Not sure of this is the right place...simple rental question here

topic posted Sat, March 7, 2009 - 9:45 PM by  johnny
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Hi, I'm John and I've been having a disagreement with my roommate about how much rent she pays. If this isn't the right area for this question, let me know and I"ll repost elsewhere.

I live in a two bedroom house along with two other roommates. Rent for the home is $1575/month. Split three ways equally, rent would *normally* be $525 each/month. Roommate #1 and Roommate #2 each have their own room and I live in the living room. Because of this arrangement, both Roommate #1 and #2 pay $50 more a month, their rent is $575. I have a reduced rent of $100 and pay $425. These numbers, $575+$575+$425= $1575.

For the last few days, Roommate #2 has been insisting that she and Roommate #1 pay $150 more than I do, making their rent $675 and my rent $425. If this was true, our rent would total $1775. She continually refutes this by arguing that $575-$425=$150, thus she "pays" $150 more/month.

I feel like either she's lost it or I have. Anyone care to explain why which one of us is wrong and which one of us is right, in explicit, formulaic detail?


Thanks so much for reading this,

John
posted by:
johnny
SF Bay Area
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  • Well, looks like all is right except for the $675. That is not right.

    Reason:
    ***Split three ways equally, rent would *normally* be $525 each/month. Roommate #1 and Roommate #2 each have their own room and I live in the living room. Because of this arrangement, both Roommate #1 and #2 pay $50 more a month, their rent is $575. I have a reduced rent of $100 and pay $425. These numbers, $575+$575+$425= $1575. ***

    Rent is $1575 split between y'all. And you guys played with $100. So you, John, pay $525 - $100, the other two pay $525+$50 each. So you John indeed pay $150 less than any one of the other roomates, because $100 (your discount) + $50 (one roomates' extra payment) = $150.

    If you want to make it where you pay $100 less than the any one of the roomates, then you have to adjust the $100 y'all are playing with.

    John's discount - J
    Roomate1extra payment- A
    Roomate2 extra payment- B

    J = A + B
    where A=B
    so J = A * 2
    or J/2 = A
    and you want J + A = 100

    J = 100 - A
    J = 100 - J/2
    J = 200/2 - J/2
    J = (200 - J)/2
    2J = 200 - J
    2J + J = 200
    3J = 200
    J = 200/3
    J = 66.67

    so A = B = 33.33

    So your discount should be about $66.67 and each of their extra payment should be about $33.33 give or take a penny.

    So your rent should be $525 - $66.67 = $458.33
    And each of the other roomates rent should be $525 + $33.33 = $558.33

    Check
    $458.33 + $558.33 + $558.33 = $1574.99

    Now all you have to do is fight over the last penny. LOL!
  • Roommate#2 is right, she pays $150 (=$575 - $425) more then you do. But that is not her real issue, what she is really complaining about is that is that she doesn't feel that what she is paying is FAIR. Fair is what the three of you negotiated when you moved in. If she doesn't like that, I think what you've described is fair and reasonable, she can move out.

    To be fair, one must do what you've done:

    RM#1 = $(x + (total rent/3))
    RM#2 = $(y + (total rent/3))
    RM#3 = $( (total rent/3) - x -y)

    RM#1 + RM#2 + RM#3 = total rent

    Where x and y represent the "value" of the space that RM#3 doesn't get by living in the living room. X and y don't have to be the same because the value of the space that RM#1 and RM#2 don't have to be the same, say RM#1 had a master bedroom but RM#2 only had a bedroom.

    Eric's logic only holds only if the value of having a bedroom is twice that of not having one. What your roommates agreed upon is that the value of not having a bedroom is trice (3 times) that of having one.
    • I think Troy hit the nail on the head. Its about what is FAIR.

      But I think there might be some confusion about the discount itself.

      Was the agreement that the roommate in the living-room pays $100 less than any one of the other two?

      Or

      Was the agreement that the roommate in the living-room pays $100 less than a third of the rent?

      These two ideas, though sound similar are not. They are very different as I think we've showed in the math.
    • Troy's formula is concise and correct.

      Given his formula, I we can see what is the difference between renters.

      RM#1 - RM#3

      = $(x + (total rent/3)) - $( (total rent/3) - x -y)

      = $(x + x + y + (total rent/3) - (total rent/3))

      = $(2x + y)

      So if x = 50 and y = 50 (such is the case of the origional problem) then the difference is $(2*50 + 50) = $150.
      If you make x = 33.33 and y = 33.33 (such as I calculated before) then the difference is $(2 * 33.33 + 33.33) = $99.99.

