How would you divide the rent? UPDATE #34, #40, #75, NEW Oh! Dear! #81

[TomatoBunny]

Since DD1 and Laura have apparently decided that Vicki can have the biggest bedroom because she found the place, I don't think it would be fair to then automatically say that Vicki has to have the largest rent. If they're offering it to her as a 'thanks', then the rent should be the same for the biggest bedroom and second bedroom. If they want to do biggest bedroom = highest rent, then that should be a discussion between them.

If the smallest room is so tiny that the occupant can't reasonably keep all their clothes/stuff in there and they need to have their personal stuff in a public area, then I think that they should absolutely have a rent cut. How much is up for discussion. Personally, I would want a significant cut because I would not want to keep my things in the living room or the coat closet *by the front door!* or wherever because too many things could happen between my roommates/guests having access to whatever I put there. But I can also understand that for some people, this would hardly be an issue and barely blip their radar. Maybe Laura doesn't have much stuff and will take the tiny room and their won't even be any spillover in shared areas. Which I think could still be worth a cut by itself, but it wouldn't have to be if Laura is content with the price split.

I think everyone's opinions basically boil down to communication between the 3 roommates. 

[Outdoor Girl]

A loft bed for the smallest room, whoever gets it, is a great idea.  A friend has one for her son that has a staircase up the one end to the bed and each of the stairs also has a drawer, as well as all the space underneath.  That way, she could keep all her most used clothes in the room and just put the less used things - coats, fancy stuff, etc. - in the front hall closet.

[Oh Joy]

This doesn't quite work with the one bedroom already allocated, but I'm a free-market kind of gal so here's what I'd do.

Rent starts at an even split, with all names in a hat to pick order of room choice.  Each girl can write on a piece of paper how much extra they're willing to pay each month to not be picked last.  Rooms are assigned in order of their bid, with the smallest room being discounted by the premiums paid for the bigger rooms.

Then you know how much the nicer rooms are really worth to them.   

[HorseFreak]

I lived in a similar situation in college. I was moving into a three bedroom apartment already occupied by one girl who had been living there with prior roommates. She had the largest bedroom which was approximately 15x15' and the others were about 10x15' and the tiniest one with a slanted ceiling about 7x10' and no closet, just a crawlspace. I was offered either bedroom when I toured and chose the medium one.

I then got a call a few days later that another girl wanted the medium bedroom and she toured first so she had to have it. I was not amused, but accepted the teeny bedroom barely wide enough to walk past my twin bed. Some time later I found my roommates were storing their stuff in my crawlspace while I was away and I tossed it all back in their rooms, much to their dismay with a warning it would be in the dumpster next time (one girl tested that by saying she was storing it for a former roommate and put a huge heavy fountain back in while I was in class. I don't think she ever missed it after I disposed of it).

We divided the rent evenly and I think that was a really poor idea when the bedrooms are that different. I got screwed on space and storage and resented it a lot. In that situation again I would divide it 40/35/25.

ETA: I bought a small dresser and portable cloth wardrobe for hanging clothes from the previous occupant for $10. I kept most of my stuff in the crawlspace. I'm not sure how I fit that in with my desk and still had room to move. It was awful.

[jpcher]

Again, I thank you all for your responses. This has really been an informative thread for me. E-hell rocks!


UPDATE:

I was finally able to sit down with DD#1 and we had a great discussion. I learned a little bit more about the apartment and, more importantly, DD#1's feelings about the place.

*The small room is square (more like 9x9) it has a window and there is a wire shelf (closet organizer-type thing) along one wall. So there is a place to hang clothes, it's just not enclosed.

*DD#1 said that she would be more than happy with the smallest BR. Her bed, a dresser and the hanging rack is all she really needs. She told me that she'd probably use the room just for sleeping and changing anyway, so the size isn't important to her.

*The hallway closet will be used mainly for storage of things she doesn't use every day (shoes, coats, dress-up attire, out of season wear, etc.)

