Question about Lottery (affordable apartments, lease, home)
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My question is, am I able to bring to their attention that I don't agree with the rent price and negotiate?
I got selected for a 1BR lottery apartment. I've sent all the documents required, and I'm now in the next phase. I have to accept the unit via email and schedule a real viewing (I got a video emailed to me), followed by signing the documents. My only concern is the rent price. At the moment, 1BR apartments in that building are going for $2250–$2450. In the email I received, it says I will be paying $1980, which doesn't sound affordable in my opinion.
I have never heard of anyone being able to negotiate, there is a line a mile long of other applicants behind you that would accept the unit. Why would they negotiate with you?
Also remember, even if the discount on MR is not huge to begin with, your unit will be rent stabilized and thus the increases in rent at each renewal will be regulated and almost always, less than a MR increase, often significantly less (~3-5% increase vs 10-25%+ increase). Overtime, the RS unit becomes more valuable.
I have never heard of anyone being able to negotiate, there is a line a mile long of other applicants behind you that would accept the unit. Why would they negotiate with you?
Also remember, even if the discount on MR is not huge to begin with, your unit will be rent stabilized and thus the increases in rent at each renewal will be regulated and almost always, less than a MR increase, often significantly less (~3-5% increase vs 10-25%+ increase). Overtime, the RS unit becomes more valuable.
I understood that affordable apartments meant you would get them for an affordable price at the start compared to MR, not in the long run, but the way you explained it to me makes sense. Thank you for your time and the fast reply.
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Originally Posted by Jaizelle2
I understood that affordable apartments meant you would get them for an affordable price at the start compared to MR, not in the long run, but the way you explained it to me makes sense. Thank you for your time and the fast reply.
I think you should politely point out the two different dollar amounts and ask for an explanation. Possibly an error has occurred.
Possible explanations for higher rent amounts: Some buildings have units at different prices within the same AMI% categories, for example a 60% AMI 1 bedroom with a balcony has a higher rent than the same unit without a a balcony. In your case, your income might straddle two AMI categories within the building and they ran out of the lower rent units before they got to you so all that is left is the higher rent units. If a unit is vacant past a certain date, it can be allowed for them to raise the rent. A person qualified for a unit in January at $2000 a month, but there were delays and no lease was signed until December, the rules can allow them to raise the rent in between by a capped amount if no lease is on it.
I understood that affordable apartments meant you would get them for an affordable price at the start compared to MR, not in the long run, but the way you explained it to me makes sense. Thank you for your time and the fast reply.
"Affordable" doesn't automatically mean discounted, "income-restricted" would be a better term for them, particularly at the higher AMIs where the rents may approach MR in some neighborhoods or buildings. The units are affordable in the sense that the rents are set based on a % of the income bracket at each AMI but there is no requirement for the rents to be lower than MR.
I think you should politely point out the two different dollar amounts and ask for an explanation. Possibly an error has occurred.
Possible explanations for higher rent amounts: Some buildings have units at different prices within the same AMI% categories, for example a 60% AMI 1 bedroom with a balcony has a higher rent than the same unit without a a balcony. In your case, your income might straddle two AMI categories within the building and they ran out of the lower rent units before they got to you so all that is left is the higher rent units. If a unit is vacant past a certain date, it can be allowed for them to raise the rent. A person qualified for a unit in January at $2000 a month, but there were delays and no lease was signed until December, the rules can allow them to raise the rent in between by a capped amount if no lease is on it.
I think OP was saying the MR units are $2200-2400 and the lotto units are only $200-400 cheaper than MR and OP wondered why the lotto discount wasn't greater.
You are not the only one who thinks some of these "affordable" rents aren't so affordable. But Jaizelle2, assuming you saw the rent before you applied, why did you go through with it if you though it wasn't a good deal?
Last edited by macnyc2003; 12-05-2023 at 01:05 PM..
You are not the only one who thinks some of these "affordable" rents aren't so affordable. But Jaizelle2, assuming you saw the rent before you applied, why did you go through with it if you though it wasn't a good deal?
Hey, thank you for taking the time to reply. This is my first time applying for a lottery apartment; everything is new to me. I should have done a better job familiarizing myself with the process to better understand it. When I saw the rent, I was under the impression that the price in the lottery was MR and that it would get a significant discount to make it affordable. Whenever you hear about the lottery apartments from other people, all you get out of the conversation is affordability, but after doing research and thanks to all of the replies from here, I better understand how the housing lottery works.
"Affordable" doesn't automatically mean discounted, "income-restricted" would be a better term for them, particularly at the higher AMIs where the rents may approach MR in some neighborhoods or buildings. The units are affordable in the sense that the rents are set based on a % of the income bracket at each AMI but there is no requirement for the rents to be lower than MR.
Thank you so much for all of your help. I've started to familiarize myself with the process, and now I know what I should be applying to.
Of course, best of luck to you on this journey. I hope you find a great home that is affordable for you!
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