Posted on 01/23/2024 8:49:44 PM PST by know.your.why
Hello fellow FReepers. I have just been given the shocking news that my monthly rent for a 1-bdr apartment in N. Alabama is going up by $300 which works out to a 45% increase. The apartment complex has been recently bought by a NJ based company and apparently they have resolved to raise every tenant's rent. The reason that the manager told me was that materials costs are up "such as drywall". Ridiculous excuse. I just cant believe that this has happened. People here cant afford this kind of increase. Wages have not gone up AT ALL. I just dont get it. Any help is appreciated.
6 million illegals have come in over the last 3 years.
You might be able to delay the increase, by requesting an extension for your existing lease.
In addition to the normal expenses, many landlords haven't been collecting rents due to Covid moratoriums. In California, the moratoriums lasted for over two years. No rents, despite landlords having to continue paying expenses.
6 million illegals have come in over the last 3 years.
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“That’s the rumor.”
However, they aren’t moving to Oregon. Portland has lost 30,000 to 40,000 people in the last couple of years, post covid hysteria.
I’m not saying foreigners aren’t moving to the USA.......they just aren’t moving to Oregon.
California, New York, Texas, Florida, & New Jersey are usually the places for newcomers.
The covid debacle is the big reason for the increases.
..and Illinois.
Well, did you have a lease? If so, is the increase coming at the end of the lease, or on an anniversary when the lease says rent can be changed?
It’s probably legal and not worth the expense of an attorney, unless the attorney gives you a free or very inexpensive initial consultation, after which you can decide whether to spend more.
The Obozo’s fundamental change is now in every middle American’s face. Remember that when you can no longer afford to feed your children, providing you can still find food.
It may not be a BS excuse.
I’m in property management. My company oversees and provides services to approximately 70,000 families.
We saw huge premium increases the last 3 years on insurance across the board, even for properties that had no claims. On one property, the insurance went from $195,000 per year to $300,000 a year at renewal.
Gas prices went up, so landscaping costs went up. Unless you want to pay for a bunch of illegals on the cheap, you pay more.
Pool chemical hard costs went up 40%. I know; some of our communities have CPOs (certified pool operators) on staff and by their chemicals direct.
One property had the local water district raise the water rates. The monthly water bills went from $10K average per month to $18K per month under the new rate.
Also, as a property ages, more maintenance is required. Roofs used to be insured for replacement value up to 15 years, now it’s 12. Deductibles used to be $25K per property, now they range from $100K to a million.
I’m seeing upward price pressures all over on things beyond our control.
As a risk manager, holding back costs while staying compliant with increasing regulations in an inflationary market is an impossible task.
You’re right, though. It’s in part due to Bidenomics.
You want to speak to the local housing authority or Fair Housing. They can offer free legal and let you know what your rights are.
a perspective might be obtained from turbotax which can calculate average rent on a county basis. are you paying more or less than average for your area? if less, then you might have less of an issue to bargain about. typically unless you are paying much less than average, you might be losing money relative to those renters who are buying starter homes or who have already done so or who have solid plans to do so.
my very limited understanding is that:
the main problem with buying a home is that real wages have declined due to inflation while home prices are up due to inflation. the income tax is designed to subsidize home buyer mortgages and presumes that wage earners opt for that asap. typically one needs to jump on the home mortgage bandwagon early in one’s career to take advantage of the mortgage tax deduction.
this plan has become screwed up over recent decades by infation which is putting home ownership out of reach financially for young prospective homeowners. dual income marriages have not helped with the drop in long term marriages.
also frequent job hopping to different regions does not help build homeowner equity.
Since there is no rent control in your state, a lawyer is going to be a waste of your money.
Your best chance is to do a rent survey and see where you stand. With websites like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace this is easy, cheap and fast these days. Look up the asking prices of apartments similar to yours within a 5 or 10 mile radius. Write them all down on a piece of paper and average them.
If your new rent is close to the average for your area, there is not too much you can do. Either pay the new amount or the landlord will find someone else who wants your spot at the new price.
If the new rent is out of line with the average for the area you now have a reason to ask for a reduction to the average for the area. If the landlord will not budge, you have a ready-made list of places to look to move.
If $300 is a 45% increase, you have been paying a LOT less than a standard rent pretty much anywhere near where I live.
I don’t know where you live, but a small apartment here in butthole nowhere Canada STARTS at $900/mo for a BACHELOR, NO utilities.
I wish you all the best, and cannot help you in any way, but to me it looks like you were sitting better than you realized, and reality just came up to bite you.
In addition to the normal expenses, many landlords haven’t been collecting rents due to Covid moratoriums. In California, the moratoriums lasted for over two years. No rents, despite landlords having to continue paying expenses.
**************
Were they collecting checks from the government while their tenants were not paying rent?
Because if their tenants are gone and they want more subsidies from the government to keep their bloated real estate valuations up, they can “pound sand.”
If landlords can’t find good tenants it’s their problem.....they took on the debt.....not the tenant.
Pay your bills.....deadbeat.
Thanks,
I forgot to include Illinois and the Chicago “foreigner magnet.”
But in reality, you might have to do one or the other. If you are at the end of your lease agreement, then the terms of the new lease might include a rent increase. You're in Alabama and not New York. You live in a state that people are escaping to, and housing is getting tight. It may well be cheaper to buy a house than to rent. Also, if you have to move, don't rule out RV living on the road. I don't know what your situation is, but my wife and I did it for almost two years, and we had a great time.
Just today heard that rent is up,up and away while home ownership has risen slightly and you can expect even higher rent increases next year.
Real inflation is much higher. When they purchased the property it was probably reappraised. Taxes hitting then hard for sure. Plus they probably looking at certain rate of return for investment.
You could very well be right. After hurricane Katrina, a friend of mine in Denver saw his rent suddenly skyrocket at his next renewal. When he dug into it to see why, he discovered that the landlord was trying to force as many existing tenants as possible out so that they could replace them with Section 8 derelicts from New Orleans. I think they figured that knowing that at least part of the derelicts’ rent payment was guaranteed to be paid by the government was better than having to chase non-subsidized tenants all the time to get paid at all. And I’m sure they were also trying to boost the rent as high as possible before the government tenants arrived, since the Feds couldn’t care less what it cost.
To add insult to injury, my friend stuck it out for a while, only to find himself suddenly living in a very expensive crime-ridden slum as the new neighbors began to spread the wonders of their “diverse culture” far and wide. All I could keep thinking was how the government used his own tax dollars to thoroughly screw up his life, and even lectured him (and the rest of us) about how it was his “patriotic duty” to pay taxes.
A classic case of, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”
When was your last rent increase? Florida rents are up 45+% in 3 years:
https://ipropertymanagement.com/guides/what-is-reasonable-rent-increase
Plus the new owners probably got reassessed after the purchase and are paying much higher property taxes now. (Plus higher interest on the mortgage $$ used, much higher insurance cost, maintenance cost, utility costs, etc., etc.).
Hahaha - I went to this lawyer once, to have a will updated. Entered his office, and turned out he was a Vietnam Vet with long hair but, … his office was decorated like it was the set of the Addams Family movie. I was looking around for Uncle Fester and Lurch. Kept his card if I ever needed him for a job, never did - he’s probably retired by now.
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