Apartment living ... dealing with rent increases ...

[raildogg]

I've been living in this apartment complex for a few years now and generally like it - value is decent and I cannot complain about anything. This year, the apartment complex has a new owner (a property management/holding type of company). Their plans, from what I gather are to modernize the apartments, add extra amenities and generally make the place look a bit more higher end. It seems like they are trying to keep up with the competition.

Of course, spending all this money means that rents will rise. Mine will increase quite a bit, especially when compared to when I first moved in. Despite this, staying here is my first choice because of the location. It's convenient because it's just about in the middle of everything. I know if I shop around I can probably save a little money but once you factor in the deposit, moving expenses and time, it probably becomes close. But when I realize how much more I'm paying now than when I first moved in (late 2011), I wonder if the value is still there.

So basically, I'm leaning towards spending the extra money to stay in a generally convenient location. Ah, the trade-offs of life. I live alone so paying this much for a 1 bedroom seems high. Yes, I am whining.

So, any of you guys dealing with these rent increase and/or apartment living issues? I was hearing for a while that rents were on the rise. I wonder if you guys have experienced this.

Around here, so many apartments have been built in the last few years. Most of them seem to be on the fancier side. Yet despite that, even more are being built. So the supply should, from what I see, not be a big issue.

But then again, a lot of apartments seem to be renovating in order to compete so those expenses have to be covered. I could be wrong though.

 

[SickBeast]

Why don't you just buy something? Interest rates have never been lower.

 

[raildogg]

I have a house in my name. Don't live in it. It's a personal choice. Right now how things are, I think I would rather rent.

I did refinance a couple of years ago and got a good rate.

Thanks.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I live in a yuppie area where 10% price hikes are common. But I like the location so I pay.

For me renting still makes more sense than paying more for a mortgage, property taxes and HOA or condo association fees. And then having to do my own maintenance. I send the difference off to my brokerage account so I build up a fund balance instead of equity.

 

[AMD64Blondie]

Tell me about it.

Living in downtown Portland,OR.

My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.

(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)

Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.

 

[raildogg]

I live in a yuppie area where 10% price hikes are common. But I like the location so I pay.

For me renting still makes more sense than paying more for a mortgage, property taxes and HOA or condo association fees. And then having to do my own maintenance. I send the difference off to my brokerage account so I build up a fund balance instead of equity.

If you like the location, moving is not always the easy choice. I like the way your approaching this. That fund balance probably has done well in the last few years

Oh, my rent will rise at least 17% during this renewal coming up.

 

[Ns1]

yep, no increases for 4 years then got 3 increases in the last 2. still cheaper than everything else around so it is what it is.

 

[raildogg]

Tell me about it.

Living in downtown Portland,OR.

My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.

(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)

Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.

The rent increased $135 in six years, that's not too bad though. Especially when your living in the downtown area. I understand it was quite a bit lower when you first moved in but the apartment market has changed quite a bit since then. More and more are renting now (from what I've seen).

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Tell me about it.

Living in downtown Portland,OR.

My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.

(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)

Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.

I can't believe you found sub-$600 rents anywhere in downtown Portland. My wife and I briefly looked at downtown but everything is either $2,000+ or has a three year waiting list.

 

[Sonikku]

Tell me about it.

Living in downtown Portland,OR.

My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.

(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)

Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.

Don't worry, I'm sure American wages are also up across the board to the point of covering all new annual price hikes.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

Tell me about it.

Living in downtown Portland,OR.

My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.

(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)

Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.

My studio is $1350 a month, and I get paid less than my Portland counterpart.

Forgive me for not feeling sorry for you.

 

[Ventanni]

In Tampa, the average prices have risen approximately $150-200. I feel for you man.

 

[xeemzor]

Why don't you just buy something? Interest rates have never been lower.

This is a terrible option for most people. Have you looked at real estate prices lately? They have shot up way past the bubble prices of 2008. Real estate is extremely overpriced by all metrics. For one thing look at the net worth, income, and debt load of the largest house buying demographic, 18-29 year olds.

The only reason to buy a house is because you want property you can modify and/or other intangible factors.

 

[edro]

Property taxes rise as well, so the landlords have to increase rent.

 

[vi edit]

Property taxes, insurance premiums, snow removal (if you live in that area), general repairs and cost of labor to fix them. All that gets more expensive.

My parents had property taxes go up almost $3000 over a 10 year time frame on their house. Mine went up over $1200 in one year because of school bonds.

It doesn't ever go down.

 

[Xonim]

Rents in Minneapolis/St Paul are getting pretty crazy too. My wife and I bought a place 3 years ago, and we've seen increases in property taxes that equate to about $100/mo. The place we were renting prior we were paying $1100/mo for a 2BR/2BA townhome. It was posted on Craigslist before we moved out for $1350/mo and was rented almost immediately. Wasn't even that nice.

