This is the Living Room:

This is the bedroom

I would love to live in it although the chandeliers look like they hang very low...more dining table height than bedroom/living room height.

That's the dining room, not a bedroom, so if they are listing that as the bedroom, what was the apartment carved out of?

does it come with decent beer in the fridge?

That's the dining room, not a bedroom, so if they are listing that as the bedroom, what was the apartment carved out of?

A 14,000 square foot house.

I think its gorgeous. 1800sq/ft. is large in my view, but the price is really out there for the norm of $1,500 It just depends on what your goals are.

It's not the most expensive 1 BR currently available in the city, but the other is on a high floor in a multi-amenity building.

If I could afford it and it was in a great location I would grab it in a minute. It is stunning and definitely lavish.

Not for me... way too formal and ornate for my tastes. Now if it had a killer ocean view, I might be able to look past all that "lavishness". :-)

Nope, it doesn't work for me.

Actually, the lack of doorman and highrise makes me think it is somewhat unsafe. I have a friend who pays 4k a month for a tiny 1 bedroom in NYC, but it is relatively secure.

Not any less safe than a single house which is more typical of the area. Just less convenient than having a doorman a mailroom and possibly a chauffeur driven Bentley or Mercedes like some other buildings in the price range.

I'd think I'm not worthy of such a space..))

Literally. When first time house hunting in CA, we didn't take this great foreclosure property, because it felt too luxurious(and it was much more modest. Much, much more.) We had other reasons of course too-association fee etc..but if I felt it was more "me" I'd probably still go with it.

That's what I told our realtor. I said "It's too much..I don't feel like I deserve it".

She answered that's a first time a client told her something along these lines.

But it is actually very simple..can you imagine yourself in a place? yes or not?

I can't. I'm not a person who dresses for dinner. I am a person who has a whole set of "around the house" clothes. I'm not a person who wears heels-I like ballet shoes and oxfords. I don't move with graciousness that I imagine the lady of such a house would have.

And frankly-these ceilings are over the top.

Even if I was independently rich and all, and could afford whatever wherever-I wouldn't want these ceilings.

We pay along those lines (well a few hundred less) for a 1 bedroom in Manhattan that's less than 750 sq ft.

I'd have no problem giving it up for that place. Nope, no problem at all.

Where is it located?

You would be surprised who rents things like this sometimes. There's a four bedroom version in a similar sort of house that regularly gets rented by business school students and they turn them into pigsties. Imagine this furnished with mattresses on the floor piles of dirty clothes, cheap recliners, big TV's and liquor bottles everywhere.

Nothing surprises me. It's all about location.

I would never pay $4000 a month for housing, even if our income would support that comfortably. We live quite lavishly at well under $2000 a month in one of the nicest, most convenient neighborhoods in Chicago. Our place has doorman, mailroom, and gym with cable/internet, gas and water rolled into the assessment.

yes, that place is lovely but there comes a point where it's just not worth it to spend that high a percentage of your income. Also, I think I would be nervous living in so fancy a place. All the ornate detail would wear on my nerves. Even empty, the rooms look visually cluttered to me.

I adore it, except for the mob of drunken students next door. Too bad they didn't turn it into a duplex, one neighbor would have been enough with 7,000 sq. ft. :) On the other hand DM's assisted living apartment is much smaller and costs $3,700/mo. It is secure in that they won't let her escape. :(

I have a house in the hills for a lot less than that and the space, privacy and quietness, not to mention nature all around me, far outweigh anything that apartment would have to offer. Quite honestly, my furniture wouldn't do it justice anyway.

Sloedjinn, what's your neighborhood?! My son and his roomies pay 1600 in Chicago and don't even have AC. There is, however, a bar on the ground floor :)

I would pay that out for a one-month rental (furnished) but not to live in. It would make it impossible to save money. You need to save money for retirement.

Where is it located? I haven't seen it mentioned.

It's a bit too "robber baron" for me, a little vulgar. But I'd happily pay 4k for a Paris pad, in an old building.

In the Spring Garden neighborhood of the city. This is a restoration, the house was heavily damaged by fire in the late 1980s. and was bought for a reported $300K and restored for a reported $5.5M.

