Community Chat

[gertrudecloset]

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@drizzellla wrote:

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

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@Porcelain wrote:

I totally agree we need to fix our zoning rules here in America. Most areas could benefit from mixed use buildings. You put cafes and shops and services on the lower levels and apartments and condos on the higher levels. With a whole block designed that way, it makes for a convenient and walkable neighborhood for residents. Where people can actually get to know each other.

They're experimenting with this in a big way in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona has such bad pollution issues, that something has to give. They are trying to come up with ways for residents to be able to find much of what they need locally. Mixed use city "super" blocks are coming into play.

https://youtu.be/9kmIUjHL0zs

If you don't have to own and maintain a car, your cost of living goes down. But if you don't live right near the places you need to go, and there's no reliable and convenient public transportation, you do have to own a car. America is designed with us all spread out and we are forced to drive if we want to accomplish even the smallest errand.

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@Porcelain wrote:

I totally agree we need to fix our zoning rules here in America. Most areas could benefit from mixed use buildings. You put cafes and shops and services on the lower levels and apartments and condos on the higher levels. With a whole block designed that way, it makes for a convenient and walkable neighborhood for residents. Where people can actually get to know each other.

They're experimenting with this in a big way in Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona has such bad pollution issues, that something has to give. They are trying to come up with ways for residents to be able to find much of what they need locally. Mixed use city "super" blocks are coming into play.

https://youtu.be/9kmIUjHL0zs

If you don't have to own and maintain a car, your cost of living goes down. But if you don't live right near the places you need to go, and there's no reliable and convenient public transportation, you do have to own a car. America is designed with us all spread out and we are forced to drive if we want to accomplish even the smallest errand.

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The mixed use buildings are already a thing in NJ and most of the retail is empty.

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@CelticCrafter 

Same in PA. Hundreds and hundreds of "luxury" apartments on large acres of former farmland. And a little "strip mall of stores" (half empty) at the bottom.

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@drizzellla The thing I'm reading for NYC who has a similar set up is that most of these buildings are sitting with not many tenants.  Where are all these rich people coming from?  Overseas?  So PA is doing the same thing too, huh?  

[on the bay]

@PickyPicky3,

My cousin had a rent controlled in NYC and now his son has it. It is small of course but they have felt very fortunate.

"This term has a different meaning in the NYC area. Units considered “rent control” requires it to have a tenant living there since July 1, 1971. However, the tenant can pass its apartment to a family member so long as they have lived in it for a minimum of two years."

• "Rent control freezes rent payments so they can’t increase
• Rent stabilization only allows rent payments to increase by a small percentage each year
• There are strict regulations you need to meet in order to qualify for one of these types of apartments"

[gertrudecloset]

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@on the bay wrote:

@PickyPicky3,

My cousin had a rent controlled in NYC and now his son has it. It is small of course but they have felt very fortunate.

"This term has a different meaning in the NYC area. Units considered “rent control” requires it to have a tenant living there since July 1, 1971. However, the tenant can pass its apartment to a family member so long as they have lived in it for a minimum of two years."

• "Rent control freezes rent payments so they can’t increase
• Rent stabilization only allows rent payments to increase by a small percentage each year
• There are strict regulations you need to meet in order to qualify for one of these types of apartments"

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Thanks for the detail @on the bay .  The thing with these apartments is they are almost never put on the market for rent.  Never.  They stay in the family and/or they don't get put into the list of affordable apartments.  The program is non existent now, with the exception of the people who live in them and are grandfathered in.  There is no such thing as applying for a rent controlled apartment now.  Rent stabilized is still doable though but not often.  Rent stabilized is what we call affordable apartments in NYC. When there are some it's done by lottery.  You always here more about Section 8 and other programs and people are hard pressed to find housing with these subsidies too.  

[drizzellla]

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@gertrudecloset wrote:

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@drizzellla The thing I'm reading for NYC who has a similar set up is that most of these buildings are sitting with not many tenants.  Where are all these rich people coming from?  Overseas?  So PA is doing the same thing too, huh?  

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I think these developments are common in many states. We passed a development even bigger than the ones I have seen in NJ and PA. I think it was in VA. It seemed to go on forever.

Not sure who is buying but they are not cheap.

When our friends's parents died, they sold their parent's house. It was convenient to Villanova University. It was quickly sold for $$$$S to a Saudi Arabian family. They did not want their daughter to live in a dorm. And they wanted a house big enough so when they came and visited, they had room.

[qualitygal]

We've had to go through this whole rig a ma roll in the last couple of months.  We got lucky (it wasn't even for us, but we had to do all the work).  It fell to us.  It's better now, but I'm getting pretty tired of all of this.  

It's not over yet, on our anything can happen and seems to.  Kind of going from one to the next.  Soon, well, in the future, I hope it slows down some.  My days are kind of "anything can happen day" like on the Mickey Mouse club.  LOL  So..........I'm hoping the rent and home buying and selling situation gets better in the future. 

