Tracking rent increases

[peb]

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum.............

I've lived at my present apartment for 3 years.  The first lease renewal had no increase in rent; the next 2 had small ones - ~ 3%.  I just received my notice for my next renewal and the landlord is giving me a 9% increase in my rent.  My base rent (where the increase is) is solely for the apartment - utilities are separate.

I don't mind a moderate increase as I really do like where I live (well, I like the apartment, the complex and the location - the staff is a whole 'nother thread....) but nearly 10% in this economy?!?

So, before I go to discuss this (to me) outrageous increase with the manager - is there any local entity (city, county, state??) that tracks average rent increases, particularly 2007-2008 and 2008-2009?

BTW, and I don't know if this should be a factor, the complex is on 51st St. and will likley be affected by the I-44 widening project in terms of traffic and accessability.

Thanks!

peb

[cannon_fodder]

1) all bold is rude.

2) I googled it and in 5 seconds came up with this chart for Tulsa rents:



http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate?a=MSAAvgRentalPrice&msa=8560 (it is a dynamic picture, so I can not post the image)

It would appear a 10% jump is out of the ordinary.  Perhaps they think they will be bought out by the I-44 project and want to inflate their value?  Maybe they think better access is more valuable?  Renovation project in the works?  Maybe their credit line was cut and they had to switch their note?

Hard to say.  But it seems to NOT be the norm.  Draft a letter or get with other residents to draft a letter asking for an explanation/justification.  Generally they send a letter with an excuse for a smaller increase, but for a larger one they have an actual reason (no increases in 5 years, will side the buildings, new ownership).  

[peb]

My apologies for the all bold - the old blinkers ain't what they used to be and the background colors on the sites I normally post on force me to use bold just to be able to see it so it's now habit.

Thanks for the link - I spent about 4 hours searching and never saw that one.  I told my wife I was going to post it here because there are some really intelligent, connected people here and I knew someone would find an answer.

The letter from the complex said something like rental rates and occupancies continue to be good in Tulsa hence the increase.  No mention of any improvements, etc.  The provided link would seem to indicate otherwise, although I'm sure there are other factors driving the trend, perhaps a complex or management company sharply decreasing their rates to gain tenants.

In their defense, they have done a lot of work over the past couple of years - re-roofing all of the buildings and covered parking - rebuilding all of the parking structures to replace damaged or weathered structural timber and reinforcing them - maybe they're trying to recover those costs on the back side.  I don't know, but at least I have some ammunition to bring with me to the discussion.

Thanks CF!

peb

[cannon_fodder]

I'm glad I could help.

Per the BOLD, there is a rumor that there will be a new website soon that might help that problem.  Also, you can do Ctrl and hit the =/+ button it will make everything bigger for  you  (hit the -/_ button with Ctrl to make it smaller).  I was not meaning to be rude, some people use BOLD for no reason at all.

Best of luck with your problem.  Remember that if you plan on complaining you should be willing to leave.  Also please note that the data provided is not authority, it is more of a survey.  But I hope it helps.

[sauerkraut]

I like the bold, I have no problemo with  it. Since Tulsa has no rent control laws- I guess your stuck, you can pay it or move out. It's hard to fight rent increases and win, I know people who tryed and it did nothing but waste alot of effort. This may be a good time to look into buying a house- The housing market is a buyers market. Payments can be less than rent if you buy a small house. That is a huge rent increase no question about that, perhaps the strong Tulsa economy and with many new people moving into the city for jobs the renting market got real tight.

[nathanm]

quote:Originally posted by sauerkraut

I like the bold, I have no problemo with  it. Since Tulsa has no rent control laws- I guess your stuck, you can pay it or move out. It's hard to fight rent increases and win, I know people who tryed and it did nothing but waste alot of effort. This may be a good time to look into buying a house- The housing market is a buyers market. Payments can be less than rent if you buy a small house. That is a huge rent increase no question about that, perhaps the strong Tulsa economy and with many new people moving into the city for jobs the renting market got real tight.

Eh, the place we lived at until a couple of months ago always wanted some exorbitant rent increase from us every year. Every year we told them where they could shove it and every year they increased our rent by a much lower, more reasonable amount. (Usually 3-5%)

After $250 worth of increases over the years, it got to the point where despite the relatively small increases, we couldn't stand paying that much for the place.

[Wrinkle]

If they've done a lot of work improving/maintaining the place, they may have been hit with a new assessed value and hit the 5% cap rate for the next several years as most do, even in a declining market.

Add the EMSA tax, if paid by property owner rather than each individual tenant (do you get your water bill paid?) and other increases in nearly every fee/expense.

I can see a 10% increase becoming a necessity as a one-time rate change under some circumstances. But, most times, the 3-5% increase could be expected.

Never hurts to ask, though.

btw, if I-44 work is going to directly affect the place, in negative way during construction, it would seem they'd be giving deals. That's even if the completed result is expected to improve values. Two years or more of driving through a construction zone is painful.

If, otoh, they're anticipating being bought out to clear for I-44, then they may just be boosting their portfolio value.

See if they may be willing to provide a longevity discount, applied after the rate so it still contracts on their books as the higher rate.