# Without an adequate retirement nest egg I often wonder how my dotage will play out.



## Bretrick (Apr 2, 2022)

Early life decisions have seen me without my own home and have me renting my whole life.
Currently the average rent in Perth for an apartment is $450 a week.
My rent is $225 a week. So I am doing okay on that front.
The problem arises when the current owner of my unit passes away - he is about 85 - and the units are passed onto his son.
What will he do?
I am not sure if he will sell, though he may raise the rent. I am fooling myself if I think I will be able to stay here until I too pass away.
That could be anywhere from tomorrow or 30 years.
I am not stressing about it, just musing over my future.
One thing that is happening right now is that homelessness in growing at a rapid rate here in Perth.
Be it through landlords selling their places and the new owners moving in. Tenants losing employment and being unable to afford their rent.
Landlords raising the rent by up to 40%. Why would a landlord raise the rent $150/$200 a week?
Many people are reduced to living in their cars, whole families. This makes me extremely sad and angry.
I do not know what I would do if I once again became homeless.
Maybe I would simply disappear.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 2, 2022)

Do you have access to senior housing or income subsidized housing in Australia?

In my area, we have several nice government-subsidized senior citizen apartment complexes where the rent is based on income and assets.  The basic rent is normally 35% of income.

We also have government-sponsored programs that will provide private landlords with rent vouchers for a portion of the rent based on the tenant's income, assets, family size, etc...


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 2, 2022)

Aunt Bea said:


> Do you have access to senior housing or income subsidized housing in Australia?
> 
> In my area, we have several nice government-subsidized senior citizen apartment complexes where the rent is based on income and assets.  The basic rent is normally 35% of income.
> 
> We also have government-sponsored programs that will provide private landlords with rent vouchers for a portion of the rent based on the tenant's income, assets, family size, etc...


There is not enough subsidised housing in Australia.
What there is has a waiting list of many years


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 2, 2022)

What about a rent cap ?.. do you have that in Perth ?


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 2, 2022)

hollydolly said:


> What about a rent cap ?.. do you have that in Perth ?


No rent cap here.
There is starting to be talk about it, but it will never happen. Governments here do not have the will to implement such a radical idea.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 2, 2022)

Bretrick said:


> There are not enough subsidised housing in Australia.
> What there is has a waiting list of many years


It's the same in this country.

The important thing is to get registered so your name is moving up on as many lists as possible.

In this country, if a person has a medical event that lands them in the hospital a social worker is usually assigned to help them manage the changes in their lives.  That usually includes preferential treatment in moving up the waiting list ahead of healthier or wealthier housing applicants.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 2, 2022)

Aunt Bea said:


> It's the same in this country.
> 
> The important thing is to get registered so your name is moving up on as many lists as possible.
> 
> In this country, if a person has a medical event that lands them in the hospital a social worker is usually assigned to help them manage the changes in their lives.  That usually includes preferential treatment in moving up the waiting list ahead of healthier or wealthier housing applicants.


yes same here there's not enough affordable housing here... rents are atrocious particularly here in the South.. the further north you go the cheaper they become, but housing is at an all time premium everywhere in the UK....however there is a rent cap in most places. I don't know the details of it, but I know it exists

I don't want to get political, but this is a tiny Island with already a known population of near 70 million.. if we stopped accepting more immigrants than we can handle , there would  be affordable housing  available  for the millions who are living in temporary shelters, hostels and single rooms with families , and the local authorities paying the rents..


----------



## Manatee (Apr 3, 2022)

My sister lived in a rent controlled apartment in New York.  The landlord got tired of the city telling him what rent he could charge.
He notified all residents that the building was becoming a condominium, Buy your apartment or get out.  My sister was right at retirement age, so she moved to Florida.


----------



## palides2021 (Apr 3, 2022)

Have you thought of rooming with someone? Maybe cut the rent in half and save money that way. Just a thought.


----------



## Don M. (Apr 3, 2022)

One of the biggest reasons for skyrocketing home prices and rentals is large corporations buying up housing, and making big profits on the rents and resales.  Every year, as a result, more and more people are being priced out of the housing market, and have little choice but to pay ridiculous rents just to have a place to live.  If this trend continues, homeless camps will be growing even larger.  

https://nypost.com/2020/07/18/corporations-are-buying-houses-robbing-families-of-american-dream/


----------



## Remy (Apr 4, 2022)

Don M. said:


> One of the biggest reasons for skyrocketing home prices and rentals is large corporations buying up housing, and making big profits on the rents and resales.  Every year, as a result, more and more people are being priced out of the housing market, and have little choice but to pay ridiculous rents just to have a place to live.  If this trend continues, homeless camps will be growing even larger.
> 
> https://nypost.com/2020/07/18/corporations-are-buying-houses-robbing-families-of-american-dream/


This makes me angry beyond belief. It should not be allowed. It's a proof that the law makers don't care about the people.