I have a buddy that lives in some newer "luxury" condos. They're pretty nice inside, but for a 1BR + Den, they're paying something like $1800/mo. To get in a 2BR it's $2k+. I could see that if it was convenient to a light rail station or right downtown or something, but it's a few miles from downtown and there's only buses as far as transit goes.

 

[OverVolt]

Time for a house. Me included I think.

 

[DenyGFX]

Having been in property management for 10+ years I can tell you this:

Large companies that purchase a complex in a desirable area will increase rent prices to force people out, This gives them time to renovate and raise prices higher. I worked for Avalon Properties and that was their tactic. Good luck!

 

[xeemzor]

Having been in property management for 10+ years I can tell you this:

Large companies that purchase a complex in a desirable area will increase rent prices to force people out, This gives them time to renovate and raise prices higher. I worked for Avalon Properties and that was their tactic. Good luck!

I've found that it's better to find a small landlord with 1-10 properties rather than go with huge property management companies. They actually care about their properties and are willing to properly fix things quickly.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I've found that it's better to find a small landlord with 1-10 properties rather than go with huge property management companies. They actually care about their properties and are willing to properly fix things quickly.

It depends. I'm in one of the Avalon properties and it's very well maintained. Response time for a problem is quick. Of course we pay higher rents to cover that.

 

[raildogg]

Having been in property management for 10+ years I can tell you this:

Large companies that purchase a complex in a desirable area will increase rent prices to force people out, This gives them time to renovate and raise prices higher. I worked for Avalon Properties and that was their tactic. Good luck!

You might be right in this case. It seems like they are trying to set a certain price to attract different people, who knows. Since everything seems to be going upmarket, maybe they are trying to capture a different demographic.

After all, adding amenities, modernizing the interior and exterior, remodeling the kitchen, etc. costs money. They are doing it to attract people who probably value these things - or they think that the people will value these things. These apartments used to be among the lower end in terms of rent but now they seem very comparable to nearby complexes.

Oh well. I might suck it up and pay the 17% rent increase or find something a little further away at a better price. Hey there are trade-offs so not a big deal.

 

[raildogg]

In Tampa, the average prices have risen approximately $150-200. I feel for you man.

Per year? That is high. I was under the assumption (maybe false) that because there is a lot of apartment construction across the country that rents would level out or even come down. But maybe because a lot of these new apartments are on the fancy side, the builders and owners feel the rent should be at a certain level.

 

[gorcorps]

Per year? That is high. I was under the assumption (maybe false) that because there is a lot of apartment construction across the country that rents would level out or even come down. But maybe because a lot of these new apartments are on the fancy side, the builders and owners feel the rent should be at a certain level.

It's hard to judge how new construction will affect things. You'd think since supply increases you'd see a drop in price, but there's sometimes a residual effect that's hard to see coming. If the new construction is for nicer places at higher prices, the older places may be able to raise their prices too and still be the "cheaper" option.

It's just something you have to deal with while renting. You only have a yearly contract so you have no control over what happens after that year. Despite the added maintenance, I'm glad I bought when I did.

 

[nageov3t]

lookup other rentals in the same area and see how much you'd be saving if you moved.

at that point, it's just a cost-benefit analysis.... I've moved 3 times in my adult life and only one of the moves was purely monetary.

apartment #1: roommate moved out and I could barely afford it on my own. decided I'd rather get a 1-bedroom by myself than find a stranger to replace my roommate

apartment #2: was way, way overpaying for that place. when my rent increased for the 3rd year in a row and I realized that I could get a bigger place in a better location for just as much money, I told my landlord I wouldn't be renewing my place.

apartment #3: inexpensive comes with a cost... landlord is crazy (dementia) and has been getting progressively worse in the 4.5 years that I've been here. final straw was when she started regularly pounding on the front door and ringing our doorbell in the middle of the night, threatening to call the cops on us for not answering the door, and then we do answer it and the issue is something like "I've got this bag of garbage and I'm not sure what to do with it."

 

[PowerEngineer]

Tell me about it.

Living in downtown Portland,OR.

My rent on my large studio apartment went up from $565 last month to $645 on April 1st.

(my March rent stays at $565,thank god.)

Total bullshit.The scary thing is,when I originally moved in here back in Sept.2009...I was paying $510 per month for the same apartment.

I can't believe you found sub-$600 rents anywhere in downtown Portland. My wife and I briefly looked at downtown but everything is either $2,000+ or has a three year waiting list.

I can't believe it either! Your studio must be pretty "modest" to still be under $800/month. The Portland housing market has been really tight the last few years. Reasonably decent studio apartments in downtown are starting around $1400/month (sans parking).

My studio is $1350 a month, and I get paid less than my Portland counterpart.

Forgive me for not feeling sorry for you.

Hawaii? Forgive the rest of us if we don't feel sorry for you!