I currently live in a one bedroom apartment in the town that I work in (less than three miles away from work) and pay $1200/mo. Believe it or not, that's a great deal for this area. (My rent is supposed to be $1300 but he knocks off $100 if I pay in cash.) The rent I pay covers everything, from heat and electricity to cable and internet.
$1200 is just under half of my take home pay for the month (after, of course, contributing to my company's 401k). While it's doable and I can certainly afford to keep living here, it's not ideal. I have a little under $12k left on student loans that I'm trying to throw every extra penny towards. Technically, my lease ended on June 15th. I told my landlord I was interested in staying for another year, and he told me he was interested in having me stay and there would be no rent increase. We both said "Yeah, we'll sign something," but we never have.
I'm falling less and less in love with the apartment... my landlords are very loud early in the morning, I frequently run out of hot water for my shower (and I don't shower that long), and the internet keeps cutting in and out. While my 3 mile commute to work is lovely, it's very far away from my friends and boyfriend, and I travel frequently to see them. I found a studio apartment on Craigslist for $900 (says all utilities included) in a more desirable location for me. It would bump up my commute to 11.5 miles one way, but I'd be saving $300 in rent, and the commuting cost increase would certainly not be that much (I'm thinking an extra $100 or so a month, giving me $200 more to put towards my loan).
Here's my dilemma... my landlord and I verbally agreed that I'd be staying another year, but I haven't signed anything yet. While I'm still waiting to hear back from the realtor about this new place (like if it'll accept cats), but if this place works out, I'd be interested in moving. If there's one thing I learned from Judge Judy, it's to always get everything in writing, and to be honest I'm worried that they're preparing to move across the country (their daughter and granddaughter are moving in August). This could all be remedied if I come up with something for us to sign tomorrow when I pay my rent, but I don't feel like that's my responsibility as the tenant.
I feel like I'm stuck... I was interested in moving when my lease was about to expire, but there was nothing out there like this. I know many of you are landlords and can sympathize with him... I'd love to get anyone's thoughts on what they would do in this situation.