question about rent

[River Song]

Ladies and Gents,
I have a bit of a dilemma - the rent on my incall is going up 12%. This seems really steep. This is the first time I have ever rented anything so I really don't know if this is customary. (I purchased condo when I was 20, so I have never rented)

[pyramider]

The ccmplex knows its a pain in the ass to move so bumping the rent up is normal. Of course if you posted taint photos ...

[GlobeSpotter]

1 check your lease to see if there was a cap or constraint on increases....you should put that in your first go round

2 check the apt finder or agent or get a trick to call in and ask what the current move in special is and how many units are available.

the aot has nothing to gain to see your apt empty for even one month

[chicagoboy]

Originally Posted by pyramider

The ccmplex knows its a pain in the ass to move so bumping the rent up is normal. Of course if you posted taint photos ...

... for Rebecca.

[Brooke Wilde]

This happened to me in 2013 when my incall was in Midtown, they raised my rent by over $600 a month.

[worldbfree]

Just tell them the amount you will stay for, any higher you go.

[cabletex7]

It depends on what your original rent was. If you negotiated really hard and got way below market rates, they may just now be trying to catch up.

If not, then the 12% rent increase is surprising. Don't know about the downtown market but Midtown/Galleria is jam packed with new apartment buildings with more under construction. I don't know this firsthand but am hearing rumors of upto 3 months free rent with a year lease. So, if it's not that you got a really great deal to start off, I'd call their bluff. But be ready to move out.

[Alyssa71]

Mine went down. I've never had an apartment that went up by that high though. That's pretty ridiculous, I'd chunk deuce.

[Karlie Raines]

The management is usually willing to work with people in order to keep good tenants. Let them know that the rate increase is higher than average and see if they can lower it to X amount so that they can still take advantage of an increase.

[Fancyinheels]

Bear in mind that the real estate tax on rental property in some areas of Houston has risen by as much as 22% in the last couple of years, so yes, landlords are going to try and pass that on to their tenants.

I did a lot of research before obtaining my former incall apartment, first time I'd had to rent anything in a quarter of a century! (Went the way of Atlantis one year ago this month, underwater in the Tax Day Floods. ) I had it for 5 years. A yearly 5-10% increase was standard for all of the properties the management company oversaw in Houston, but I had negotiating power due to my consistency in prompt payment; I always resigned another year-long lease instead of a shorter interval: I wasn't a troublesome tenant and made a lot of minor repairs myself but promptly reported maintenance issues that needed immediate attention; and my place was always clean and well-kept. I also made it a point to get acquainted and be friendly with the management staff. My increases were minimal, but still unavoidable.

Apartment management relies heavily on the fact that it IS a huge pain in the behind to relocate, but they also value long-term reliable tenants. Have a sit-down with your local leasing agent and indicate you would like to stay for a significant period of time, and see if there isn't some wiggle room on that rent hike. A lot also depends on the popularity of the area you're in, the occupancy rate, and future development, so do some investigation of your complex and the neighborhood before your meeting.

Alas, I think the OP's geography is one of the up and coming Houston realty markets primed for increases.

[dearhunter]

Maybe they figured out your line of work.........ijs

[Fancyinheels]

Originally Posted by dearhunter

Maybe they figured out your line of work.........ijs

They would have raised her rent a lot more than 12% -- and asked for taint photos.

[dearhunter]

Maybe 12% is the maximum they can raise her rent.

[StopShort]

Most apartments are owned by corporations nowadays. They all do the same thing. They now go by "market rates" per square foot of space. So, an apartment may go for $900 per month in February when no one is really moving. That same apartment will go for $1050 or $1100 in June because of high demand. The summer is when school is out and a lot of families are moving around.

So, it won't help you now but it's best to move during "dead" times of the year. For now, you should go and try to negotiate since you're already living there and they would prefer to keep you rather than have to try and rent it again. The managers get bonuses for occupancy rates

[Brooke Wilde]

I checked into a lot of this when this happened to me years ago.

In Houston there is no rent increase cap. They can raise it by whatever they want. It does not matter if you are a senior citizen or disabled.

There are no laws what-so-ever protecting the tenets, as long as the lease is up and they do not attempt to raise the rent during your lease. It's simply that rent is sky rocketing in this area.

I used to live in this gated community from 2012 to 2014. It's called McKinney Street Villas, all the patio homes are basically the same and rented for $1,500.00 - $1,700.00 a month. Now they are going for $2,000.00 +.

http://www.har.com/918-mckinney-park-ln/rent_94471877