle in appliances and furniture.

I would love some advice from first-time renters or anyone who's hit a similar situation with all the challenge ostensibly up front. I've lived on campus at college but of course this will be quite different. I've got a bed, a desk, a TV, various small electronics, a car, a closet full of clothes, and not much else. Given my situation, tell me what I should be doing and where it will be easy to trip up. Obviously I would have prepared for this if I had thought there would even be a possibility of it happening, this really hit out of the blue.

I still do a little retail work on the weekends for a big-box, so I can afford the appliances with employee discount. Everything else--well, I'm hoping you can help me put together a plan. I'm not willing to let this opportunity slip past me, and I really don't have anything to lose if it doesn't work out--I could just move back to the family land out here in the country.

posted by Phyltre to work & money (21 answers total)

The free section of Craigslist can be a goldmine for almost anything you'll need for your house. Of course there will be a ton of crap, but if you look everyday, you'll eventually find everything you need.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:16 PM on November 4, 2009 [1 favorite]

You'd be surprised how long you can live with just a bed and your clothes. In fact, I recommend doing it as long as you can. It's like camping! Don't feel compelled to furnish your whole place right away. Put some money away, get stable, then -slowly- get pieces that you need.

Cheap furniture can be found all over. Someone's getting rid of something you need all the time. Try freecycle or your local thrift store.
posted by shew at 6:19 PM on November 4, 2009 [5 favorites]

You should probably figure out whether you'll need renter's insurance, it might be required in the lease. It's often (always?) sold in 1-year chunks which could make your budget more difficult.
posted by ripley_ at 6:19 PM on November 4, 2009

You should know that there will always be more opportunities.
posted by Phssthpok at 6:24 PM on November 4, 2009

my landlord friend, for some of her lower-income tenants who are nice and trustworthy-enough seeming, allows them to pay the deposit over a few months, say $250 this month, $200 next month, and the final $200 in month three. she says that she's never been burned, and that it was easier for her to just have the place rented than to let it sit. see if your landlord might allow for this, since they know where you work, your friends, etc.

beware of stuff from craigslist free. bedbugs and other icky stuff can seriously put a damper on your new digs. just because it looks clean doesn't mean that it is. sleep on an airmattress or temporarially use a cooler before craigslist free. seriously. you cannot afford a bug infestation.
posted by citystalk at 6:25 PM on November 4, 2009

Craigslist free can be used for things other than mattresses, like bookshelves, dishes, tables, etc.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:29 PM on November 4, 2009

she will be moving in after our wedding in six months

You can totally hold out, sleeping on an air mattress, for six months (a friend of mine did so for 5, with no furniture other than kitchen furniture.) You have a bed, even!

It's probably false economy to eat out all the time to avoid buying appliances, so you'll need to get a fridge, and some way of cooking- toaster oven, maybe? Hold out on getting very much in the kitchen at all, as you will be getting nice wedding presents, hopefully.

Walk to work, what ever the weather. It will be a huge temptation just to drive to work "but it's not far at all!", especially if you're running late. Bite the bullet and get up earlier and walk to work. Besides the fitness benefits, you'll be saving $$ as well.

Do you have any relatives who can offer you the $250 you'll need for the deposit? (plus fiance's 400) (an agreement to pay back 50 bucks back each subsequent month, so loan paid off in 5 months)

Can you sell the TV/small electronics, to get that figure? (sometimes this isn't worth it, but you never know.)

800+800+400 = 2000, 2000 - 1300 = 700.

You mentioned the big bash Halloween party- what about the wedding? is that paid for? Still needing paid?

Keep thinking about this one,
posted by titanium_geek at 6:59 PM on November 4, 2009

oh, please!

renters insurance is cheap. like $20 to $35 per month cheap.

beg, borrow, and steal to secure this rental.

btw - congratulations on getting married!
posted by jbenben at 7:00 PM on November 4, 2009 [1 favorite]

sorry for bizzarely formatted comment above.

The other advice I can give you is "save save save" it's not easy living on a tight budget, but it is possible to save on a budget. Be frugal with your heat- get blankets instead of nudging the thermostat higher.

citystalk has it with the "talk to the landlords" advice.
posted by titanium_geek at 7:04 PM on November 4, 2009

Go to the bank for a loan (line of credit?) for the $650 deposit. That will get you out of a bind, pay it back quickly (seriously, 1, maybe 2 months - easily doable if you scrimp). Then set yourself a budget you can stick with. Don't worry about furniture, let it be known, family, friends, co-workers that you are looking for free/ cheap furniture. Somebody always has something, it may not be pretty, but it may very well be usable for a year or two until you have a bit more saved up for nicer stuff!
posted by defcom1 at 7:10 PM on November 4, 2009

So, are you asking how to approach the next month to make sure you have the money to get the house, or are you asking what to do once you've got it?

