Posted
on Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 12:50 PM
Here in the silent heart, my choices make no sense to me, there seems to be something beyond me that I cannot answer, something that I should have been speaking to instead of worrying.
What are Halifax landlords thinking? The rental costs of a one bedroom apartment on the Peninsula are on average ridiculous. People can’t afford them, and landlords are having trouble renting them. Why you might ask? Let me break it down for you.
I am a young professional and I make a good salary, about $53,000 a year. After I pay taxes, pension, et cetera, my take home is $2,750 a month. Rent for a decent one bedroom costs about $1,000-$1,200. Now, given that most of these don’t include utilities that averages to about $1,200-$1,500 housing costs in total. Landlords will charge me extra for parking too. Total dumps in unsafe neighbourhoods rent for around $800-$1,000. Don’t even get me started on housing for the working poor.
The rule of thumb is that one shouldn’t pay any more than 30 percent of their net income for housing costs. At these rates you have an aspiring middle class YUPPIE like me (your target market) putting 45-50 percent of my monthly income towards housing. That’s not going to happen. Because I’m a well-educated yuppie and I can do the math. Landlords: you aren’t the only people interested in making a profit and having a savings account. Stop being so greedy.
Most of these apartments aren’t even nice. Having a clean and updated space does not make it "luxury" or "executive"—it just makes the living space what most people would expect.
My POINT is—if you are wondering why your luxury flat isn’t renting for $1,200 it’s because the people who could actually afford the rent are saving to buy their own house—or already own one.
This yuppie has gone co-op. —Co-op Baby