I heard on San Francisco news talk radio this AM that a homeless person is suing the city because a city run homeless encampment (not sure what they mean by city run, perhaps they provide water, trash pickup, port a potties) is right by the freeway and he's exposed to excess noise and pollution. He wants housing. So do a lot of working people.

I'm not ice cold to the homeless but some of these people are complete drug addicts, crooks, thieves and beyond untrustworthy.


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 4, 2022)

palides2021 said:


> Have you thought of rooming with someone? Maybe cut the rent in half and save money that way. Just a thought.


A good thought as well. I am okay with the rent, which is half of the average.
I have tried sharing in the past and it drove me bonkers.


----------



## Jan14 (Apr 4, 2022)

If you’ve made it this far, you will figure it out!  You sound like a survivor.  But I’m sorry to hear your dilemma, such difficult times we are living in.


----------



## OneEyedDiva (Apr 5, 2022)

hollydolly said:


> yes same here there's not enough affordable housing here... rents are atrocious particularly here in the South.. the further north you go the cheaper they become, but housing is at an all time premium everywhere in the UK....however there is a rent cap in most places. I don't know the details of it, but I know it exists
> 
> I don't want to get political, but this is a tiny Island with already a known population of near 70 million.. if we stopped accepting more immigrants than we can handle , there would  be affordable housing  available  for the millions who are living in temporary shelters, hostels and single rooms with families , and the local authorities paying the rents..


While I don't wish to sound unsympathetic to immigrants, especially those fleeing war and dangerous situations and even didn't care for the idea of turning them away, I've been thinking and sometimes saying the same as you HD. One of my friends who claims to be a-political but really leans to the right, often talks about this. We have *so much* poverty in the U.S....too many of our children are going to bed hungry, etc. We were always taught...*take care of home first. *I'd feel better about continuing to allow immigrants to come here en masse, if we solved the poverty-hunger problem of American citizens first or at the very least, simultaneously.


----------



## OneEyedDiva (Apr 5, 2022)

Bretrick, I feel for you. It's good that you are giving this thought now before something happens. It seems to me that allowing landlords to raise rents that much should be against the law. I don't know if you are in a financial position to save money or more money in anticipation as to what may happen. I've found that even those who claim to have more month than money can find ways to cut costs and I'm saying this from personal experience and observations as well as talking with others. If you can do so, save every penny you can.

@palides2021 idea might be a good one* if *you can find the right housemate and if you can deal with constant company. I'd say the likelihood that your landlord's son would raise the rent is quite high and he might even do so to keep pace with what you say the average rents are. That he might sell is also a likely scenario, if he's one who doesn't want to be bothered with the upkeep and business of being a landlord.

I wish the best case scenarios for you...that your landlord will live much longer (my mom lived to be 97), that you'll have time to add to your savings and that when your owner dies, his son will keep the house, be thoughtful and not raise the rent too much. I hope the person who responded (in another thread) that the homeless should do more to help themselves (sic), will read your account of what's happening to cause homelessness where you live!


----------



## Lee (Apr 5, 2022)

Wow, that rent you mention Bretrick would get you a luxury apartment here where I am. You don't say but does your apartment fall into that category? If so, would you be comfortable scaling back to a cheaper apartment rather than sharing with someone?

It would be a bit of an upheaval and not knowing your circumstances as far as pension etc. but would an option be to move to another country more affordable. Many places on the globe you can live quite well on little.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 5, 2022)

Lee said:


> Wow, that rent you mention Bretrick would get you a luxury apartment here where I am. You don't say but does your apartment fall into that category? If so, would you be comfortable scaling back to a cheaper apartment rather than sharing with someone?
> 
> It would be a bit of an upheaval and not knowing your circumstances as far as pension etc. but would an option be to move to another country more affordable. Many places on the globe you can live quite well on little.


$225 Australian Dollars is approx £135 in the Uk.. ..about 1/2 or a third of the average rents here , so that's a cheap rent

In the UK  particularly here in th South people who rent would give their eye teeth for a rent as cheap as that


----------



## Lee (Apr 5, 2022)

Thanks Holly for the explanation. So he is paying $900 a month which still will buy you a decent place to live in some places. Even here, maybe not luxury but pretty decent if a person stays out of the big cities.


