After living at home for way too long I'm moving back into the city but expect to WFH for a quite a while still.. I'm looking for advice on apartment size/price. Currently at 125k base with target bonus of 100-150% and debating whether to pay up for a nicer place since I'll probably be at home working most of the time. Any thoughts/advice on the current rental market is appreciated
| +74 | Ex Apollo Associate Q&A (But I Actually Answer) | 114 | 19m | |
| +56 | Q&A - Anything about PE / MBA / Life | 63 | 3s | |
| +45 | How to Model SaaS Projections for Interviews | 49 | 1d | |
| +37 | [Technical doubt]: Cash sweep and mandatory amortization | 10 | 7s | |
| +23 | European Megafunds (based on PEI 2023) | 17 | 2d | |
| +22 | Is internal reporting at most funds really so Excel & PPT heavy still? | 8 | 10h | |
| +22 | Partners Group Long Term | 8 | 1d | |
| +18 | Advent NYC Culture/WLB - 2024 update | 9 | 2h | |
| +18 | How is your life in PE? | 12 | 2h | |
| +18 | How much thematic work / industry research do you guys do? | 0 | 2h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
In the same boat. It's tough when 100-150% of your comp is in bonus. Constrains your monthly cash flow if you pay up for a nicer place.
Agreed, after 401k anything over 3.2k is >1 paycheck. I was living with roommates paying pretty cheap rent before and am planning to live on my own now. I have friends suggesting 3-4k is the norm but seems steep
Just for another datapoint, I make right around the same base bonus and pay $3.1k per month for a one bedroom in a doorman building. Would obviously be nice to pay less but even paying that much and maxing out 401k I never really need to think about spending money on anything within reason (plenty of delivery on the weekends, shopping, etc) and manage to save a bit on top of the 401k and almost all of the bonus.
doesn't your PE fund pay for food?
During the week yeah and then on the weekend if you work a certain number of hours but I normally don’t do enough weekend work and do my own thing for food.
How old are you? What's your net worth?
Yeah that sounds about right. Also, that’s awesome comp for dcm. Is your tag outdated?
Yes tag outdated - I'm a first year PE assoc, 25yo ~330k in savings/investments thanks to living at home during the pandemic
Jesus
MM or MF?
MM focused on tech
Thank you for not getting offended and answering my question above. Nice job on the savings.
You can find some solid deals right now (2-3 months free of signing a 14-15 month lease), especially in some of the bigger buildings.
If I were you I would try to find a 1 bedroom so you can have a separate living area (outside of the bedroom). It’ll make working from home a lot more comfortable.
Outside of that, I would prioritize the location, as the city opens up I’m sure you’ll want to be able to walk to a restaurant/bar/etc. Normally I heavily prioritize area over “niceness” of apt, but probably makes sense to balance those a bit more right now with COVID.
Agree on the area, especially once things start to open up. I'm wondering if it's worth trying to lock in a 24 mo with larger concessions around 3.5-3.7 assuming I'll receive a base bump or if that's too much
When I was at that base comp level I spent around $3.2k (although had a smaller bonus) and found that to be totally fine (especially if you have savings). I don’t know your other expenses but as long as you are debt free, and don’t go to expensive restaurants every week (or run up $200 bar tabs or worse) you should be fine. Also depends on your risk tolerance and your outlook of your firm.
In your shoes I’d take a longer lease with bigger concessions. One thing to keep in mind is that the concessions slow down (even get worse) in many building after about 15 months. In general landlords want to be able to hike the rent once nyc starts opening up.
You will probably get a better deal renting from a smaller building or private owner if looking for a long lease (and usually more “residential” feel, but fewer amenities, etc). They are more willing to give higher discounts on longer leases as they have a mortgage to pay and rather have the same tenant for a long period of time (turnover costs for them are high).
Price of +2 bedrooms has come down more significantly given limited appetite for roommates right now - not a bad option if you wanted a dedicated home office. Who knows how long rents will stay depressed though.
Would you consider not living in Manhattan? Could get a nice place in brooklyn or new jersey for pretty cheap...
Not sure why you'd consider moving into Manhattan now, as there ain't anything to do...
If anything, give it a few more months and analyze the situation then. Paying $3k+ in rent now - just to look at your 4 walls, seems idiotic to me.
Fortunately/unfortunately will be in the office at least one day a week beginning in April... guess it's a good time to lock in a low rate
Repudiandae impedit aut voluptatum ut. Sed ducimus molestiae autem qui ipsa asperiores aut.
Sed voluptate perferendis quod odit eius nihil tenetur. Consectetur autem quasi in porro qui. Sunt consequatur sapiente qui necessitatibus iusto quibusdam numquam.
Asperiores dolores incidunt est modi sed. Tempora ea id ut ipsa mollitia et. Rerum quia eligendi est ducimus vel unde voluptate. Consequatur voluptatibus dolor in ut aliquid.
Autem eum in minus molestias illo in. Dolorem quaerat delectus quasi officiis iste. Fugiat laborum eum sequi explicabo. Vel ut ex atque voluptatem aperiam dolor commodi.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...