There are actually rentals here that rent in the 5 figures per month (and they are rented out), so there are people who would rather rent than have a mortgage payment of this amount. One of the most successful Realtors in the city, with an income in 7 figures hasn't owned a house since the 1980s, so renting must make financial sense even at this level, to some people.

The layout is too choppy for me. I once lived in an apt. where the bedroom was wide open to the living room, hated it. Hated it for 500 bucks a month. It too was an old, chopped up Victorian.

$48K a year for RENT! Not to mention the cost of ac/heat. Insanity. Maybe for a European villa or chateau. ;)

I think you have to put the $4000 in context. This isn't going to be rented by someone on a budget.

Similar square footage in a building with some character in NYC rents for between 10,000 -35,000 monthly. You can get a drywall box for a little less

Houses with this sort of character in NYC, would rent from 50,000 to $100,000 monthly. And apparently there is a market for it

$48,000 wouldn't get you a week in many European chateaus. It might get you a few months in a cheap one.

Is there no kitchen? I found this online as the "library" for rent. But it doesn't sound like there is a kitchen?

It is too dark for me. I would not want to rent it.

There is a largish kitchen and a large bathroom.

In context, in my city a decent one bedroom in the best neighbourhood rents for ... About the same, $1500. in that rental context, for premium money, the layout of having just one very open bedroom in 1800sf (and looks like bedroom leads to entry??) wouldn't work for me at all. I would want a separate office/tv/guest room for the price. practicality would win out over luxuriousness knowing I could rent a really nice penthouse 2bed+den condo with amenities for $3k or so in the same sf and get a far better layout.

It's hard if not impossible for me to envision paying 4,000 per month rent but I'm an old timer, need to own your home type. I cringe at property taxes that are over 700 a month on a completely debt free home. I like the space in that apartment, 1800 sf is very spacious for a one bedroom apartment, the floors are beautiful.

It's definitely about location, location, location. One of our properties is a three bedroom, 2 bath home that is totally updated and we are being given estimates of getting about 1,500 per month rent for it. It has all hardwood floors except for ceramic in kitchen and bathrooms, crown molding throughout and cherry cabinets, granite countertops, and all new stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. I can't imagine a young couple being able to save money for a house if they have to spend that much on rent!

It's an unfortunate thing when you live in a HCOLA that you are going to be paying a lot in rent, and then a lot for a house when it is time for you to buy. Your house here would rent here for about twice that. And even though it is a relatively inexpensive City to live in, comparatively, in most neighborhoods in the downtown area you'd be hard pressed to find any house under $300K (tiny) and in some neighborhoods $500K (small). This would buy enormous properties where I grew up.

And times have changed. Rent was very cheap when I moved here, but going to the laundromat was a given. Now even first time renters will often accept nothing less than a washer and dryer in the apartment itself, not just in the building.

I just went apt hunting in your fair city: budget 3K for a small 3BR, location further south than that 1BR. It wasn't easy and certainly not as palatial. There were some pretty dumpy places.

Btw, I am happy you are posting again. Your posts are interesting, intelligent and a little oasis in what-paint-color-to-choose. Try to ignore any negativity that might occur.

It all highly depends on where you are. We're paying 1600+ monthly for tiny, old, very basic, never updated besides paint and carpet, one-bedroom apartment for my mother-in-law. No washer/dryer, you also need to go down to laundromat there and pay..

The two good things about it-first, it's in the walking distance from the shopping, community center, nice park, and our future house. So it allows her to be as mobile and independent as possible. Since public transportation here exists but in a very, um, limited way. Second, the young man in the office is really nice and helpful.

Once you are several people in the family and can't see yourselves in 600-700 sq f-yes, 3 bedrooms will often be to the tune of 3000-4000 a month. Easily more in great school district/close to the ocean.

We rent our primary residence. It's a 1 bedroom in Battery Park City, Manhattan. My husbands walk to work is under 15 minutes. He's in the office at least 12 hours a day. Sure, we can move further out to pay less, but that would add a commute. To add any extra time to get to and from home would mean that we wouldn't have any time together. So for us it's worth it to pay more.

We also own a house 2 hours north of the city. Property taxes in NY are ridiculous. It's more than a mortgage in many parts of the country. So when I hear owning is better or smarter, I kinda roll my eyes.

