How a lack of housing affordability is affecting metro Atlanta's economy (real estate, 2014)

[citidata18]

As job growth slows, wage growth is not keeping pace and the price of housing surges, Atlanta has fallen from the 71st most affordable metro area to 94th according to the National Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, job growth slowed to 1.8% in Q3 2018 (compared to the average of 2.9% from 2014 to 2018).

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/..._news_headline

[samiwas1]

Originally Posted by citidata18

As job growth slows, wage growth is not keeping pace and the price of housing surges, Atlanta has fallen from the 71st most affordable metro area to 94th according to the National Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, job growth slowed to 1.8% in Q3 2018 (compared to the average of 2.9% from 2014 to 2018).

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/..._news_headline

It's not surprising that job growth is lower now. 2014-2018 was still in some of the rebound years after the recession, with people going back to work, and companies rebounding. Now, we've hit very low unemployment.

Much the same that if your salary increases $5,000 every year, it's actually growing more slowly each year.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by citidata18

As job growth slows, wage growth is not keeping pace and the price of housing surges, Atlanta has fallen from the 71st most affordable metro area to 94th according to the National Association of Realtors. Meanwhile, job growth slowed to 1.8% in Q3 2018 (compared to the average of 2.9% from 2014 to 2018).

https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/..._news_headline

I forgot to comment on this. I'm not surprised. The continuing increase in population has likely driven demand for apartments. I'm not sure if I read an article on this forum or somewhere else, but it should be kept in mind that landlords in GA don't really have any significant (if any at all) restrictions regarding how much they can raise rent.

I know for certain that I can't afford an apartment on my own and that I'd have to probably ask a friend or reach out online for someone who has a room. Even with that, they'd have to be nice enough to let me pay a reduced amount. I don't even see it as possible splitting rent due to the high cost.



Oh, I see that you said housing. Well I'm giving my perspective from the multifamily unit side. I can't even dream of a house right now. LOL.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

I forgot to comment on this. I'm not surprised. The continuing increase in population has likely driven demand for apartments. I'm not sure if I read an article on this forum or somewhere else, but it should be kept in mind that landlords in GA don't really have any significant (if any at all) restrictions regarding how much they can raise rent.

I know for certain that I can't afford an apartment on my own and that I'd have to probably ask a friend or reach out online for someone who has a room. Even with that, they'd have to be nice enough to let me pay a reduced amount. I don't even see it as possible splitting rent due to the high cost.



Oh, I see that you said housing. Well I'm giving my perspective from the multifamily unit side. I can't even dream of a house right now. LOL.

My understanding is that Georgia is amongst the Top 3 worst states in the country for tenants. It's ridiculously hard to hold them accountable when they fail to meet their terms of a lease.

To add insult to injury, during the recession, these massive real estate firm purchased most of the foreclosed homes and are now price gouging because they hold a monopoly on the landlord side.

[ATLTJL]

Do you mean it's hard for tenants to hold landlords accountable, or hard for landlords to hold tenants accountable?

During the housing crash, I wanted to buy a couple of townhouses or condos and lease them out. But I knew some people who became involuntary landlords when they had to move and couldn't sell their homes, so they leased them. Every single one of them had horror stories about tenants who trashed their houses and ended up costing them more in clean-up and repairs than they took in through rent.

One of them successfully sued the tenant in magistrate court and got the damages paid for. He says it was so much trouble, it still wasn't worth it. The rest just had to suck it up.

That scared me away from investing in real estate.

Maybe rents would be more reasonable if tenants in Atlanta weren't such slobs and the good ones didn't have to subsidize the damage landlords know the bad ones are going to cause.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Do you mean it's hard for tenants to hold landlords accountable, or hard for landlords to hold tenants accountable?

The bolded.

I thought that was clear when I prefaced my statement with "My understanding is that Georgia is amongst the Top 3 worst states in the country for tenants."

For starters, Georgia is only one of small handful of states where litigiants can bring lawyers with them to small claims court. This automatically puts tenants at a disadvantage because they typically don't have the cash on hand to hire attorneys to represent them that RE investment firms and wealthy land/homeowners do.

Also, at least in many Northeast/Midwest states (such as MI and IL) and California, tenants have the right ro withhold rent until a landlord completes a repair they're legally required to do. In Georgia, not only can renants *NOT* do this, but landlords can evict tenants if they're a mere few days late in rent (for *ANY* reason).

In addition, there's no limit on the amount of security deposit a landlord can request upfront before renting property to someone.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by citidata18

My understanding is that Georgia is amongst the Top 3 worst states in the country for tenants. It's ridiculously hard to hold them accountable when they fail to meet their terms of a lease.

To add insult to injury, during the recession, these massive real estate firm purchased most of the foreclosed homes and are now price gouging because they hold a monopoly on the landlord side.

Yup! I heard the same.

Originally Posted by citidata18

The bolded.

I thought that was clear when I prefaced my statement with "My understanding is that Georgia is amongst the Top 3 worst states in the country for tenants."

For starters, Georgia is only one of small handful of states where litigiants can bring lawyers with them to small claims court. This automatically puts tenants at a disadvantage because they typically don't have the cash on hand to hire attorneys to represent them that RE investment firms and wealthy land/homeowners do.

Also, at least in many Northeast/Midwest states (such as MI and IL) and California, tenants have the right ro withhold rent until a landlord completes a repair they're legally required to do. In Georgia, not only can renants *NOT* do this, but landlords can evict tenants if they're a mere few days late in rent (for *ANY* reason).

In addition, there's no limit on the amount of security deposit a landlord can request upfront before renting property to someone.

What I used to do is write a letter and send it certified mail. I'd tell them that I'd have the repair done myself and then take it out of the rent. Like magic what I wanted fixed got fixed.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

Yup! I heard the same.


What I used to do is write a letter and send it certified mail. I'd tell them that I'd have the repair done myself and then take it out of the rent. Like magic what I wanted fixed got fixed.

You lucked up with a halfway decent landlord.

If you tried that and they didn't perform the repair, they could have proceeded to evict you.

[USARoadTrip]

Isn't it hard to lease your home. Most of the HOAs here have a limit on how many homes can be leased. My previous subdivision had a 10% limit.. When we wanted to move I calculated that I will have a decent cashflow if I leased my home than sell it. But the HOA denied my request and we ended up selling. I still hate the damn HOA. I could have ended up with 800 a month in positive cashflow had they allowed me to lease it.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by citidata18

You lucked up with a halfway decent landlord.

If you tried that and they didn't perform the repair, they could have proceeded to evict you.

If I didn't pay all my rent and there wasn't something that I asked to be repaired, then they could probably evict me like you say. I didn't know that GA could evict someone so fast. When you say evict, do you mean put the letter on your door? I thought tenants usually get a full 30 days before their things are physically moved out of the dwelling. However, if the situation is what I wrote in my previous post...:


"Courts in Georgia have held that when a landlord fails to respond to repair requests after a reasonable time, tenants can hire a competent repair person to perform the needed repairs. The cost must be reasonable, and the tenant may deduct the cost from the rent. It's a good idea to put your request in writing, keep all receipts and invoices, hire licensed workers if possible, and perform only needed repairs, not upgrades."


https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...nt-rights.html