renting is more complicated these days

JaniceM

JaniceM

Well-known Member
Location
still lost between two shores..
I'm not specifically referring to Senior housing, just renting an apartment in general.
In the past, my experiences were quite simple. These days, not only are there extra (and large) costs involved, but all kinds of requirements.

So I was wondering what the reason is- is it because there are many more people needing apartments these days that landlords can be as picky and difficult as they want, or are there more "problem" tenants these days so landlords need to be careful in who they rent to???
 

Alligatorob said:
I think it's mostly:

Its just supply and demand, in a few years when there's a glut of apartments it will be a lot easier.
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what reason could there be which would create a 'glut of apartments' in a few years time ?

Over population, lack of of affordable homes being built.. everywhere.. more people homeless than ever before... never going to happen is it ?
 
IMHO, there are all kinds of requirements because people and politicians have abused the system, and landlords are just trying to protect themselves. Two examples.... remember when the government prevented evictions for nonpayment of rent a year back, they cited (COVID) but they didn't prevent mortgage foreclosures due to non-payment of the mortgage by the landlord? Also, landlord's repair costs have risen out of sight. The real inflation rate is far greater than the 9% the government has been spewing and the landlords are stuck with the bill. So many more reasons for your observation too.
 
hollydolly said:
what reason could there be which would create a 'glut of apartments' in a few years time ?
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Unless something changes in the whole real estate market it will happen, just not sure how soon. In the US anyway the real estate market has been cyclic since our earliest records. See "The Real Estate Cycle and What it Means for a Post-Pandemic Market" https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-real-estate-cycle-and-what-it-means-1309838/ for example.

Right now rents are up and so there is a strong incentive to build more rental units, that will lead to a glut, always has before, don't see that changing. Of course the glut will be followed by another shortage and so on, so long as our civilization lasts anyway.
hollydolly said:
Over population, lack of of affordable homes being built..
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You make a good point on the over population problem, it makes land in particular more expensive. I think the result will be a gradual increase in housing costs with each peak and valley a bit higher than the last. In much of the US we still have land to develop, but less and less all the time, land prices have risen, a lot... I suspect in the UK land is much more dear than here.

Plenty of apartments and rentals being built here. Contractors are really busy right now. I am sure the owners will get as much rent from them as they can, but as the glut comes on rents will fall, but maybe not to past lows.

The article says it's an 18 year cycle, so that would mean something like 9 years to the next glut bottom. Not sure its that predictable. I suspect we are close to the peak of the bubble, maybe past it, you never really know till its over.
 
The first apartment I ever rented: all I did was walk into the manager's office, read and signed a rental agreement, paid security deposit and first month's rent, and moved in.

I had an interesting experience with another place: living on one side of the country, wanted to move back to the opposite side, I sent a brief snail-mail note to managers of an apartment complex I was familiar with in the past. Manager mailed me a rental agreement, which I signed and mailed back with security deposit and first month's rent.. and when I arrived there, the manager gave me the key to move in. I did make a follow-up call after mailing in the deposit, etc., but it wasn't even necessary.

When I moved to current apartment complex, the only unusual thing was a background check, which I'd never encountered before. Wasn't a problem, but did mean it took longer to move in. It wasn't til years later I asked a neighbor what background checks are for, and was told landlords/managers want to make sure prospective tenants don't have a history of evictions.
Oh, and it's the first place I ever rented that involved leases- in the past, there were rental agreements which were basically nothing but simple rules, etc., and if tenants followed the rules and paid their rent, they were assured of a place to live til they decided to move.

Looking for a new place, now, though, is unbelievably complicated and time-consuming. Hoping application is approved without any problems, but always have "Murphy's Law" in mind...
 
No problem here for this packer. I saw a couple of place, went back the 2nd day and saw one place again. Got some forms to sign. Returned with paper work. They checked me out whether I got the bucks and my credit rating. Got an email "congratulating" me on being accepted. I'm not surprised at all. I have always paid my bills way ahead of time. They should be lucky to get a "good guy" like me. I guess they don't want any "roaches" moving in and I can't blame them.
 

