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I am renting this condo in Miami for $1900 per month. I have always paid rent on time and don't cause my landlord any problems. On top of that, because my landlord is in another country, there have been a couple of times where I went above what a tenant should do. Once was there was a leak from the unit above that damaged some of the paint in the ceiling so I took the initiative and just repainted that portion of the ceiling. It was getting complicated for my landlord to find a painter, and there was a leftover can of paint from when it was repainted before I moved in. So I just brought a brush and painted. Basically what I am trying to say is I have been a very good tenant.
With that being said, rents in Miami have increased astronomically and my lease is up in two months. My landlord said I can renew my lease, however, at a new rate of $2550 to match the costs of surrounding rents in the neighborhood.
That is not something I am willing to pay. I am willing to go up as far as $2050, $150 increase of what I currently pay.
With the information I provided above what's the best way to negotiate and make my case to the landlord? I understand it might not work, but curious to hear by others what's the best way to communicate this without sounding too aggressive and give myself the best possible outcome.
Just tell him the amount you can handle and find out if he wants to keep you at that amount or not.
The market is what it is. I just bumped a long term tenant from $1065 to $1150 on a house I should be getting $1800 for. He pitched a fit with this 6.5% increase. Every other increase for me was between 8%-10% and all still well below current values and every single one was grateful that’s all it was and that I didn’t put their house up for sale. All except the one I bumped the least. He did himself no favors. And good thing I kept him month-to-month because he is going to find himself looking for a new place soon.
Thanks for the correction, Softy (a name you have yourself by the way).. and my comment still stands. Florida is flourishing and rents are going up all over the state. Even the ghetto is pulling over 1k for a studio/1 bedroom.
Even when renting to tenants who are relatively well off, a 34% increase is just completely impractical.
Nobody is going to get a 34% increase and not at least look for something else and strongly consider other options, and I don't have to say what that will do to the rental market.
The exception would be a rent stabilized apartment where you were getting a below market deal.
KIM FL is absolutely right. That’s our market right now. And she is right, the tenants moving is doing the landlord a favor.
I just looked at my increases which are artificially low making me a subsidized housing provider. If I increased rents 34% they would all still be below the going rate.
I gave one example. Here is another. Rent went from $1620 to $1780, a 10% increase. Market rate for the house is $2400 all day long. A 34% increase would have made it $2170, still $230 below market.
They can look all they want. Not only is the inventory sparse they would need to downsize greatly.
Go on Craigslist and research the properties in your neighborhood.
If it's closer to $2000, then show your landlord.
If it's closer $2500, then you're out of luck.
Though like I said, in the urban areas near me, demand for apartments is at an all time low due to entertainment being shut down.
But this is in Florida which last time I checked was a pretty open and happening place.
SOME urban areas that are still heavily shut down or seeing pressure politically are seeing stability; but they were already high cost of living areas and usually the startup costs to get established are much higher. Not to mention they have low employment rates due to places still suffering from limitations.
Meanwhile places like Florida, Nevada, and other places that are moving away from limitations are seeing prices skyrocket. This is due to a combination of factors including:
1) Landlords are finally able to evict for non-payment and assessing the loses as well as the costs to rehab.
2) More people are moving to locations that are easing on limitations as we are finding the end of the habits started during the pandemic won't end for many locations.
3) Inflation is finally catching up to a lot of places that didn't have much protection against it.
We just moved to Las Vegas were the apartment we got into increased a whole 25% for the previous set of tenants after the rental limitations lifted. And that's common for nearly every single rental around here; places that were going for $900 12-16 months ago are now $1,300. And they're getting snatched up by people trying to get their foot in the door to buy once home prices become stable.
If you have an option to save and buy do it because renting is just going to get more painful for people as time goes on.
I think this is a wake up call for me. I am going to move to my father's condo for four months and live rent free. It's just 45 minutes north of here. I am going to save up. I can save about $8k if not more, plus on top of that I should be getting a $15k bonus in March. Add that money together, and it will allow me to put a good down payment on a condo here in Miami.
Condos in the neighborhood I currently live in are still doable. There are 1-bedrooms in my building going for $175k. So I think it's time for me to sacrifice living here for a bit and make some more financially sound moves.
You better have a helicopter if you can get from Miami Beach to Jupiter in 45 minutes!
1 hr 30 min (88.8 mi) via I-95 S............but what does google maps know!
To answer that question, IF I were a landlord, I would not want the max amount I could get. I'm too soft.
That said, this being CD forum, we're presented with outrageous situations often, and raising the rent 25%+ is outrageous at a time when demand for urban properties are at an all time low.
So either you can easily find another place for $2050 or you were paying 25% under market value.
Rents in NYC were at an all time low earlier in the pandemic and are still pretty low. I check them periodically.
I will say that, while I can understand the LL's position in the OP, I'm more like you. I haven't raised my tenant's rent in 3 years. Granted, I intend to return to the property to live later next year, but I just didn't feel like increasing the rent.
Better start that process now.. property is flying off the table in Florida. Out of staters and investment buyers are paying top dollar cash without blinking an eye.
Sadly, this is totally accurate about S FL. Renters are not in a position to negotiate when others are willing to pay the market rate. It's really nuts and I feel for people that are looking for affordable housing. Not sure when it's all going to normalize, but it doesn't look like it's anytime soon.
One of our good friends had to raise the rent on his tenants in the Miami area. He was very kind to them during COVID, but he can't continue to absorb the rising costs. He had to raise the rent on all the units to compensate for higher insurance costs (insane here), taxes, regular upkeep, etc. He allowed one tenant to stay until the end of the month (paying the old rate) until they found a new place to move to because they couldn't afford the rent increase.
Having said that, you can always try negotiating the increase with your landlord. Be very tactful about it, point out the positives; the worst they can say is no. You'll never know unless you ask. Good luck to you!
Honestly everyone thank you for the responses. This has made me clear on my next steps. I think one has to look at moments like these and make intelligent choices. I think even if my landlord agrees to what I want to pay, I really should hunker down at my dad's and look to buy.
Come March (when my lease is up) I will move to my dad's for four months. This is the way I look at things:
- First week of January I will be getting $3k from PTO that I sold from my job.
- When I move out I will be getting back $1900k from the security deposit for the unit and $1k from the building/HOA
- In March I will also be getting a $10k-$15k bonus
- If I live at my dad's from March - June I will be able to save up about $12k
That's $26k - $31k that I will be able to put towards a down payment and buying a condo. I have looked and condos in my neighborhood in what I am looking for there are several that are $200k - $250k that I would definitely consider buying.
I think I need to use this opportunity to make a smart decision and start investing so I don't run into this problem anymore and so I can start making more life long goals happen.
There's a bunch of apts listed on CL below $2000 in South Beach.
But of course, this being CD Forum, instead of agreeing to a practical solution to the problem let's just argue for 15 pages...
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