So for context, my wife and I live in a house in a suburb of Los Angeles, which we have locked in with a 3% mortgage and sub-$3K monthly P&I payment. It's been great financially for us and combined with some recent job promotions we are very financially secure.
The current issue is my job requires 5 days a week in office, and my commute is 22 miles each direction, which adds up to 2+ hours in the car every day. This has been taking a toll on me mentally and physically, and is also taking away quality time with my wife and dog. It has also somewhat limited any further job prospects for me outside my current employer, as most jobs in my field would be even further away.
We've recently been discussing renting a small apartment very close to my office. It's in a more urban, tourist part of the city and we used to live in the area before we bought our house. She works remotely, so we would spend 2-4 days during the workweek there and use our home more for weekends or hosting. I've already been looking and there are apartments available in the $2.5K-$3.5K range, which we can afford with our very cheap mortgage, but obviously would cut into our saving rate. It would also open up the potential job market for me, having a place closer to other potential employers and removing the commute hurdle.
Has anyone here rented a 'city' apartment for work while maintaining a suburban main home? I'm just trying to get a sense of how 'worth it' it is financially, if there are any financial or logistical things I may not be considering, and any potential pitfalls.
Any and all input is appreciated
Considering renting a pied-a-terre apartment near work
byu/JBru_92 inpersonalfinance
Posted by JBru_92
15 Comments
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Time apart from family in a different weekday place also takes an emotional toll. Be sure to factor that into your calculation. Quality of life is not always an easy calculation
You need to factor in what you are giving up by spending this money. It sounds like you have at least $3k a month in savings currently that you would decrease if you went down this path. What was that savings for? If retirement, how long would you have to postpone retirement because you are saving less? Is the tradeoff of no commute worth the X extra years of work?
Also, why not just move into the city at this point? It may be cheaper.
I don’t know if there are any local income taxes or the like that would be triggered.
Also, are there any property tax deductions for that being your primary residence. Would you still qualify for them if you do this?
Yeah. We did it; roughly the same numbers.
No kids at the time and totally worth it. Suggest an Airbnb for a month to see if the habit sticks.
Life is too short to spend 24 hours a week driving
I am one of those people with 3%-ish mortgages from a few years ago, so I understand the impulse to keep it. But your post doesn’t mention anything about loving the current house, and your current house is, with this plan, going to cost you nearly $6000/month in housing. If you think about it that way, consider: what could you get at current rates for an equivalent amount of money in the urban neighborhood? Personally, I’d just move altogether, and then I’d always know where my favorite shirt is.
Flip it, and imagine that you’re currently living in the apartment, and are evaluating whether or not to purchase a vacation home for you to spend your weekends at… Personally, I wouldn’t want to have 2 sets of utility bills, 2 places to furnish, etc., but many people do choose to have vacation homes… If it were me, I’d either stick with the commute or move closer to work, but not both.
From someone who commuted 55 miles each way from South OC to West LA daily and spent 3.5-4 hrs in the car, left home at 6AM and didn’t return until 8pm, I urge you to find a permanent solution for your mental and physical health. I kept my apartment close to the office for a year after buying in OC and while we could afford it, the financial commitment and reduced ability to save ultimately outweighed doing the commute.
If no kids, what if you rented the house out to cover that cost and lived closer to work full time? That way you keep the benefit of the low interest rate, principal pay down, and long term home appreciation.
I have not done this, but it is very common in NYC.
This is on my mind as well. We are thinking about it for a year, to test the waters. After that, just one place to save on costs and comfort.
You’re in LA? Learn to ride a motorcycle. Those two hours can be cut down to under an hour.
$5k motorcycle is much cheaper than a completely separate apartment.
As a fellow Angeleno, I understand your plight. Why not rent out your house to pay to rent the apartment?
What’s the end game? To do this for 5 years until you can afford a home someplace closer? Which will likely be even further away than that because you will be paying double for housing, utilities, groceries, etc.
Honestly this does not sound like a good or smart option at all. Not sustainable IMO.
If you absolutely need and want to stay at this job and not do the commute, rent out your home and move into a rental that is closer. Don’t split time between both, that’s impractical and not sustainable.
If you’re just looking for a bed and shower during the week so you don’t have your 2+ hour commute, something like these micro units may be worth considering.
https://www.apartments.com/mikado-little-tokyo-los-angeles-ca/fwzx8zv?utm_source=shared_listing&utm_medium=direct
I think it’s more interesting to buy a condo.
This would make more sense if you could talk work into four 10 hour days. alas, probably not…