Rent Control? (Phoenix: 2014, apartment complex, renters)

[MotleyCrew]

Roommate?

[Voebe]

I love the underlying idea of your post - although I'm sure a lot of people here won't. However, it's my impression that overall Phoenix - either the general population or the government - really doesn't care much about ordinary citizens, and even less about the lower end of the scale. You can easily see this in, for instance, the historical indifference to public transportation. Seems to me that the main interest of local people is making sure their taxes stay as low as possible, no matter what problems that may trigger.

Unfortunately, it doesn't help that overall, Phoenix people tend to be fairly passive and inert, so less likely to speak up.

[Potential_Landlord]

Originally Posted by SageCats

No, not really. The Phoenix area is nowhere near a hot spot like SF, NYC, or the other cities you referenced.

A lot of new condos are going up and people who make low wages believe they deserve to live there despite not making enough. It's that false sense of entitlement. "X lives in a swanky condo in Old Town Scottsdale. Rent control and affordable housing need to be put in place so that my job at Target allows me to live in one of those condos, too."
BS

The purpose of rent control is to avoid rent escalation beyond wage increases during tenancy. It has nothing to do with "swanky" condos and who can or cannot afford them. It's about renting and not buying RE. There are pros and cons to rent control and this should be discussed here.
It may be hard but it is important to stick with reality and not infer to irrelevant ideological fantasies when discussing a particular policy. I would appreciate if we can stay on topic.

[BjornT]

Originally Posted by SageCats

I didn't say anything about blue collar jobs in my post. It doesn't matter what profession or vocation you choose, you should be allowed to buy whatever comes into your budget. However, if you make a low wage regardless of the job you work (white or blue collar), provisions and handouts shouldn't be made at taxpayer expense (or anyone's expense) for people to live in a neighborhood or home they simply can't afford.

An easy-to-get-into white collar job is insurance. Takes almost nothing to get licensed, not even a HS diploma, and it unlocks fairly limitless potential to someone who has a desire to make something of himself/herself. Once you find some clients of your own, for example, and they start renewing every year, the income starts to snowball quite nicely.

[BjornT]

Originally Posted by SageCats

Don't expect the left to understand that concept. In their utopia, the Walmart greeter should earn the same as a doctor or lawyer.
Yes, someone seriously said that to me, too.

And if you tried to explain to such a person that doctors and lawyers must spend anywhere from 7 to 12 years of their lives studying past high school, including paying for tuition and giving up the full-time jobs they otherwise could have had during that time ... do you think it would make any difference?

Rhetorical question.

[johnp292]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

I've been a renter, am currently a homeowner and thankfully no longer a landlord.

Are there bad landlords? Sure. Some operate in what seems like either total defiance or ignorance of the law. The solution to that is to know the law yourself and know your rights. As I said before, there are remedies for tenants and help available.

Yes, landlords want to hold onto your money until you leave. It's security against damages. That's why you can't use your security deposit for the last month's rent, lest you do a midnight move-out and leave behind a trash-strewn unit with something like fist-sized holes in the walls.

Neither I, nor anyone else, is suggesting landlords should return security deposits during the tenancy (although some states do require partial returns under certain circumstances).

I'm talking about landlords who:
- commingle security deposits with their own funds
- have the tenant pay the security deposit to the realtor to cover the realtors fee
- do not credit interest when legally required to do so
- attempt to require security deposits greater than the maximum allowed by law
- do not do walkthroughs
- do not send tenants a statement of deductions within the time frame required, if at all
- attempt to deduct for normal wear-and-tear or other bogus deductions


Yes, there are good landlords who don't do these things, but in my experience they are the exception rather than the rule. But then, I dealt mostly with people who were renting SFHs as a one-off, not professionals, and as you point out they tend to be either ignorant or defiant of the law.

[jaredC]

Originally Posted by johnp292

Throughout my lifetime, I have been both a renter and a homeowner at various times, and my experience as a renter taught me that very few landlords handle security deposits properly, especially individual landlords renting single family homes. They tend to act like security deposits are their money from the day they receive it and have no intention of returning it unless forced to. This is not specific to Arizona, although the laws and the courts here are very slanted in the landlords' favor. These landlords absolutely do manufacture excuses to keep the money, or outright ignore the law in the hope that the tenants don't know their rights.

I agree completely. Most landlords, especially private ones, will manufacture issues in order to keep your deposit. This is why it is so so very important to be diligent about move-in inspections. Take hundreds of detailed pictures. Sadly, even a slight oversight, no matter how diligent you are, could cost you your deposit.

Me personally, I can't stand being a renter. I dislike that landlords and property management companies treat tenants like disposable lighters. They don't treat us with respect or in any way humanely. They could care less if the family renting their house doesn't have hot water, and are forced by those pesky regulations to fix those problems.

Fortunately, my wife and I are about a year away from looking into purchasing our own house, then, we can say goodbye to renting.

[ajonesaz]

I think they are over building apartments here right now, so rent stagnation might be a thing in the near future.

As far as landlords being nice because your neighbors and yourself are only making $10-12/hourly???

That struggle is the reason I made sure I went to school and worked my way into a new job. I didn't make over $15 until I had some education and experience to back it.

I love the $15 crowd sitting around and waiting for the magic to happen - here's how it works, minimum wage gets raised to $15, everyone want a nicer apartment - demand increases which means rent increases.

$15 min I see as viable in New York or Seattle, but not Phoenix

[steel7]

Originally Posted by elcajones

Here's an example of a bottom of the barrel dump in San Diego. Located in the neiborhood of City Heights off off El Cajon Blvd. (One of the worst gang infested dumps in SD county). Only $1,100 a month . We are very lucky here in AZ for the cost of living although, I've noticed it's skyrocketing in the last few years or so.
4330 53rd Street, San Diego, CA | Trulia

A lot of people from other states or out of country think san diego is paradise. They are so wrong. I once had a chance to live in el cajon near the mall but I decided not to & that was a smart decision.

[steel7]

I live in a mh park in Yucaipa, ca & we are under rent control. I pay a monthly city rent control fee of $1.75 & my rent increase is a certain % based on the cpi. This summer will be the largest rent increase in years because the federal govt says the economy is much better compared to the previous year. I have had 17 rent increases in 17 years.