I guess we’ll find out if it’s “illegal” or “”unethical” as this plays out. I suspect this is another Democrat squeeze on another segment of big business. I have no creds in legal or otherwise so I don’t pretend to know. All I do know is if you lease a car for 3 years, the payment is the same for 3 years. If you rent a car for a week, it’s the same price for each day. If you rent a vacation home, the rent doesn’t escalate each week. You can sign a 3 or 5 year lease on retail space without penalty. But to rent an apartment nowadays, you are restricted to one year leases. During that lease, you must pay your own gas, electric, trash pick-up, cable, pest-control, etc. Ten months into that 1 yr lease, you are presented with a time-limited offer to sign a new one year lease now at a new higher rate within a week or pay an even higher rent when the lease ends if you want to stay.
I sold our home after my husband passed away. I went the apartment route temporarily. I didn’t know a lot. I learned fast. Maybe not corrupt in the usual sense, but the industry is not reactive to people…only to asset management. They would rather have a vacant apartment or empty retail space than negotiate a transition to a new lease.
I know this is long-winded. I apologize. When this began with RealPage, I didn’t think it would amount to much. That said, the news seems more and more like a squeeze every day. Considering who is squeezing, it could be interesting theater.
The higher rate is for the new lease, not the time left on the current lease, right?
That’s legitimate.
You know what I see when I see all these apartments going up in my area? I see residences for a boatload of suckers. Many of which are from States their progressive politics already screwed up.
Thank you for the warning. I think your detailed explanation will help many of the downsizers reading here.