If you need money right away:
1. Do.not.spend.anything.at.all for the next month. A big bag of dried beans and/or ramen will last you a long time and is very cheap. If you think you need to spend any money, just write it down instead and think about it for a few days (weeks) and promise yourself you'll get it later. No parties, no going out to eat dinner, etc. Keep in mind your vision of a great house. Look around on frugal personal finance websites for lots of ideas of how not to spend.
2. Try to get a(nother?) part-time job - holiday santa? pizza delivery? sell plasma? night security guard?
3. Can you retroactively ask your party friends to pay admission for the halloween party? Or see if they'll each chip in 10 bucks as a deposit towards your next really cool MLK-day party in January, for which you'll have the money later. Sounds weird, but if you have friends like this, use them.
4. Would your parents float you a loan for a few hundred for a few months?

Once you get the house - keep living like a college student - milk crates and cinder blocks for shelves, tv on the floor, garage sales/thrift stores/craigslist for most everything you think you need, which isn't really much.
You will have plenty of time to furnish with real stuff after you've had a few months to build up some cash reserves.

Get a roommate for the spring semester?
posted by CathyG at 7:14 PM on November 4, 2009 [2 favorites]

If you pay for car insurance already, and the same place offers renters insurance, it shouldn't be much of a difference since you get a discount for having two policies.
I have travelers and it was the same price for car insurance with or without renters insurance.

This would most likely depend somewhat on where you live, obviously.
posted by ijoyner at 7:20 PM on November 4, 2009

Just another anecdote about renter's insurance: I got mine from the same company I get my auto insurance from, and it's like $13/month. Get it.
posted by radioamy at 7:36 PM on November 4, 2009

Definitely talk to the landlord about a timetable for the deposit - maybe draw up a small contract with specific dates and amounts. S/he obviously knows you're gainfully employed so you're good for it.
posted by radioamy at 7:38 PM on November 4, 2009

So, not to seem golddigger-ish, but you're getting married in 6 months right? I (am unmarried) and supremely jealous of all the support my recently wedded friends got, while I was also establishing a household of my own at the time. Aside from being a wonderful expression of love and yadda yadda, a wedding serves the function of starting you two off in your new life together, socially and materially. Ask for Ikea and Target gift cards.

Don't spend too much on stuff for your apartment just yet. Get 4 forks, 4 plates, 4 glasses, a skillet, a hot plate, toaster oven, and maybe a few lack side tables. Check out craigslist, salvation army, dumpster dive, etc for everything non-upholstered, (or liberally apply lysol and bleach at your discretion).

I guess I'm not really understanding what there is to your question. You know you need budget. Get yourself the basics you need for living, (sleep, food, comfort, entertainment) and each month save up for another piece of furniture, appliance or upgrade. It would be very foolish to put everything on credit, but thats an option if you can't do "survival mode" for long. Furniture rental stores, will give you credit if you have a job.

Also, it's totally a rite of passage to put in your first apartment a poang chair. They're cheap, and when you've had a rough day, and your apartment is pretty shabby looking, at least you can be comfortable and relax in that chair.
posted by fontophilic at 7:40 PM on November 4, 2009 [1 favorite]

You're going to need a deposit for the utilities, you know that, right? It's usually $100 for each - water, gas, electric - the only one that doesn't always need a deposit is cable and of course that's the one you can do without. So you need $1600 total: $650 + $650 rent & security, $1300 plus $300 utility deposits - $1600. You've got exactly enough money for that if you spend nothing from your next two $800 paychecks, which means that you have to live on your fiancee's $400 for a month. That's tight, although eminently doable, IF you don't have any other outstanding bills and IF you don't have to buy propane or heating oil right away. Depending on where you live, if you need heat and how the house is heated, which, by the way, you should find out about now, because there is very little worse than moving into a house in December and discovering that it has no heat, you may have to buy those and that will hurt: the minimum purchase is 100 gallons and that's about $300 right now. So those are your upfront costs. Skip the renter's insurance: you don't have anything to lose.