Pal's right about keeping things in context. I spent the weekend in Philly and since I had concert tickets my DS and DDIL suggested that I stay with them rather than driving home late at night - which is only a few miles away - not an ordeal. But I love spending time there and it's always a pleasure to walk around and see what is new. It's impossible to keep up with all the residential building going on - new homes as infill, conversions from businesses, apartments and condos from warehouses. There's something different on every visit.

As we walked to one of the many little eateries in their neighborhood they pointed out all the changes that have recently taken place and the prices associated with them. We had an interesting discussion about renting/buying and city/suburb living. They've been renting in a wildly popular area of the city (not Center City) for 7 years and have finally decided to leave when their lease is up.

Currently they are paying close to Pal's $4000 (if you include utilities and fees) for a 2700 sq ft brand new and cheaply built apartment with 3 BR, 2 1/2 baths, 1 parking space and no yard. They don't want to continue to pay that much for a rental nor do they want to pay $800,000 for a place with parking and a small yard for their dogs and hopefully children. Add to that the cost of tuition for private school (the majority of public schools are not worth considering) and they're priced out of the city. Yes they could buy cheaper (DD just paid less than $200,000 for a 1890 square foot row home with a yard - but in an older, poorer and definitely 'iffy' neighborhood and street parking. But she and her BF usually bike to work and didn't want an increase in commuting time.

DS and DDIL's cost analysis is simple - they could buy a nice home with a garage and a yard in one of the suburbs ringing the city with a top rated public school system and save money. Even considering the taxes would be significantly higher (Philly property taxes are low but the wage tax is high) they view it as a trade-off. They've also reached a a point where they can no longer ignore the constant background noise associated with city living and are seeking a different lifestyle.

My other son bought a $230,000 condo in the same neighborhood. It was originally living quarters for workers in a local factory (maybe the cigar factory) that had been built around 1900 but had been totally renovated about 15 years ago. He has less than 1000 sq. ft, no yard, no parking - 2 BR, 1 1/2 baths.

As for Pal's original question - If I had hit the lottery I could easily rent that place and have my own place to stay when I go into the city. Spring Garden is a relatively safe area and since it's on the edge of Center City allows for easy access to several major roadways - but only if it came with a paring spot.

I am not sure where you are located because that would inform my decision...I'd go with a doorman for the added security. Even if the area is safe and premier, in a big city there is always a risk of something happening even on the good blocks.

A little different than the 1 bedroom apartment I had in Spring Garden back 20 years ago! I paid $625 a month and that was for a newly remodeled place with a security system, dishwasher, my own washer dryer and I could have my dog and cat. Just looked on google maps - the abandoned row houses / crack dens next door are now beautiful homes. What a change! Great city.

In the Spring Garden neighborhood of the city. This is a restoration, the house was heavily damaged by fire in the late 1980s. and was bought for a reported $300K and restored for a reported $5.5M.

There are actually rentals here that rent in the 5 figures per month (and they are rented out), so there are people who would rather rent than have a mortgage payment of this amount. One of the most successful Realtors in the city, with an income in 7 figures hasn't owned a house since the 1980s, so renting must make financial sense even at this level, to some people.

In Spring Garden??? Isn't that area still somewhat sketchy? Otherwise, yes I'd live there in a heartbeat

And my daughter rented there when she was going to school there. She was on 16th street just south of Locust in a studio apartment on the first floor. Rented from DH's ex nephew and I believe she was paying a discounted rate of $800 a month since it was "family". Nothing updated. No doorman. No services. W/D in the basement and a window AC as I recall.

The area is not cheap.

And I do love Philly.

@maire_cate:

"Currently they are paying close to Pal's $4000 (if you include utilities and fees) for a 2700 sq ft brand new and cheaply built apartment with 3 BR, 2 1/2 baths, 1 parking space and no yard."

4k for a 2700sq which includes utilities?? Hubs and I need to find jobs in Philly.

Right before I met my husband, I almost moved down there- Rittenhouse Square area. I do love Phila.

Right before I met my husband, I almost moved down there- Rittenhouse Square area. I do love Phila.

I do the Rittenhouse Outdoor Art show every year there. The next one is the third weekend in September. :)