renting rant

So, I live in a presumably 'restricted income' apartment complex... Unlike normal apartment places, you can't make OVER a certain amount to qualify... I've been here two years. Last year, they raised my rent from 725 to 735... okay, that's a doable raise... I've NEVER seen an increase much more than that in any apartment complex I've lived in... maybe 25 bucks, tops. Now, 735 is a little steep. Granted, the rent is variable, based on how much you supposedly make. My dad helps with my rent, so he has a form to fill out every year as well. I make about 13K a year(net)... my dad helps fill in with rent and some of my old bills... I am looking for better work, but the economy sucks right now, and no one gives me the time of day. I've applied for things I can easily do, but I haven't done, at least not in a long time. I applied for a swing shift word processor for a law firm, they hired internally.. What the... ?? Then why bother putting up a posting? Anyway...

with an apartment complex like mine, you don't just sign a lease... there's a ton of paperwork to go through to get 're-certified' and they adjust your rent accordingly... nothing has changed since last years re-certification... guess what they raised my rent to? 795. Yup, you saw that right: a 60 dollar increase. But they know they have me... I can't afford to move, what with having the cats... I'd have to rent a truck, pay app. fees, deposits, pet deposits, etc... and my lease is up in a month... no time to do a proper apartment hunt. Even though they started the whole process in March... it takes them this long to get me my new price... they screw the people they can so others who get off with $300/mo rent can...

I'm thinking of signing a 6 month and then dealing with everything as it comes... I may get a permanent gig with the county by then... I don't know... I'm just furious at these people right now... I have cr*ppy upstairs neighbors who get warned about their noise but ignore the warnings... the parking isn't assigned, as it SHOULD be... not to mention the rude little brats who hang outside my apartment leaving trash and peering into my windows. I have opaque window film up on the majority of my windows, but I like being to actually open my windows to get fresh air in... not to mention find out what the weather is like... I've had my patio (I'm on the ground floor) vandalized, etc... you get the idea... it's not a great neighborhood... but I'm stuck. I'm a quiet, respectful neighbor, and I get treated like the jerk...

I'm going to go back to cleaning... and hopefully I can get the anger resolved.

For anyone reading this, what are reasonable increases? $60 sounds very unreasonable to me. I was told that the apartment size I'm in is going for 795... well, fine... to NEW tenants... you don't do that to current tenants... Any landlords out there? other renters?

Amanda

I'm not sure what the housing market is like in Portland, but in Michigan, it's awful...just like the economy. That being said, my mortgage is less than what you are paying for an apartment. Being lower income, you might be eligable for subsidized mortgages or 1st time buyer type mortgages. In Michigan, it's called MSHDA (Michigan State Housing Development Authority.) I had a friend who was eligible for a MSHDA home loan, and was able to purchase a nice little house, with a very tiny down payment, and very good loan terms. Good luck!!!

depending on what utilities are included, that may be a reasonable rent hike. In my area, besides just fuel surcharges, electricity, natural gas, and water fees have also increased between 3-5%.

What are similar size apartments, including the same amenities (pets, etc) going for in 'nice' neighborhoods in your area...that may give you a better idea if they're gouging or if it really is reasonable. Also, given that in many areas rentals are in high demand these days, I wonder if the same applies in your neighborhood.

If you really are being treated unfairly regarding the rent to income percentages, maybe do just sign a 6 month contract and look around. But, please be sure you've got all references in order - many landlords are being very picky these days, since there's more demand that supply in certain areas due to the economy. Good luck!

Originally Posted by darlili

depending on what utilities are included, that may be a reasonable rent hike. In my area, besides just fuel surcharges, electricity, natural gas, and water fees have also increased between 3-5%.

What are similar size apartments, including the same amenities (pets, etc) going for in 'nice' neighborhoods in your area...that may give you a better idea if they're gouging or if it really is reasonable. Also, given that in many areas rentals are in high demand these days, I wonder if the same applies in your neighborhood.

If you really are being treated unfairly regarding the rent to income percentages, maybe do just sign a 6 month contract and look around. But, please be sure you've got all references in order - many landlords are being very picky these days, since there's more demand that supply in certain areas due to the economy. Good luck!

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Part of it is that it is restricted income, meaning you can't make over a certain amount... so, when I moved in, I was not allowed to have a stated salary of over 28K. They gauge how much rent you pay based upon how much under that limit you are. Most apt. complexes you have to make a minimum amount.

For a comparable neighborhood, this is a little high. For a Restricted Income complex, it's sickening. SE Portland is average 625-675 for roughly the same size place, but with no income restrictions. My apartment is 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath, no A/C, but does have W/D hookups, 850 square feet. I'm in NE Portland... not too close in... that would be Hollywood District, which I wouldn't mind living in... but the houses are older and most rather funky, and rates are even higher... I'd 'kill' to live in the Pearl, which is the nice semi-urban area just north of Downtown... but you pay a SERIOUS premium to live there... maybe someday... either that or I'll move back to Chicago... once i can afford it. Yes, I know it's more $$$ there... but if I can afford it, why not? Someday...

