Originally posted by: tw1164
did local taxes increase?
Taxes skyrocketed a while back all thru MA but have more or less plateaued.
Originally posted by: tw1164
did local taxes increase?
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: homercles337
How far "WestMetro" are you? I live in Central Square and my landlord is messing with me too. My year long lease renewed in April, but i got a letter about 1.5 months ago indicating that he was raising my rent by 10% ($1000 -> $1100). I got a lawyer and im not paying it. I ask how far west because if youre no where near a T $50 is not reasonable. As far as my lease is concerned my rent can only go up based on property taxes (and when the lease renews). Youre rent just went up by 5.7 percent. Not reasonable. I have lived all other the states and i have never had rent go up by more than 1 to 2 percent. Were both getting screwed because of all the foreclosures. :|
hmm.
is there a law limiting how much they can raise rent?
Originally posted by: Gibson486
reasonable....unreasonable would be the max increase.
BTW, where is this? $925 a month for that seems like a steal....I live in Boston and I pay 1575 and i do not get a dishwasher or pool and I heat is only covered up to a certain amount.....I your apt is not in boston, but you cannot even get a price like that in Lowell.
Originally posted by: Gibson486
reasonable....unreasonable would be the max increase.
BTW, where is this? $925 a month for that seems like a steal....I live in Boston and I pay 1575 and i do not get a dishwasher or pool and I heat is only covered up to a certain amount.....I your apt is not in boston, but you cannot even get a price like that in Lowell.
Originally posted by: amdhunter
$925 for a place with a dishwasher and a pool?
I live in the f-in ghetto in the Bronx, in a roach-infested shithole where the boiler and elevator break every day, my car gets broken into at least once a year and the neighborhood kids pee and graffiti everything up and pay more...
I'd gladly pay 500 dollars more to live in a nice place like they have.
Funny you mentioned that. What I'd actually like to do is get them to sign for 2 years. In which case I would then agree to make it 900 now, and 925 for the 2nd year. Only problem is it's a 1br and they just got married in the beginning of August, so family planning may prevent them from wanting to make such a long-term commitment.Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
If the place is in good condition and if the tenants needs are taken care of, then I think a 5.7% increase in 1 year is a bit steep, but not completely out of line. Perhaps you may want to consider raising it to 900 now, and then to 925 in 1 year. Keep the increases at 3% or slightly less .... But ... if the rental market in the area is booming, and if your taxes are taking a spike too, and if the utilities are going up in cost and you're paying them too .... then perhaps you might need to increase more in order to cut your losses so you can still afford the lifestyle that you're used to.
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: amdhunter
$925 for a place with a dishwasher and a pool?
I live in the f-in ghetto in the Bronx, in a roach-infested shithole where the boiler and elevator break every day, my car gets broken into at least once a year and the neighborhood kids pee and graffiti everything up and pay more...
I'd gladly pay 500 dollars more to live in a nice place like they have.
Unfortunately most that say they'd pay more to live elsewhere would already be doing that...esp if they hated their current conditions.
A $50 jump is significant, I would give them a few months notice that it will take affect.
Landlords always assume their places are better than they really are though, having a tenant that takes care of things themselves is a big plus vs getting called for every single problem.
Their jobs and salary increases should have no bearing on rent.
Originally posted by: homercles337
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Originally posted by: homercles337
How far "WestMetro" are you? I live in Central Square and my landlord is messing with me too. My year long lease renewed in April, but i got a letter about 1.5 months ago indicating that he was raising my rent by 10% ($1000 -> $1100). I got a lawyer and im not paying it. I ask how far west because if youre no where near a T $50 is not reasonable. As far as my lease is concerned my rent can only go up based on property taxes (and when the lease renews). Youre rent just went up by 5.7 percent. Not reasonable. I have lived all other the states and i have never had rent go up by more than 1 to 2 percent. Were both getting screwed because of all the foreclosures. :|
You must be living in a rent control'd apartment.
i hate rent control laws. i can see in some areas. but hell a 10% rate is not bad.
only being able to go up based on property taxes is insane. just does not seem right.
What doesnt seem right about that? There has to be some laws protecting the tenant. Or slumlords can raise your rent as much as they want--thus making the apartment now outside someones budget. There is also the incentive of getting good tenants. Landlords do this by not shiting on their tenants. It sounds like the OP is in suburbs. VERY different than living in the metro area (yes, i know he claims to be "metrowest"). You guys have a distorted idea what suburban living in the boston area is like. Trust me i have spent the last couple days on craigslist because of my issue. In case you didnt read carefull enough, my landlord is trying to raise my rent by 10% in the middle of my lease. And, yes, if i stay he will likely raise it again when it renews. I can find something nicer for what my rent will be in April (probably $1200).
Originally posted by: Vic
Originally posted by: homercles337
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Originally posted by: homercles337
How far "WestMetro" are you? I live in Central Square and my landlord is messing with me too. My year long lease renewed in April, but i got a letter about 1.5 months ago indicating that he was raising my rent by 10% ($1000 -> $1100). I got a lawyer and im not paying it. I ask how far west because if youre no where near a T $50 is not reasonable. As far as my lease is concerned my rent can only go up based on property taxes (and when the lease renews). Youre rent just went up by 5.7 percent. Not reasonable. I have lived all other the states and i have never had rent go up by more than 1 to 2 percent. Were both getting screwed because of all the foreclosures. :|
You must be living in a rent control'd apartment.
i hate rent control laws. i can see in some areas. but hell a 10% rate is not bad.
only being able to go up based on property taxes is insane. just does not seem right.
What doesnt seem right about that? There has to be some laws protecting the tenant. Or slumlords can raise your rent as much as they want--thus making the apartment now outside someones budget. There is also the incentive of getting good tenants. Landlords do this by not shiting on their tenants. It sounds like the OP is in suburbs. VERY different than living in the metro area (yes, i know he claims to be "metrowest"). You guys have a distorted idea what suburban living in the boston area is like. Trust me i have spent the last couple days on craigslist because of my issue. In case you didnt read carefull enough, my landlord is trying to raise my rent by 10% in the middle of my lease. And, yes, if i stay he will likely raise it again when it renews. I can find something nicer for what my rent will be in April (probably $1200).
It's the fact that he's trying to raise the rent in the middle of your lease that makes your complaint valid. The OP's lease is up for renewal, which makes his situation entirely different to yours. Rent control has nothing to do with this. And it sounds like renting in suburban Boston is pretty cheap for a big city area, even if you are out in the 'burbs.