As far as worrying about appliances, legally, depending on the state you're living in, the landlord should be supplying at least a stove to a rented house. Sometimes (South Carolina, I'm looking at you) they don't have to put in a fridge, in which case, Craigslist, etc., and in the meantime a cooler is your friend. You have a bed and a desk and a car; you're okay for ages for furniture. You don't buy appliances until you are also buying a house unless you have decided that a washer/dryer is the most important thing in the world to you and you know that it's probably going to go away when you move. Otherwise, appliances are the landlord's responsibility.

Other than those things, really, you're cool. You can staple sheets up over the windows for curtains and insulation; you can sit on the floor; you can get by with the horrible frying pan you will almost certainly find in the drawer under the stove or, failing that, you can equip a surprisingly decent kitchen for very little from the Goodwill. Stuff accumulates by itself.
posted by mygothlaundry at 7:41 PM on November 4, 2009

On the fridge topic -- do you have one at work? Could you store a half gallon of milk and some eggs there without anyone really noticing? Take what you need home each night. Add a cheapo microwave, a toaster oven and a cooler, and 6 months will fly by. All of these should be free or really cheap on craigslist or second hand thrift stores. Alternatively -- where's your girlfriend living right now? Cook/eat at her place! Even if she's still at her parents, you can at least eat there, right?

After the wedding you'll be swimming in gift cards. You can flip the ones you don't really need for almost 100% of the cash value on craigslist or ebay. Until then, a free lawn chair from CL and dollar store toiletries is about all you should need.

Good luck!
posted by cgg at 9:34 PM on November 4, 2009

Just, you know, this is why you need a good financial cushion at all times. You should never, ever be living on the edge like that.
posted by TravellingDen at 10:03 PM on November 4, 2009

Where are you? A lot of areas have tenancy assistance services - where I am it's possible to get a bond loan, an interest free loan to cover the deposit required to move in. It's probably worth looking to see if such a service is available where you are.

Milk crates are the Lego of the furnishing world. You can build just about anything from them. At one point I had crate end tables, crate storage units, crate TV stand, crate chairs and crate filing cabinets. I managed to get all black ones, and it didn't even look that appauling. There's not a lot you can't do with crates. And best of all, they are free and can be returned to the point of collection when you get some real furniture. You already have the most important home furnishing - a bed - so really you can take your time with the rest. You can loll on a bed just as well as you can on a couch. You can eat dinner at a desk. The rest is window dressing.

Basic homewares are cheap as all hell from second hand shops. I mean, my local Salvos does a thirty dollar home starter with a dinner setting for four and some linens in it. It doesn't match, but it's servicable.

I would also suggest throwing a housewarming party when you move in, as a lot of folk accumulate things like kitchenware and linen more or less without trying and delight in getting rid of them. I have like ten dozen glasses and a likewise ridiculous number of cups and teatowels I've had previous housemates abandon, or freebies from reps at work, or whatever, and I've helped kit people out in the past. So long as you can make music happen, tell your peeps its BYO everything Housewarming, you can have a lot of fun with it. Really, an empty flat is begging for a party.
posted by Jilder at 11:00 PM on November 4, 2009

It's easy to live frugally when you are in the space that implies frugality. Actually, what you need is budget advice for living frugally NOW before you move in after the 1st.

Living at home still? Guess what, you're going to get some great family times because you'll be eating with them. :) Thanksgiving... leftovers, yay! Any generous relatives who would love to help you move out? An early Christmas gift?

Don't buy anything for the apartment! Nothing! not yet, anyway.

Does your office have a store of extra furniture you could borrow? Speaking of the office, could you ask for overtime? Bring lunch from home.

Start a count down to the 1st, and put it somewhere prominent in your room/house so you are motivated not to spend.
posted by titanium_geek at 1:26 AM on November 5, 2009

Now that you're getting rid of the 40 minute commute, how walkable is the rest of the area? can you sell your car and get by with public transportation, a cheap bicycle or bumming rides from your fiancee? Do you have books or a DVD collection you'll have to move anyway? you can sell some on amazon to try and drum up some cash. Do you have a jar of change laying around? pull out any dimes and quarters older than 1965 and sell them for the silver they contain, might get a few hundred bucks, convert the rest into cash at your bank.

How well located is the apartment for your fiancee's job? if the house isn't in a good position for her, you might want to just keep looking rather than having to move again in 6 months.

other than that, I think mygothlaundry laid out your doable but tight budget.
posted by jrishel at 9:14 AM on November 5, 2009