Before you start looking at places to rent, it helps to get a sense of what you can expect to pay. The real estate section or classifieds of a local paper are good places to find the going rental rates. And there are websites for most major regions that can also give you good ballpark figures.

You’ll probably find a fairly wide range of prices in most areas, so it’s natural to wonder how much you should be paying. After all, while rent will probably be your biggest single expense, you don’t want to get locked into paying more than you can afford. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t want to spend more than 25% to 30% of your take-home pay on housing, but in a lot of high-demand areas, you’ll probably find yourself having to give up closer to 35% to 40%.

Once you have a sense of how much a month’s rent will cost you, you can estimate how much you’ll have to pay when you sign your lease. Most landlords require first and last months’ rent, as well as a security deposit. And if you use a broker, the fee might be an additional 8% to 18% of a full year’s rent.

When budgeting for a home, you usually don’t want to spend more than ____ of your take-home pay on housing. 10% to 20% 25% to 30% 40% to 50%

Take-home pay Your take-home pay is what you actually get to spend after your employer takes out federal, state, and local taxes. The amount taken out will be between 10% and 35%, depending on your salary.