Introduction: How Much Rent Can You Afford and the Best Rent Calculator for How Much You Can Afford
Finding a place to rent is getting harder and harder in today’s world. If you live in any metropolitan area, chances are that you’ll be paying at least $1,000 a month for a small apartment.
Even if you live in a rural area, home affordability for renters isn’t easy, and rent most likely will be your major monthly expense.
If you have asked yourself, “How much can I afford for rent?” you’re probably one of millions of people trying to pinch pennies in order to find a decent place to live. One of the best ways to measure home affordability is with the help of a “how much rent can I afford” calculator. A rent calculator is a quick and easy way to find out exactly how much you should be paying.
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In this brief article, AdvisoryHQ will explain the details of a “how much rent can I afford” calculator before looking at who benefits using one.
We will then go over how the best rent calculators can help you discover the home affordability options available to you before examining the characteristics to take into consideration when looking for the best rent affordability calculator on the Internet. Lastly, we’ll go on to review a few of the top rent calculators for how much you can afford.
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What Is a “How Much Rent Can I Afford” Calculator?
Let’s say that you have a stack of bills that need to be paid every month, and, at the same time, your longtime roommate is kicking you out of your room because he or she is getting married next month. You’d prefer to find a nice apartment of your own instead of sharing with someone else, but you’re wondering, “How much rent can I afford?”
Trying to balance a tight budget when leftover income at the end of the month is a rarity isn’t easy to do. A few miscalculations here and there and you could end up several hundred dollars short on rent each month. A “how much rent can I afford” calculator is a free online tool that will take into consideration your monthly income and fixed expenses to help give you an idea of how much you should be paying monthly.
If math isn’t your strong suit, a simple rent calculator can help you find the best home affordability options. Instead of shopping for a five-bedroom, three-bathroom penthouse, a “how much rent can I afford” calculator will let you know your price range so you don’t waste time searching for unrealistic rent options.
Furthermore, many people who ask themselves the question, “How much can I afford for rent?” often underestimate their purchasing power and the reality of their financial situation.
With a stack of bills and a medium-income type of job, it’s easy to feel that you simply can’t afford anything but the very worst. A rent affordability calculator can help you accurately judge your current financial situation so that you can determine a budget and find a dignified home.
Who Should Consider Using a Home Affordability Calculator?
Unless you are a university math teacher, pretty much anyone can benefit from a quality home affordability calculator. However, a “how much rent can I afford” calculator is best for people who need to find a place to live and are short on time.
Furthermore, a quality “how much rent can I afford” calculator also benefits people who have landlords (or potential landlords) who strictly follow the guidelines on who they rent to.
According to wisebread.com, “Many landlords require that your income is 40 times the monthly rent – or more. Simply take your pre-tax annual salary and divide it by 40 to find the monthly rent that you will be approved for, assuming your landlord uses this requirement.”
If a potential landlord starts throwing our strange numbers regarding your annual income being 40 times the rent price, a rent calculator for how much you can afford will allow you to be better prepared for negotiating with those “straight by the books” types of landlords.
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Furthermore, if you are the type that likes to stick to a budget or if you want to stay faithful to your long-term financial savings goals, a rent calculator for how much you can afford will allow you to make sure that your rent expense is no more than 30% of your monthly income. When answering the question, “How much rent can I afford?” this famous 30% rule will allow you to dedicate more of your monthly income to other investments and savings for your long-term financial well-being.
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How a Rent Calculator Can Help You Discover Home Affordability
Many times, young people who move from rural areas or small towns into metropolitan areas simply have no idea how the price of rent will change. The comfortable two-bedroom townhouse that you were renting in your hometown for $1,000 would probably cost several times that amount in a big city.
A “how much rent can i afford” calculator often comes with a helpful zip code option that will help you better understand how much rent can you afford.
Alternatively, people who are accustomed to city life and then move to the countryside may find that the rent they were paying for a small studio in the city would now suddenly allow them to rent a full-sized home. Asking yourself, “How much rent can I afford?” will depend largely on where you are planning on renting.