Oh well, that's life.  A lot of people are going through stuff too!!

[drizzellla]

@gertrudecloset 

This is the development I passed today. There are 11 of these buildings.

The 35-acre site was acquired by the Burlington County developer from Camden County for $6.2 million in 2016. Construction on the apartments began in June 2017 and plans initially called for possibly adding commercial ventures later, but those plans have been scrapped, mainly because of the retail market that already exists along Route 130.

A firm, which specializes in distressed properties, recently reached a deal with Ryan Homes to build 189 townhouses on the property. Construction is expected to begin in 2019 and take several years. Both firms are receiving tax incentives, he said.

According to the sign I passed today, the townhouses start at the middle $300,000.  The townhouses have essentially no ground and no landscaping.

[Trailrun23]

The gov’t just announced another year of rent forgiveness and will not go back to the way it was prior to Covid. That may help some renters but I don’t think landlords will survive in some cases. They still have bills to pay for the homes or apts they own.

[Trailrun23]

Landlords are taking advantage of their renters. When I rented, I knew how long I could afford to live there because I knew how long the rent would be what I could afford. I moved the month before it was set to go way up. I feel real sympathy for everyone who is renting and is getting big increases. Even if you can pay the big new number, it isn't fair to anyone. No such thing as rent control anymore. 

[PickyPicky3]

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@Trailrun23 wrote:
The gov’t just announced another year of rent forgiveness and will not go back to the way it was prior to Covid. That may help some renters but I don’t think landlords will survive in some cases. They still have bills to pay for the homes or apts they own.

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@Trailrun23    I didn't see anything about this. Are you referring to federal, state or local programs?

[FiddleDeeDee]

I'm a landlord. We were tenants for 6 years before we purchased a place in MD and then, 3 years later, found ourselves in Florida as tenants again for 2 years until we purchased the house we were renting here (called a pocket listing/sale) 3 months ago.

One of the things that people are unaware of is the fact the you are signing a contract that does NOT state how much your rent is going to increase SHOULD you renew it after 1 year.  When we were sent the rental contract for this house the FIRST thing I asked was "were is the rent increase percentage in the lease?"  There wasn't one. Why? Because Florida doesn't have to offer that. Well, guess what... I WANT one and will NOT sign it unless it's there. Oh, and we're going to sign a 2 year lease so....no increase if we do that. The agent was...surprised. However, the landlord agreed and it was added. How many people do that? Very, very few.

I learned about this decades ago. Apartment complexes USED to include the percentage of increase in their lease. Now you have to ask. Why? Because companies realized that people DON'T READ THEIR CONTRACTS. So, they don't bother putting it in and this way, can raise the rent whatever they like. Interesting enough, in many states, when you rent through a Realtor, THEIR contract DOES include the rent increase percentage (MD is one of them. 5% is standard).  My tenants all have that 5% increase. They know it up front when they sign so no surprises. If they sign up for a multiple year lease, no increase at all. Contracts are there to keep both parties flying straight. But if you don't READ your contract when you sign, then you really don't know what you are agreeing to. The massive rent increases can only occur if there was nothing in place to protect the tenant in the first place. Think about that.

Is it fair for the landlord to increase it so much? Depends. I have a dear friend who was unable to collect rent from her renters because they claimed they "didn't have to because the President said so". She couldn't evict them either despite the violations she received from the HOA about their behavior and complaints from the neighbors. Yes, she could have filed for the money to help her out with the mortgage but guess what? The state was so slow to offer assistance, the site was often down and in the end.....it simply didn't help her (or others) fast enough. Long story short, she fought (and won) to keep her house out of foreclosure (GOFUNDME) but she has spent THOUSANDS repairing the damage the tenants did. Have they been held accountable? Well, her case is slowly moving through the courts as they are backed up and MAYBE in 18 months she'll have her case heard (she filed a year ago). Not to mention all the fees she has had to pay up front. She is increasing the rent far above what she once charged. She also will be charging for more up-front to move in plus a few new requirements due to what happened. She will now use a Realtor to find her tenant. Never again will she be tolerant/nice/understanding. Sad but that is what happens when you're used by someone.

There are enough bad apples around to ruin it for all. You also have to deal with property taxes being increased, HOA fees being increased, community fees going up, contractors doubling their fees (that has been a nightmare, let me tell ya). I won't comment on the corporate rental situation because that is a beast of a different nightmare.  For the record, the amount of PROFIT we made on our TH worked out be a NEGATIVE $10 A MONTH as per last years' taxes. This year it will be even less. But the mortgage is being paid and that is what matters to us as we are passing this home on to our children (along with both grandparents' homes). Not every landlord is doing this for profit, let me tell ya. Sometimes it's so you'll have a home to come back to once you retire (if you get to).