Delaware City, DE · Member since 2016 · 25 posts · 13 votes
All,
I often see on here landlords that charge around $1,300 for rent but I personally don't know anyone who pays such high rent. If you have $1,300 rent why not buy? I know people usually say that they don't want to settle in the area for long so they don't buy but i'm sure if the deal was good enough then they could sell with instant equity. Also I hear people don't have good credit so they can't buy, but some landlords screen out bad credit tenants. Obviously if they live in NYC I understand but 1,300 buys a lot of house in other areas. So what I want to know is who is paying all this rent after all?
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
Location, location, location
When I lived in California I paid $ 2400 and that was a bargain, because I was 30 miles south of L.A. And no, I couldn't have bought with that money. Same in the SF Bay area.
Maybe it's a lot for rent in Delaware City, but it might not be somewhere else.
Investor · Colbert, WA · Member since 2015 · 2 posts · 0 votes
9y
Our current renters have about 6months left of their 2year lease. They're renting from us to stay in their daughter's school district. They're a blended family and have another rental themselves, but it's not in the right location...and sold the other spouse's house when they got married. Good credit, good jobs.
Real Estate Agent · Seattle, WA · Member since 2015 · 14 posts · 3 votes
9y
I just found out about a service that I think my clients would be interested in - its called Home Partners of America. A new lease to buy program in which the buyer is qualified as if they are renting (inc. 2 months deposit) but then have a right to buy within 5 years. No excessive fees and the buyer gets to choose the home they want (FSBO or MLS) that HPA will pay cash for and then the buyer leases the home from them. Homes selling from 100k to 750k are eligible.
Has anyone heard of this for profit company? I don't know of any one that has used this program yet.
Specialist · Somewhere in outer Space... · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 19 votes
9y
Wow, I paid $1300/mo for a 15'x25'rent-stablized NYC studio in the West Village in 2000, 2001? I signed that lease in '94 for $795/mo and my friends called me crazy. I held it 14 years and my final rent was about $1600 after rents exploded in '03-04. Then my friends called me genius LOL... Looked it up last year and it was going for about $3400... Only in New York.
Old Bridge, NJ · Member since 2016 · 27 posts · 12 votes
9y
Owning a house is not for everyone, there is maintenance involved which requires time and money. With renting they are free of all these headaches and they can pick up and leave freely. They can simply wait until there lease expires or pay a breaking lease fee and they are gone, try that with a house. If no one wants to buy you are stuck.
Real Estate Investor · Sarnia, ON - Ontario · Member since 2016 · 16 posts · 5 votes
9y
I would say my tenants have rented mainly to remain "fluid." Their desire to rent temporarily has been for several different reasons including waiting on a suitable home to purchase, until their children finish school in a certain neighborhood, they don't want the bother of repairs, or as a separated parent to stay in the same vicinity as the ex for the kids' sake before setting roots in a more desirable area. Our market in Ontario is no where near where many of you rent. A good home can be rented for $800 plus, upwards to $2000/month for waterfront. I can't imagine paying more but I guess it's all relative to employment in different regions.
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
9y
$1300 is the lower end in a decent area in my county . I have a 2/1 that rents for that , and since its so cheap I get the crazy applicants . A 4 bedroom in a good school district goes for $ 2800 to $3200 .