      And the difference between RM#2 and RM#3 should be:
      RM#2 - RM#3 = $(2y + x)
      • Johnny, you could probably take these for formulas and clarify or do a new agreement with your roomates.

        These formulas should give you guys a good picture of the dymanics of your situation.......lol....a little techy talk.
        • WOULD YOU STOP BEING IDIOTS: YOU'RE MATHEMATICIANS AND THIS IS A SIMPLE fucking RENT QUESTION.

          (X+50) + (X+50) + X = 1575

          SOLVE FOR X

          (1575-100)/3 = 491.67 FOR THIS GUY

          THEN ADD 50

          541.67 FOR THE OTHER TWO ROOMMATES

          541.67 + 541.67 + 491.67 = 1575.01

          CHECKMATE BIATCHES
          I apologize for my zeal, but come on: it's a simple rent question on the MATHEMATICS tribe and you guys keep providing WRONG answers. Check your work.
          • There are several correct ways to approach this problem depending on one's starting assumptions.

            Based on the the original problem: the rent was to be the sum of the base rent (= total rent/3) and an adjustment if one did (+$50) or did not (-$100) have a bedroom. It was not that those with a bedroom were to pay $50 more then the one without a bedroom. By this analysis, HOT DAMN!!! is incorrect (for his assumption he is correct, but he solved a different problem) and we are back to the fairness question.

            On the surface this is a simple problem, what makes it interesting is an understanding of how one's assumptions of what is fair effects how one solves the problem of what should each person's rent be.
          • ***keep providing WRONG answers. Check your work***

            Well to say were wrong without proof is a falacy, and very unscientific.

            You did the same as we did only your X is slightly different. And you did not address the dispute of the differences in rent. Here you only show $50 difference in the rent range. We provided a way so they can choose the difference in range and come up with correct answers, if they manage to define their agreement.

            The question is how much less should the guy in the living room pay than the guys in the rooms? This is not equal to the $50 more that the guys in the bedroom pay. If the guys in the bedroom pay $50 then the difference in the rent range is $150, that is 3 times the amount (hence the penny discrepancy in yours and mine calculations. So this is a case of understanding the basic premise of the agreement and the mathematical dynamics of the situation.

            So I dare say that your calculations confirms ours.
          • So HOT DAMN in your solution, since you gave only $50 in rent range that the roommates in the rooms only pay $50/3 = $16.67 more than a simple 3 way split in the rent.
            • Using HOT DAMN's equation I will recreate my origional calculation: My assumption was use 100 instead of 50

              (X+100) + (X+100) + X = 1575

              SOLVE FOR X

              3X + 200 = 1575

              3X = 1575 - 200 = 1375

              X = 1375/3 = 458.33 FOR THIS GUY

              THEN ADD 100

              558.33 FOR THE OTHER TWO ROOMMATES

              458.33 + 558.33 + 558.33 = 1574.99

              Which is exactly what I had before. Thus HOT DAMN has proven my calculations. Which concurs with Troy's calculations.

              (Now all you have to do is fight over the last penny. LOL! )



              • The important point is that he defined one answer: where the other two pay fifty dollars more each than him; and then he just magically decided to divide 1575 by 3, which had nothing to do with the original answer he sought... and Eric was totally right too... i guess... grrrrrrrr
                • RRRRR WAIT
                  Eric YOU'RE WRONG, YOUR totals have the other two roommates paying 100 more each, what are you thinkin'.... and what was I doing agreeing with you.
                  • This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
                    The statement of the problem is ambiguous: #1 and #2 pay $50 more than _what_ and johnny's rent is reduced $100 of _what_? Depending on how you resolve than ambiguity, you might get different answers. Resolving that ambiguity is not a math problem, its a human problem. Since johnny hasn't piped in since the first posting, I suspect we might never know the "right" answer. (Or maybe the answer that their agreement is ambiguous is the right answer)
                • ****The important point is that he defined one answer: where the other two pay fifty dollars more each than him;****

                  That is not defined by the question. The question states:

                  "Rent for the home is $1575/month. Split three ways equally, rent would *normally* be $525 each/month. Roommate #1 and Roommate #2 each have their own room and I live in the living room. Because of this arrangement, both Roommate #1 and #2 pay $50 more a month, their rent is $575. I have a reduced rent of $100 and pay $425."

                  The question is ambiguous as John has said, and yet its context implies that the roommates in the rooms pay $50 more than a straight 3 way split.

                  In your assumption you have them paying $16.67 more. I have them paying $33.33 more. So you have them paying $50 for having a room and I $100 for having a room. But there is no contradiction.

                  $100 more for a room seems reasonable to me and maybe not to you...but that's not part of the question, is it?

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