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 5, 2022)

Lee said:


> Thanks Holly for the explanation. So he is paying $900 a month which still will buy you a decent place to live in some places. Even here, maybe not luxury but pretty decent if a person stays out of the big cities.


here it wouldn't buy anything in the south..worth living in...unfortunately, which is why we have such a housing crises.

Here's the prices of rentals within 10 miles of where I live ( I'm 20 miles outside of the city) ..just to give you an idea of rental prices...

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/propert...=&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=


----------



## Lee (Apr 5, 2022)

Here is a comparison, this place is in a nearby town from me, still has all shopping such as Walmart, just not as much as the bigger city 15 minutes away. Luxury apartments of course go up in price depending on amenities such as in unit washer/dryer and dishwasher.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-apartments-...ceburg-at-800-wallace-st/1611600944?undefined


----------



## hollydolly (Apr 5, 2022)

Lee said:


> Here is a comparison, this place is in a nearby town from me, still has all shopping such as Walmart, just not as much as the bigger city 15 minutes away. Luxury apartments of course go up in price depending on amenities such as in unit washer/dryer and dishwasher.
> 
> https://www.kijiji.ca/v-apartments-...ceburg-at-800-wallace-st/1611600944?undefined


OMG, how cheap....  I wish I was still of working age, and Canada would accept me..I'd move there..

Actually, that's a thought, there's nothing stopping me from going out for a long term holiday rental ...hmmmm... I may ponder on that one...


----------



## Kaila (Apr 5, 2022)

Aunt Bea said:


> The important thing is to get registered so your name is moving up on as many lists as possible.
> 
> In this country, if a person has a medical event that lands them in the hospital a social worker is usually assigned to help them manage the changes in their lives. That usually includes preferential treatment in moving up the waiting list ahead



This is what I was going to suggest to you and to anyone in similar circumstances.

Get on those wait lists, that are years long, in case you dearly need it, in the future at the time when one opens up. 
 And so that you are on them, if your situation changes sooner than hoped, so there's more possibility of being moved up, than if you are not even on the list at all.

On a different point raised in this thread, regarding whether it might be better or cheaper, for someone to move to another country, keep in mind that is not easy (or possible for most of us) to do, for countless reasons.  
Besides the additional expenses of actually moving, most importantly there are many laws, rules and guidelines, set by each individual country, that would not let most people simply decide to live there.


----------



## C50 (Apr 5, 2022)

If you have a good relationship with the current landlord and have been a long time tenant maybe you can make a deal.  

Get a life time residency option.  As long as the building stays in his family you get to stay at agreed upon terms, and those terms transfer as part of his estate.  

That's just a thought, maybe something can be negotiated.  If they sell the property though that deal does you no good.


----------



## StarSong (Apr 5, 2022)

Rents have also skyrocketed here.  Back in the early 70s - mid 80s, Los Angeles  area rents were dirt cheap.  Those days are long gone. According to Apartments.com:

"As of March 2022, the average (monthly) apartment rent in San Fernando Valley is $1,990 for a studio, $2,544 for one bedroom, $3,184 for two bedrooms, and $4,243 for three bedrooms. Apartment rent in San Fernando Valley has increased by 12.1% in the past year."

@Bretrick, you're wise to start pondering how you might manage if your rent goes up significantly.  

I agree that corporations are buying up houses,real estate and rentals, forcing prices and rents to escalate. Without legislation to stop this practice, people will soon be shut out of the opportunity to own their own homes and will struggle to cover rent while greedy owners and corporations salivate over their profits.


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 5, 2022)

OneEyedDiva said:


> Bretrick, I feel for you. It's good that you are giving this thought now before something happens. It seems to me that allowing landlords to raise rents that much should be against the law. I don't know if you are in a financial position to save money or more money in anticipation as to what may happen. I've found that even those who claim to have more month than money can find ways to cut costs and I'm saying this from personal experience and observations and talking with others. If you can do so, save every penny you can.
> 
> @palides2021 idea might be a good one* if *you can find the right housemate and if you can deal with constant company. I'd say the likelihood that you landlord's son would raise the rent is quite high and he might even do so to keep pace with what you say the average rents are. That he might sell is also a likely scenario, if he's one who doesn't want to be bothered with the upkeep and business of being a landlord.
> 
> I wish the best case scenarios for you...that your landlord will live much longer (my mom lived to be 97), that you'll have time to add to your savings and that when your owner dies, his son will keep the house, be thoughtful and not raise the rent too much. I hope the person who responded that the homeless should do more to help themselves (sic), will read your account of what's happening to cause homelessness where you live!