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It all bogs down to supply and demand and for this there are plenty of reasons.

More younger people are leaving home for education/ careers.
The disintegration of the joint family system in some cultures.
Many couples choose to live separately
Many people enjoy their alone time without having to shack up with others which could end up in stressful situations.
 
Last year I moved to an underpopulated town. I had to go through hoops; it took about 4 days. Even though the building is at one third capacity, it's owned by a big company, and I guess it's just policy.

I passed all their requirements. The only actual glitch was signing the agreement, using an electronic signature via an app. I followed the instructions but it just didn't work.

People who don't qualify have to rent from the "slum landlord" across the street.

As others have noted, it used to be easier. However, when I was a single mother, most landlords in my city refused to rent to me, and I had to move to a bad neighborhood. I was surprised to learn that it wasn't like that in some other cities.
 
Senenity said:
More younger people are leaving home for education/ careers.
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I agree.

Also with the strong economy right now many younger people are making a lot more money than they did a few years ago. That increases their expectations, and likelihood of moving out and into a place of their own. Just out of high school my grandson found a really good job market, he's making about $30/hr for warehouse work. And has moved into a place of his own. Way ahead of where he would have been not long ago.

Problem of course is just like the real estate market the job market is cyclical, those abundant high paying entry level jobs for people with little experience or skill won't last. Maybe then he will be more likely to go back to college... hope so.
 
JaniceM said:
I'm not specifically referring to Senior housing, just renting an apartment in general.
In the past, my experiences were quite simple. These days, not only are there extra (and large) costs involved, but all kinds of requirements.

So I was wondering what the reason is- is it because there are many more people needing apartments these days that landlords can be as picky and difficult as they want, or are there more "problem" tenants these days so landlords need to be careful in who they rent to???
Click to expand...
Around here where I'm living the landlords want $20 up front for a background check before they'll even consider letting you rent. If you have to look at more than one in a month that gets costly. They make us sign a lease that goes from year to year. The reason is that people tear the places up. They have pets when they're not allowed. They party or their kids destroy things. They don't take care of the places. When they move it costs the landlords quite a bit to fix things back up. Sometimes they have to redecorate if it's too bad. If they leave with no notice all they have is the deposit to work with. The tenants skip rent and take off and leave them with unpaid utility bills that the landlord has to end up paying. So that's why.
 
NorthernLight said:
when I was a single mother, most landlords in my city refused to rent to me
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That's illegal here, however I know it happens all the time. Problem is when a single mother stops paying rent it takes longer and costs more to evict, costing the landlord money. That is the case here in Utah where the courts are reluctant to evict single mothers. In Florida where I owned a few rental units that was not the case, we had a very fast track eviction process. So most landlords were less concerned about single mothers.

Just an example of the unintended consequences of things. I am sympatric to single mothers, or any poor person who cannot make rent payments. Got me in trouble a few times and I lost money on those rentals... Part of the reason I got out of the business. In the long run transferring the cost of social support to landlords just ends up increasing rents, particularly to the low income renter.
 
NorthernLight said:
Last year I moved to an underpopulated town. I had to go through hoops; it took about 4 days. Even though the building is at one third capacity, it's owned by a big company, and I guess it's just policy.

I passed all their requirements. The only actual glitch was signing the agreement, using an electronic signature via an app. I followed the instructions but it just didn't work.

People who don't qualify have to rent from the "slum landlord" across the street.

As others have noted, it used to be easier. However, when I was a single mother, most landlords in my city refused to rent to me, and I had to move to a bad neighborhood. I was surprised to learn that it wasn't like that in some other cities.
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See and they need to stop having everything go through apps. Some people don't have that stuff and are unable to use it. It's not fair to deny housing because they won't accept a hand written signature.
 