*The apartment has an eat-in-kitchen, a large living room plus a small sun room/patio area. DD#1 said that her friends agreed to use the sun room for a study/quiet area.



*As far as dividing the rent, DD#1 told me that everybody pretty much agreed that a closet in the bedroom is worth about $50/month. So the smallest bedroom would get a $100 break on the monthly rent. (They are still undecided about the extra amount.) This seems a bit high to me. I think $25/month for a closet would be more on the fair side, but . . . ya know? . . . I'm staying out of it.

*There is only one bathroom.



It sounds like DD#1 is going to offer to take the smallest room.

[Outdoor Girl]

You might still want to think about a loft bed.  Then you can put a desk or her dresser under it.

[TootsNYC]

I think having your closet in your bedroom is worth a lot, actually.

But as you say, what you and I think is really not important. They're the ones in the situation, and they're agreed. And, after all, the price of ANYthing is the price someone is willing to pay for it--or is willing to accept for it.

[sparksals]

Honestly, I don't think the place is so perfect or that Vicki should necessarily be rewarded for finding a place with a substandard room for one person.   It isn't a bedroom at all if it doesn't have a closet. 

[NyaChan]

This is only for a year right? Honestly, though I'm sure it is true for some people, I personally have found that the "I'll only use the room to sleep and change" never holds true for me as it is often the only place where you can get some alone time or quiet, especially in an apartment with more than one roommate.

I know plenty of friends who committed to living in apartments in college that quite frankly I knew the first time I saw it wouldn't work out.  They basically got caught up by agreeing to be roommates and then being too unsure to actually speak up that something was not up to their standards because it would hold everyone else up after a long search.  They want to be friends and accommodating, but then once they are living in their room and apartment every single day, reality hits.  Many of those friends were suddenly willing to be more "selfish" once that first year's lease was up and they realized that their quality of living can be more important than giving in to others. 

Even if it isn't ideal at the outset, this year will give your daughter a chance to test it out and hopefully if for whatever reason she doesn't enjoy this, she can make a change later with more time to look.  Good first experience for her!

[sevenday]

Chiming in: I live in a room very much like the one described.  I have four things in here: A bed, a desk, a chair, and a small dresser.  There is also a wire sort of organizer on one of the "short" walls.  I pretty much live in here.  There's a surprising amount of space that we don't think about in order to keep things organized so that they're usable/findable, especially if your DD has a standard computer (tower and monitor versus laptop) - real estate becomes precious!  I had to create writing space by hanging a clipboard on the wall next to my monitor so I could write things down since my desk is all taken up with other things.  It may LOOK fine, but after a while... yeah it does wear on you especially if you have others to share the place with.  That year may feel like a very long time. 

But if there is truly NO other place they can go... well, you do what you can.

[jpcher]

I just thought I'd update you all . . . with an additional question at the end.

After all is said and done, DD#1's room really isn't all that bad. She has her bed and a dresser along one wall, a nice-sized window along the other wall, then her door (which she hung a full-length mirror on) and the hanging rack on the other wall. The hanging rack has 2 shelves above it, so lots-o-storage space (she won't be needing the outer coat closet or a common-space wardrobe.)

There's enough floor space left over so that, while really small, the room does not feel cramped.

She bought a small rolling desk-type thing with a shelf underneath for her printer which she keeps in the common area right outside of her bedroom, next to a couch. While it's in the common area, it works nicely as an end-table, but it's easy enough for her to roll it into her room for quiet study times.

Laura's room seems a bit cramped, but that's only because she has a whole lotta stuff in there. A TV/+stand with shelving, which includes a pull-out desk & chair, her bed and a dresser. Plus she has a pretty nice sized closet.

Vicky's room? Is definitely the cream of the crop. She has her bed, two dressers, and a walk-in closet (where she put a sitting table for make-up, etc.) I didn't see a desk or TV, but there's plenty of room to put one in if she chose to.