Since home affordability changes so vastly according to different regions, a home affordability calculator or rent affordability calculator can help you find the best type of rental home or apartment for your budget.
What to Look for in the Best Rent Affordability Calculator
There are a number of different “how much rent can I afford” calculators available on the Internet. Below, we will review four of the top choices when searching for the best rent calculators for how much you can afford; however, whichever rent calculator you choose, make sure that it comes with a few of the following features:
- A “how much rent can i afford” calculator should allow you to input data for various sources of income. For many people, your salaried job may be one type of income, but perhaps you also draw a pension of some sorts. The best calculators will allow you to input various sources of income to correctly calculate a figure.
- A rent calculator for how much you can afford should also ask you for your monthly debts or expenses. Even if you have a high-paying job, if you are still paying off expensive school loans or have some other serious monthly financial obligations, this will limit how much you can pay each month.
- Furthermore, the best rent calculator for how much you can afford should also include an “apartment search” option. Once you determine your budget for rent based on your total monthly income and monthly debts or expenses, the best rent affordability calculators or home affordability calculators should allow you to search for apartments or homes for rent in a certain zip code. This is important because it will also help you figure out what type of home you will be able to rent in the area you’re moving to.
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The Best “How Much Rent Can I Afford” Calculators
Below, we look at three of the best “how much rent can I afford” calculators offered by some of the leaders in the real estate industry. These quality rent calculators will allow you to find the best places for your budget.
Rent Calculator for How Much You Can Afford by Rent Lingo
Rentlingo.com offers a free quality rent calculator for how much you can afford. This online leader has helped thousands of people to find the best rental homes and apartments around the country. With its calculator, you can input various sources of income that you earn on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis.
Furthermore, this rent affordability calculator also helps you to find apartments within your budget through a zip code search. According to its website, “you can search for apartments based solely on your budget. RentLingo’s apartment reviews and ratings so that you can narrow your search to the best apartments possible that will fit your budget.”
The only negative aspect of this “how much rent can I afford” calculator is that it doesn’t allow you to input your monthly debts or expenses. If you have a lot of monthly bills that cut into your income, you will need to calculate that yourself and input an adjusted income number.
Rent Calculator for How Much You Can Afford by Zillow
Zillow is one of the nationwide leaders in the online real estate industry. The rent calculator for how much you can afford offered by zillow.com allows you to input your total monthly income and monthly debts. It then provides rental options in your targeted zip code area for up to 40% of your monthly gross income.
Rent Calculator for How Much You Can Afford by Domu
Domu.com also offers a top-of-the-line rent calculator for how much you can afford. Like the other options, this rent calculator also asks for how much you earn each month.
A unique option that comes with this “how much rent can I afford” calculator is that it offers three options that cater to people with different budget preferences.
Your monthly rent budget depends not only on your income and expenses but also on your personal lifestyle choices, savings habits, and long-term financial goals. This rent calculator for how much you can afford gives you information on low-end, middle-of-the-road, and high-end estimations.
The low-end option offers a figure based on rent accounting for 15% of your total income. The middle-of-the-road option gives that estimation for 25% of your income and the high-end is for 35% of your income.
If you don’t mind living in a smaller house in a low equity location, you may be able to find low-end rental options. If, however, you want to live in a classier neighborhood in a larger, newer home, you may end up spending 35% or more of your monthly income.
This “how much rent can I afford” calculator is a helpful tool for you to gauge how much you can spend depending on your lifestyle choices as they pertain to housing.
How a Rent Calculator Can Ultimately Benefit You
When trying to find out your rent budget, there are a number of free rent calculators that you can find online.
The best rent calculator for how much you can afford will help you better budget for your housing situation, improve your negotiating position with rental property managers, and find the best home for you and your family wherever you are planning to move.
Read More: Which Is the Best Mortgage Calculator? Google vs. Trulia vs. Bank of America
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