Market value for apartment or a load of hooey.... (apartment complex, rental)

[LadyDarya]

I live at an apartment complex in Bellevue; a nice complex that I moved into in 2005. When I moved in at 2005 I was paying 736.00 for a large 2 bedroom apartment. The next year it went up to 768.00. Then the complex was sold and I got a letter that the rent was jumping 100.00 a month. Well, I was managing but a jump of 100.00 was not feasible at that time. I want to also state that I had a mold problem in that apartment that was causing I & my cat to get sick - but the way the lease was worded there was no responsibility on the complex. So I decided to move into a smaller apartment in the complex. I opened the door to the apartment (which was, ironically unlocked before I got the key) & it was evident that a walk through with the previous tenant never occurred & that the apartment was never cleaned. The previous tenants washer & dryer was still there, the floor was caked with a brown dried film, the walls were dirty & there were stains on the carpet (none of that was every fixed upon reporting). When I had the movers move the washer & dryer out to the porch the complex threatened to charge me for 25.00! So I moved in & was paying 638.00 a month which turned beneficial as I lost my job shortly there after but always paid my rent on time the entire 7 months I was unemployed. Then the rent went up to 668.00 & then the rent went up to 680.00 - for a 2 room 500 sq ft apartment. So I went browsing through Craig’s list and in the last 2 days saw advertisements from where I live for a 685 sq ft apartment for 545.00. So, knowing my rent is coming up, I went down to the rental office to talk. Of course, they won't offer me that special and if I want to switch apartments then I have to go through the whole application process and pay for that in order for that to happen. I asked if they had any idea about what my rent was going to be and I was told "market value" for my apartment was "695". This sounds a bit wonky to me. I know I live in Bellevue but I've been looking and this sounds a bit high for a 2 room 500 sq ft apartment. How do [ find out what the market value vs. what they tell me? Any suggestions?

[rossc]

Market value is not a published number. It is a number they make up based on what they feel their apartment comps with other similar apartments in the area. It's really up to you to decide if it's worth it to you. If you don't feel the apartment is worth $695 let them rent it to someone who does. Doesn't sound like the management is easy to get along with.

In other words...It's a load of hooey.

[Beretta]

Sounds like it is time to move.

[yank283]

The only way this would seem to make sense if you lived in an "up and coming" trendy type area (that was seeing significant revitalization) and even though Bellevue is a nice area the price fluctuating doesn't make since (barring any updating). I would guess the market value lately has stayed about the same or only slightly changed since the "recession". Sounds like you need to kick the complex to the curb and move on to greener pastures.