The listing says $1,200/mo. Here's what it really costs. Free, no signup.
Everything due before you spend a single night there.
The bills the listing doesn't mention.
Ask the leasing office for the prior tenant's average electric bill before you sign. Same rent in a poorly insulated unit can cost $100+/mo more.
Measured against your TRUE monthly cost, not the listing price.
The listing price is not what an apartment costs. This calculator finds the real number in two parts. First, cash to get the keys: security deposit (with quick buttons to set it to one month's rent or half a month), last month up front, admin or move-in fees, application fees per adult, pet deposit, and moving costs. It adds the first month's rent too, since that is due at signing, and shows the total as a multiple of the monthly rent so the sticker shock is clear. Second, the true monthly number: electric, gas, water and sewer and trash, internet, renters insurance, parking, pet rent, and any other fees, all added to the rent. Then the affordability check: enter your monthly take-home pay and it measures the TRUE cost against it, not the listing price. At or under 30% is flagged affordable, 30 to 40% is a stretch, over 40% is likely unaffordable. One tip from the tool: ask the leasing office for the prior tenant's average electric bill before you sign, because the same rent in a poorly insulated unit can cost $100 or more extra per month.
Example only, not typical costs. Rent $1,200, deposit $1,200, $150 admin fee, $50 application fee for one adult, $300 moving. Cash to get the keys is $1,200 + $1,200 + $150 + $50 + $300 + first month's $1,200 = $4,100, or 3.4 times the monthly rent due up front. Monthly bills add $110 electric, $40 gas, $45 water, $65 internet, $18 insurance, for a true monthly cost of $1,478, which is $278 over the listing. On $4,200 take-home that is 35.2% of income: Stretch.
Admin fees, application fees per adult, pet deposits, and moving costs stack up fast. The tool adds everything due before you spend a single night there, which is why the total often runs 3 to 4 times the monthly rent.
Electric, gas, water and sewer and trash, internet, renters insurance, parking, pet rent, and amenity or trash fees. Any of them can be the one that breaks the budget, so enter each one.
A common guideline that housing should cost no more than 30% of take-home pay. It is a rule of thumb, not a law, but the tool uses it because it is the standard most landlords and budgets are measured against.
Yes. Many leases require it, and even where they do not, it is cheap protection for your belongings. The tool has its own line for it.
No. Always read the lease line by line before signing. This is an estimating tool, not legal advice.
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