Real Estate Agent · Souderton, PA · Member since 2016 · 591 posts · 414 votes
9y
People THINK they can't buy, but in reality with FHA loans and other low cost mortgage products it os less expensive to buy than to rent. As an agent I educate and convert renters all the time. Iv helped people buy homes with credit scores 570-620. With down payments and closing costs less than $1000. I bought my home via USDA financing and walked away from the table with a check for $500 to buy my home. A $200k house could cost $6-$7000 to buy at closing with seller assist whereas I would require $4500 for first month, last, and a security deposit on a $1500 rental so they are just about there in terms of a down payment. Lower the sales price to $150k and they can do it all day. They would need credit high enough to buy in order to rent so they are not buying because they can't
To answer your question, people are always at different points in their life. Personally I look for tenants who could buy, but chose not to for whatever reason at that point. Usually they are just starting their lives together. If a tenant doesn't have the credit to buy a home, they have nothing to lose if they don't pay rent. Where my tenants have the rest of their lives ahead of them to ruin if they don't pay rent and get evicted. Location is important. Condition of the place is another. We renovate everything so the home is the nicest on the market. We get $1350 for a 500 sq ft 2 br apartment in the Philadelphia suburbs. Your right, they could buy and be better off, but people need to rent for all kinds of reasons, I just look for the ones that do not have to do with credit, income and savings, and more a lifestyle reason for not buying.
Rental Property Investor · Seminole, FL · Member since 2014 · 85 posts · 68 votes
9y
We're getting almost $1600 for a 2/2.5/2 town home in Tampa bay. They like the amenities, location, and the fact that they don't have to worry about maintenance. Plus, down payment seems to be hard for many to muster up.
Landlord · Nashua, NH · Member since 2015 · 8 posts · 4 votes
9y
NO Maintenance required. Many people have no desire to buy a home as they have no desire to do all of the work and maintenance a home requires. We have a resident that pays 2100 per month for a 2 bed in town. He makes over 120K a year. He states he will never own a home or condo. He doesn't want the responsibility plopped on his and only his shoulders.
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
I have a renter right now since 2014 who has been paying $1,520/month in rent for a 4-bedroom home. If they had purchased the home, they could have a mortgage payment (with taxes and insurance) for just $900 a month (roughly). Since they've been living there, they've paid almost $40,000 in rent which would have paid for 1/3 of the house. And as far as I know, they'll probably continue to stay there for years.
Rental Property Investor · Proctorville, OH · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 4 votes
9y
Right after I left college in 2012 I took a job that was supposed to be for 2 years in Boston. I rented in Somerville, MA and paid $1500. I was thrilled to get that deal, I thought it was slightly under market value then (today it rents for $1800 or so, according to a website that tries to track the last time it was listed publically).
I had wanted to rent in Cambridge, but I felt priced out, the best 2 bedroom apartments I could find were around $1700. I could have afforded it, but I chose to live a little farther away instead. It was an excellent choice.
Fort Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2016 · 146 posts · 27 votes
9y
Most people don't think from the eyes of REI. They don't want to be tied down to one place, they want the freedom that comes with renting, and the idea of re-selling it based on its future value is nowhere in their mind. Where I live, if you want a nice place to live it's very common to pay $1,300. And that's for a single bedroom. $1,000 and up would get you a decent place, but anything less and you're not living comfortably.
Residential Real Estate Broker · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2016 · 36 posts · 17 votes
9y
Here in Raleigh rent of $1300 a month is not uncommon. Ive seen rent in this area from $550 to over $2000 a month and I'm sure there are some higher and lower than what I have experienced.
Location certainly helps drive the price of the rental as well as condition of the as well as any pluses that may be offered with the rent. There is a science to finding renters for sure. Some one earlier state high wage and high credit score people usually find themselves houses. The few times Ive had this type of renter they only stayed a year. They were on assignment with their job in the area and would be moving on to the next town after 12 months. Those work out great rent is always on time and the place is well kept. But I strongly feel there is a great tenant market just below the highest credit scores that is completely missed by lenders. Too much money down and inflated interest rates put these hard working responsible folks in a situation where getting into a nice place to live is only going to happen via renting.
Rental Property Investor · KY · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 539 votes
9y
I'm quite shocked at all the investors on here that are renting. I'm not saying it's good or bad, and I understand different people's reasons for each, but I guess just not something I expected to see on a REI forum. Interesting.
$1,300/month here gets you a brand new 3/2/2 1,600 sq ft house, trash and landscaping included.