My rent is very low when compared to the average of $450, I am paying $225.
I have just found out that other residents rent has risen but mine has not. Maybe because I turned a bad patch of weeds into a native plants garden and continue with it's upkeep.
When standing back and viewing the situation, my landlord owns over 120 units, where I live there are 30 units so maybe they will not be sold.
An Estate agent runs the whole business with the owner coming around occasionally to check on the units as a whole though does not interfere with the residents peace and quietude.
I save well over 50% of my income and as long as I remain employed for the next few years I should be able to amass over $200,000.
Plus I do have a superannuation account which I add 15% of my income.


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 5, 2022)

Lee said:


> Wow, that rent you mention Bretrick would get you a luxury apartment here where I am. You don't say but does your apartment fall into that category? If so, would you be comfortable scaling back to a cheaper apartment rather than sharing with someone?
> 
> It would be a bit of an upheaval and not knowing your circumstances as far as pension etc. but would an option be to move to another country more affordable. Many places on the globe you can live quite well on little.


My rent is very low when compared to the average of $450, I am paying $225.
My unit was built in the 60's so not palatial at all.
I will not be sharing with anyone. Tried that and failed.
The thing with sharing is that there are always the other persons friends as well to contend with. At one stage I walked out of my shared place and went to a hotel because my flat mate had a party with all his mates, alcohol and drugs. I was working and needed sleep so I went and found a quite hotel room.
Renting with others is rather difficult, as OneEyedDiva mentioned, finding the right person becomes problematical. Each having to deal with each other's foibles and friends.
Never will I leave Australia, my situation is okay at the moment though the future might become shaky.


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 5, 2022)

hollydolly said:


> $225 Australian Dollars is approx £135 in the Uk.. ..about 1/2 or a third of the average rents here , so that's a cheap rent
> 
> In the UK  particularly here in th South people who rent would give their eye teeth for a rent as cheap as that


Yes, I have been here for 8 years now and my rent has never risen. Quite lucky in that regard.


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 5, 2022)

Aunt Bea said:


> It's the same in this country.
> 
> The important thing is to get registered so your name is moving up on as many lists as possible.
> 
> In this country, if a person has a medical event that lands them in the hospital a social worker is usually assigned to help them manage the changes in their lives.  That usually includes preferential treatment in moving up the waiting list ahead of healthier or wealthier housing applicants.


I earn too much to be eligible for social housing.
While I was unemployed I was in the list, then I found employment.
Within 6 months of being on the subsidised housing list I was offered a place but my income precluded me from taking the place.


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 5, 2022)

Kaila said:


> This is what I was going to suggest to you and to anyone in similar circumstances.
> 
> Get on those wait lists, that are years long, in case you dearly need it, in the future at the time when one opens up.
> And so that you are on them, if your situation changes sooner than hoped, so there's more possibility of being moved up, than if you are not even on the list at all.
> ...


One drawback to that is that being a single guy, places come up rather quickly. I was on the list and offered a place within 6 months but I had found permanent work in the interim and my income was too high so I had to forego the place.
There is a threshold as to how many times a person can reject an offer (for what ever reason) so I am in the situation where I will need to be permanently not looking for work before I can reapply lest I am offered another place in a short amount of time.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 5, 2022)

Bretrick said:


> I earn too much to be eligible for social housing.
> While I was unemployed I was in the list, then I found employment.
> Within 6 months of being on the subsidised housing list I was offered a place but my income precluded me from taking the place.


It's comforting to know that the system works and that the waiting list isn't years long.


----------



## Chet (Apr 5, 2022)

Some elderly home owners here are losing there homes because they can't afford their property tax. I get two tax bills, one for the county and municipality where I live and the other is the school tax. Elderly people are paying to educate kids who either they never had or are grown adults now.


----------



## Bretrick (Apr 5, 2022)

Aunt Bea said:


> It's comforting to know that the system works and that the waiting list isn't years long.


The waiting list is about 2 years for families.


----------



## Jules (Apr 5, 2022)

Chet said:


> Some elderly home owners here are losing there homes because they can't afford their property tax. I get two tax bills, one for the county and municipality where I live and the other is the school tax. Elderly people are paying to educate kids who either they never had or are grown adults now.


Our province has a plan that the elderly owner can postpone paying taxes until the house is sold when they move out or pass away.  Some people are sitting in an old house on waterfront property that is worth a fortune.  It seems to balance out.  There’s also lower rate of taxes for those over 65.  

We’re always paying something in the taxes that doesn’t apply to us.  It all tends to balance out, IMO.


----------



## Jules (Apr 5, 2022)

@Bretrick   I don’t know how much a small studio condo would cost you.  If your rent starts to change too much, you may be able to make a down payment.  You’re one of the smart ones to have a savings account.


----------