MarciKS said:
Around here where I'm living the landlords want $20 up front for a background check before they'll even consider letting you rent. If you have to look at more than one in a month that gets costly. They make us sign a lease that goes from year to year. The reason is that people tear the places up. They have pets when they're not allowed. They party or their kids destroy things. They don't take care of the places. When they move it costs the landlords quite a bit to fix things back up. Sometimes they have to redecorate if it's too bad. If they leave with no notice all they have is the deposit to work with. The tenants skip rent and take off and leave them with unpaid utility bills that the landlord has to end up paying. So that's why.
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One former neighbor said I shouldn't pick one apartment but instead apply to dozens.. I guess that's easy for people with $ to say. It took another neighbor 3 years to find a new place.. and that's only a little more than the length of time that I've been trying.
 
Alligatorob said:
That's illegal here, however I know it happens all the time. Problem is when a single mother stops paying rent it takes longer and costs more to evict, costing the landlord money. That is the case here in Utah where the courts are reluctant to evict single mothers. In Florida where I owned a few rental units that was not the case, we had a very fast track eviction process. So most landlords were less concerned about single mothers.

Just an example of the unintended consequences of things. I am sympatric to single mothers, or any poor person who cannot make rent payments. Got me in trouble a few times and I lost money on those rentals... Part of the reason I got out of the business. In the long run transferring the cost of social support to landlords just ends up increasing rents, particularly to the low income renter.
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At the time, it wasn't about money. I was suddenly considered a bad person because I had a child and no husband. It was a shock. The bad-neighborhood apartment cost as much as a decent apartment. Anyway, it was a long time ago.

I wouldn't want to be a landlord though.
 
JaniceM said:
One former neighbor said I shouldn't pick one apartment but instead apply to dozens.. I guess that's easy for people with $ to say. It took another neighbor 3 years to find a new place.. and that's only a little more than the length of time that I've been trying.
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I would hold out for something you really want in a neighborhood you want to be in. I would wait for what you want so you don't have to keep moving. *hugs* Hope you find something soon.
 
MarciKS said:
Around here where I'm living the landlords want $20 up front for a background check before they'll even consider letting you rent. If you have to look at more than one in a month that gets costly. They make us sign a lease that goes from year to year. The reason is that people tear the places up. They have pets when they're not allowed. They party or their kids destroy things. They don't take care of the places. When they move it costs the landlords quite a bit to fix things back up. Sometimes they have to redecorate if it's too bad. If they leave with no notice all they have is the deposit to work with. The tenants skip rent and take off and leave them with unpaid utility bills that the landlord has to end up paying. So that's why.
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That's the kind of thing that bugs me- people who have the idea that since they don't own the apartment they're free to wreck it and leave landlords with the consequences.

I'm wondering if that's the reason some places require first AND last month's rent in addition to security deposits.. and some that require a person's income to be at least twice (and even seen three times) the amount of the rent.

"Pet rent" also irritates me. Maybe if a person has a very active dog, but not most pets in general.

The way I've always looked at rentals: it doesn't matter that it doesn't legally belong to me, I'm as careful with other people's property as with my own.. and same goes for utility bills.
 
NorthernLight said:
Good heavens! At least I didn't have to pay for the credit check, etc.
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I've never heard for paying for credit checks, either.

One former neighbor applied to rent somewhere, and had to go to local police station to get a print-out to prove no criminal history. It would be much simpler if landlords just check the court records page!!
 
Gary O' said:
Not sure if it's been mentioned, but affordability may be coming into the equation.

I haven't seen rents to escalated in so short of a time
The working homeless population seems to be growing

Seems a market for tiny homes (huts) these days
I might start building them
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New landlords plan a $100 per month increase.

There is a local place that says they're building small cottages, but when I inquired they said they've only built one so far and it was in 2019. I'm guessing they're having difficulty with funding, and/or people to do the work.
 


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