That being said, here's an UPDATE on dividing the rent:

*As far as dividing the rent, DD#1 told me that everybody pretty much agreed that a closet in the bedroom is worth about $50/month. So the smallest bedroom would get a $100 break on the monthly rent. (They are still undecided about the extra amount.) This seems a bit high to me. I think $25/month for a closet would be more on the fair side, but . . . ya know? . . . I'm staying out of it.

They opted not to go with the above original plan and decided to go with the square footage.

As it worked out, basing the rent on an equal share per person, DD#1's rent is $30 less than the equal share. Laura's rent turned out to be the equal share, and Vicky's rent is $30 over. (Actual dollar amounts are rounded off, and DD#1 agreed to pay a few bucks more for equal balance just to keep peace in the family.)


Now that rent is due, Vicky is firmly saying that she can't afford anything but $20 over the even share. Apparently, Vicky's parents are paying for her rent and gave her a top-dollar limit. Vicky expects DD#1 and Laura to come up with an extra $5 each.


DD#1 said: Mom. It's only $10. But Vicky came home the other day with lots of new clothes. She bought a bigger dish-rack because she thought that the one I brought to the kitchen was too small, etc. Surely she can afford an extra $10/month!"

Add to the fact that DD#1 and Laura scrounged to get most (all) of the common area furniture . . . 3 couches, One chair (yes, there are two rooms to fit all this in), the TV and stand, and a couple of end tables. Vicky said that she would provide a coffee table and a kitchen set.

The coffee table hasn't appeared yet, and the kitchen set is a rickety old table with 3 folding chairs.





Granted, it's only a silly, nit-picking, ten flipping dollars, but don't you think that Vicky should cough that up?

I told DD#1 that I would pay the extra $10/month just to keep peace with her roomies.

DD#1 told me "No. Laura and I need to figure out a way to tell Vicky that we are not happy with what she just told us. Rent is due today!"

I wished her best of luck and told her not to turn this into a big war. I said "You have to live with Vicky for the next year. Is $10/month worth a happy home situation?"

She said "I guess. But it's still not right." Which I agree with, but I'm not sure how to best handle this situation.



Any thoughts?

[Outdoor Girl]

If Vicki wants to pay less rent, she should have taken the smaller room.  If I were DD and Laura, I'd be sticking to my guns, too.  If they give in on this, what else with Vicky try to pull?

[camlan]

If Vicki wants to pay less rent, she should have taken the smaller room.  If I were DD and Laura, I'd be sticking to my guns, too.  If they give in on this, what else with Vicky try to pull?

I agree with this. Vicky has the lovely room, with the walk-in closet. She agreed to pay a certain rent. She needs to pay that rent, or switch rooms.

It's $10 a month. That's $120 a year. $60 each that your DD and Laura didn't agree to pay. And they are in worse rooms.

I'd say that they could let Vicky slide on the rent if she agreed to do more chores around the house, like clean the bathroom every week, but I'd be willing to bet Vicky would find a way to weasel out of that, too.

Laura and DD should stand their ground, pay their rent to the landlord and point the landlord to Vicky for the rest. If Vicky has money to buy nice, new clothes, Vicky has money for the rent.

[Shoo]

I said "You have to live with Vicky for the next year. Is $10/month worth a happy home situation?"

Here is where I think you are doing your daughter a disservice.  Vicky has to live with THEM for the next year, and she is already trying to screw them over.  That does not bode well.  This is a time you should be teaching your daughter to have a backbone and to stand up for herself.  You're telling her to roll over to keep the peace. 

No way should your daughter back down on this. 

[sammycat]

DD and Laura need to stand their ground. It's the principle, not the amount.

Vicky is out of line. If she's allowed to get away with this, what else will she try to get away with - not paying her share of the groceries/electricity/etc?


I wished her best of luck and told her not to turn this into a big war. I said "You have to live with Vicky for the next year. Is $10/month worth a happy home situation?"

If this turns ugly, it won't be in any way due to DD or Laura. The fault would like fully at the feet of Vicky, not the 2 people she is trying to rip off.