I think a 6 month will be my best bet. I'd rather not stay here at all, but six months will help... and I'll really get my s*** together and improve things (not like i haven't tried), so that I'm not extending it even further...

Amanda

One of our old places raised the rent 100 every year. We moved from taht place. They didnt even allow pets and we were paying 1400 for a 1 Bedroom. We pay 825 for a 2 Bedroom here with the Cats. Our last place was 1300 with my Cats and was a 2 Bedroom. We moved away because we could not afford the rent. I hope someone can help you.

Did you get any type of explaination on the increase-esp if your income hasn't changed??

Originally Posted by GailC

Did you get any type of explaination on the increase-esp if your income hasn't changed??

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that ... I have only rented for a few yrs of my life outside of renting from Mom so I am unsure the new way ... but in the yrs of being a renter ( 3 .5 Yrs ) I never got a rent increase ... the complex I was in raised rates every yr on new leases and had not increased existing in over 5 yrs ... Did all the numbers on the forms stay the same??

Originally Posted by sharky

that ... I have only rented for a few yrs of my life outside of renting from Mom so I am unsure the new way ... but in the yrs of being a renter ( 3 .5 Yrs ) I never got a rent increase ... the complex I was in raised rates every yr on new leases and had not increased existing in over 5 yrs ... Did all the numbers on the forms stay the same??

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I don't get copies of the paperwork (heck, I don't think I even have a copy of my lease)... maybe on Tuesday, I'll ask for copies of all of my paperwork... I honestly don't know how they're figuring this increase... my numbers DID increase from the 1st to the 2nd year (a lot more than this year)... mine didn't as much, but what my father reported did. He 'fessed up to them that he also pays some of my old bills... so my rent increased ten bucks... well, I asked him to not change anything from last year, so he looked at his copy (they fax it to him and he faxes it back) and said the same thing... now this year, my income has altered slightly... I have two jobs, but roughly the same number of hours as I did with the one job. the pay in the newer job is less than a dollar higher... so, my total income hasn't changed THAT much, if barely at all.

I'll go in and try to have a rational conversation with them on Tuesday... I'm not counting on much more than bureaucratic BS... I think I'm finally seeing these two 'girls' for what they are... BS pushers with a haughty attitude... one of them made a stupid remark about my former upstairs neighbor after she left... I guess this girl figured my elderly neighbor wouldn't hear it... wrong. Here's another tidbit about our managers... this will tell you what the head girl is like: she bought a designer puppy a year ago and is only now wondering why the dog misbehaves... ya gotta train the darn thing when they're young...

I'll go in Tuesday and ask for copies of my paperwork... I want to see all three rounds of papers side by side. a $60 dollar increase in one fell swoop is unheard of and quite outrageous. heck, I have a friend in San Francisco who doesn't get increases like that... it doesn't ring true with me... I want copies of all my papers and maybe I'll have a chat with someone legal or housing authority... just to get a third party opinion.

Thanks gang...

Amanda

I used to live in the Bay Area and th last place we were at never raised the Rent once. The place before that was bad. He raised it alot everyime until we complained thatwe were paying way more then everyone. He got fired 2 years after we moved.

Geeze where do you live? 750 a month could get you a 2 or 3 bedroom in the suburbs here....you can even rent a single family home for that much. "low" income housing that goes on a sliding scale can leave some people only having to pay 100 dollars a month for rent. I live in a "progressive" area just outside of cleveland ohio(although it is one undergoing gentrification at the moment which comes with its own issues) and a two bedroom, pet friendly, down stairs of a house, with a back yard....is only 550 a month...and I was thinking about getting a room mate to help with the bills....well I guess I shouldn't be bitching so much .

Originally Posted by mlynn

Geeze where do you live? 750 a month could get you a 2 or 3 bedroom in the suburbs here....you can even rent a single family home for that much. "low" income housing that goes on a sliding scale can leave some people only having to pay 100 dollars a month for rent. I live in a "progressive" area just outside of cleveland ohio(although it is one undergoing gentrification at the moment which comes with its own issues) and a two bedroom, pet friendly, down stairs of a house, with a back yard....is only 550 a month...and I was thinking about getting a room mate to help with the bills....well I guess I shouldn't be bitching so much

.

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there are some areas in Portland, OR that are lower... but you have drugs, run down buildings, etc... I'm the first tenant in my unit, which is nice for some things, but it's the first nice complex in the immediate neighborhood... the corner I live on used to be referred to as Prostitute Corner. We have strip clubs within 500 feet in pretty much every direction (well, in one direction, maybe 1000, feet). But one thing I do like is that it is clean. I nearly rented a unit in SE Portland... I had actually signed the lease (was moving cross country, and flew out to take care of things ahead of time... then drive out with the cats), and was going to stay two nights in there... there was mold on the window casings, and on the back wall under the kitchen sink... I grew up in a fixer-upper house, I know that is indicative of mold seeping through from inside the wall... I'm not dumb. They played it down... tried bleaching and repainting... again, I'm not dumb. the unit was also flea-ridden... it was BAD... they let me back out... cancelled the lease, and I found the place I'm in now... from 2000 miles away. I know i could have it worse, but I shouldn't have to pay through the proverbial nose...

the housing in general around here is still going up, though God only knows why... but as I stated earlier, an increase like this current one is unheard of... what kills me is that the girl who handled my paperwork (2nd in charge) told me the going rate is 795 for new tenants... I told her my rent better not go up that high... she said she doubts it will... well, guess what?

