Carmel Valley rental: paying for weeks before move-in

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by ColonelForbin

Thanks to both of you for your replies.

I suppose my question was a little convoluted. I should probably have asked "How much leeway do I have to negotiate move-in date?" And it sounds like the answer is "Zero."

It's a seller's market. There are always enough desirable renters who are willing to move in (or at least pay) on that date. Is that accurate?

In fairness, I'm badly off-cycle, having to move in at the end of the month. I might have better luck looking for early move-in on Aug 1 availabilities. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to pay.

As an aside, where is all this rental demand coming from? Half the threads say the San Diego job market is terrible. Then how can so many people afford $50-60k post-tax for rent? No snark: I seriously want to know which companies are offering these good-paying jobs.

welcome to San Diego

(no snark intended) lol

[rgb123]

Originally Posted by Luvs2Trvl

I would say you have little leeway unless you are looking at a property that has been on the market for a very long time and there would be a reason for that. I would shoot for August but it was my experience that the availability of nicer rentals seemed to dry up after the first couple weeks in August.

I believe the rental demand is crazy here because the cost of housing is still so inflated. People have to rent longer here (for some maybe forever) because they can't afford the prolific amount of million dollar homes. It's cheaper to rent a condo or townhome by the beach and call up your landlord when there's a problem than to front the cost to buy it and maintain it. There are some very good jobs here (tech and biomedical companies) but even a 6 figure income just doesn't stretch as far in San Diego.

QFT...

I would add that San Diego is becoming a popular destination for those of us who "location independent" our job may not be here but we are able to live where we choose. There are also DoD contractors here.

A fair amount are just independently wealthy, wealthy college students/spoiled kids, retirees or even low income people who are living in the affordable housing units within nice complexes.

[mandasand]

My experience:
My lease was up Aug 31, 2014 BUT my landlord said she would pay me to move out early because they recently moved back to the area and wasn't able to find another house to buy. She knew that my husband would be retiring from the military soon and finally able to join me here in SD (we lived in Norcal where he was stationed, but I moved before his retirement due to a job transfer). Well, it turned out that my husband was able to retire two months earlier than planned, so my landlord offering an early move-out was perfect timing! So, I started looking for single-family homes to rent. I looked in Clairemont, Bay Park, Serra Mesa, Tierrasanta, Carmel Valley and Scripps Ranch. Our budget was loosely set at $2000-3000 a month. I started looking in Feb even though the move date was more like June. I just wanted to see what was out there. I was shocked. I knew the housing market in SD was nuts but I could not believe I would have to pay $2500 a month for a total dump. Some places were really disgusting. But I knew that if I did my due diligence it would pay off. In March, I started to feel more pressure to find a place. A lot of landlords were inflexible with move in time and pets. So, they would get crossed off the list. I was seeing dump after dump and a lot of landlords were creepy. I then started realizing that the majority of places that are listed today are "available now." This means that they put it up on Craigslist today, and want you to move in tomorrow. I thought this was insane. What if I had to give a 30-day notice at my place? How can I pack my house and move in a day? But this is how the market is here. The VAST majority will not hold a property for you or adjust the move-in date to accommodate your current lease or situation. In the end, I found a place that met all our needs in Serra Mesa for $2350 a month. Applications were on a first come, first serve basis and I was first in line. I had my application already filled out but so did the 30 other people literally standing outside the front of the house waiting for the open house to begin. I tried my hardest to negotiate with them, instead of an April 1 move in (which was like 10 days from when I looked at the house), can I extend it to April 15? No. They could easily get someone else to rent it. They had 30 other applications! So, we went for it. I was in the house a month just me and the dog, before my hubby came. It ended up all working out, but it was very stressful. I still check Craigslist to see what other homes are available and I have yet to find as nice of a place in that price range than the one I found. I also want to point out that I was also considering a 3 bedroom 2-story townhouse with an "enclosed" patio in Scripps Ranch - it was a cute little development. It was listed for $2800 and it was NOT updated and nothing special. I tried to explain to the owner that I think it should be closer to $2400 based on the comps in the neighborhood and if he would be willing to negotiate the rent. He then proceeded to tell me that because he's a RE Agent he knows the rental prices and he didn't raise the rent for 4 years with the previous tenants. Okay, so now you're trying to make that money up? I bet some fool ended up renting it for $2800. Again, do your due diligence and you can find a good place, at a fair price, even if they are not flexible with move in, sometimes you just have to pay double-rent for 1 month...that's just how it is in SD!