In the morning, I'll do some research about who to talk to legally... and then talk to them Tuesday.

To those who've suggested maybe I look at buying... my credit is shot to heck and I don't make near enough... I highly doubt they'd take my dad's money into consideration.

A lot of folks are coming up straight from California (I'm from there, but came in a roundabout way), and are willing to pay outrageous prices, simply because they are cheaper than CA... well, if you're making 50K a year, the rent isn't bad... you can get a NICE townhome for that... or even buy... and buy a good sized place... but for those of us who don't make that kind of money, it's difficult.

I'm considering making stuff to sell on Etsy... just to make a little extra income... anyone wanna buy a funky purse? Although, I actually need the time to make the darn things...

Anyway...

Thanks again...

Amanda

When we moved to our 1 br apt in Sept, the rent was $635 with a 6 mo lease. We just renewed our lease in April. A 6 mo lease was $645, a 9 mo or a year lease was what we were paying, $635 and the month to month with no lease was $665! We love it here, so we signed the year lease.

I would definately go down and look at your paperwork. It is your right to have copies of what they are basing the rent on.

wow! I don't feel so much like I am getting ripped off because my rent went up from 600 to 625. I have a 3 br house with an acre of land and a brick shed bigger than my first house I ever rented.
I would definitely speak to someone in the legal dept of the Housing Authority. My daughter's MIL works for one in GA, and she is always fighting with them about raising rents too much just because someone is getting a little more money or their circumstances have not even changed.

That's crazy!! That's a bit over 9% increase. I would go to them and say the increase is 9% which is well above the Consumer Price Index increase in the last year, and with the current state of the economy, and it is not right to demand that sort of increase. Tell them you will negotiate and only pay an extra $10/month. If they still go higher than report them to the rental authority.

We just raised the rent of an apartment we rent out in Australia about $60/month I think, and that's not rent controlled and is the biggest jump we've ever done and felt bad about it. But they only wanted a short lease (we think they're planning to buy soon), and they have been there for a few years now and we have barely put the rent up at all despite the Australian mortgage rater going up a heap in the last couple of years. We're losing money, and after the last interest rate increase we didn't have a choice.

When we were renting our apartment, our rent went DOWN every year. We paid $594 for a townhouse, 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 1100 sq ft

We have since moved and are renting a single family house for $700 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, full unfinished basement, big yard, and they allowed our cat for no extra money.

Leslie

What, if any, utilities are included? We're landlords, and while we haven't raised the actual rent, our tenants are paying almost twice what they did last year for utilities (gas and electricity) because of the price hikes.

garbage and water are the only utilities included. I pay my electric and cable. In the first year, basic cable was included, but then they changed it to an extra fee... which I compared last year to what basic cable is here... and it is still a deal... so I pay the extra 35 a month (it's closer to 40 on its own) for my basic cable through the apartment complex. I hope that continues... I don't mind that extra charge... as long as my rent stays down... so in all, I'm paying 770, which includes my basic cable...

the cable thing shows me they like to change things without much warning... when I moved in, there was no stipulation that the free basic was only for the first year... I don't know... maybe they didn't expect people to actually STAY as long as some of us are... yes, there are a lot of shady folks who duck out and break their leases here... leave all sort of 'lovely' things behind (things that should have been refrigerated, but weren't), but it's still no excuse for doing this to long term residents... gee... maybe they LIKE having a high turnover... although they love whining about it in the office... maybe I'm not giving them enough to whine about... hmmm... no... I like trying to be a nice tenant...

Amanda

Get your paperwork, as others have said here. You should be entitled to it. And maybe to to legal aid... or another org that deals with renters rights.... I don't know about the housing authority there in Ore.

But it sounds to me like they are sticking it to you for some reason... maybe simply because they can.

The last rent increase I had was $55/mn. But they at least sent a letter reminding us how much heat had gone up - heat and gas are included with my place, so my winter utility bill is about $24/mn. They also don't charge $30/mn extra for kitty, which is the norm. It is also is a fair market price for the area.

I've lived other places that went up 5% every year, "just because". I'm sure lots of property owners raising it to increase revenue regardless of how much they are entitled too in actuality.

With your "low income" housing (I'm sorry, dont know what to call it), I assume the owners get a government match for rent they "lose" by offering reduced rents for those that qualify. Meaning, I'm thinking they are charging you far more than they may be reporting to whatever gov't agency oversees this? I assume the rules would be different with this kind of property vs the usual run of the mill properties w/no income requirements.

I'm grateful to stay where I am...they go out of their way to treat their quality tenants rights - they are smart enough to realize how profitable it is to keep them instead of driving them away and hoping they "get lucky" with the next batch of tenants. Perhaps when you have your discussion with the rental office you could bring that concept up. (Although I have had HORRIBLE luck with property managers over the years)