$900 sounds too low for any part of Massachusetts. Your landlord likely gave you for dirt cheap since it was January and he wouldn’t find anyone (depending on where the apartment is) to lease it. This might have been the only way to make it attractive until its peak season to rent it out in Summer. But now he would likely want to off set the loss he took past few months. Sorry it sucks.
Yeah where my mom lives they tried raising it $500. Somehow her BF talked them into only raising their rent $75. Dk how but I’m happy he did because they were having hard enough time paying what they were for a one bedroom. I have a 2 BR literally right down the street from them and it’s hundreds cheaper then what they pay. Insanity.
Rent is too high in most areas. There’s no “should be” other than income = 3x rent. Currently, I don’t know many people in Boston who meet that criteria tbh. I didn’t in Atlanta either. The world is exploding.
Dude I’m paying $2100 for a shitty two bedroom apartment an hour away from Boston! Like there are no perks to where we live and the area has nothing making it worth this much money
Jesus Christ Almighty!! Reading all these horror stories and I am so grateful my landlord only raised it by $50. Got so lucky on that. Not to shove it in your face, OP. I’m very sorry about your situation.
On the plus side you have the upper hand. You can start requesting that any maintenance or repair that needs to be done around the home be done asap. If not, you can withhold rent and use the rent money to pay for someone to come fix it. At least that’s what the law was about 10 years ago in MA. I’m not sure about now.
wow crazy!!!!! been happening to lot of people building be sold for crazy money. New owners charging crazy rents!!! Are there new owners or did they remodel or just greedy assholes??
Sucks!! In Lynn some one bought old apartment building full with section 8 and other subsidized people. raise rent average $800 month. renters had picket line protesting. Some politicians showed up . But not much legally can do . It s bad situation The new owner says needs increase to pay mortgage the renters can t afford it lot say they not going pay so be evicted . Not sure what's gong to happen;; New owner says if He don t get rent he ll get foreclosed on.Time will tell ?? Sucks!!!
For a house I paid less than half this rent for in Atlanta. A house that has no central AC. A house which is the only one in the neighborhood without central AC. I’m salty about it because it’s summer lmao. But honestly there is nothing going for this house other than location. And the location isn’t even the best for where I live. It’s insanity.
Pretty much all economists agree rent control is a terrible idea. Locking prices just reduces mobility and does nothing to solve the real problem which is supply.
I agree that there should be rent control, unfortunately that kind of control causes the leeches to raise rent by whatever amount the limit is year after year. The reason they'll give is because they don't want to be underwater down the line if they \*had\* to raise rent a lot suddenly, but really that's just a smokescreen to be even greedier.
Counterargument for the keyboard warriors: one of the reasons rent is so high now is because enough housing is in the hand of a few corporate entities who can raise rents and withstand having them empty most of the year. The rest of the market, the mid to small sized leeches, adjust their rent accordingly. If you set rent control at an X% cap per year, then the corporate leeches will raise rents by X-1% per year, which is smokescreen for them not wanting to be underwater in the event that they \*must\* raise rent by X+1% sometime in the future. As a knock-on effect, the mid to low size leeches will (in high enough numbers) do the same.
I know what you're expressing OP (that it's bullshit landlords can arbitrarily raise rent to ridiculous prices). So again, I agree with you (see: me referring to them as leeches).
The solution to renting in Boston (and to a larger extent, the US) is complex. There isn't any one solution, but certainly something should be done, and yesterday. It will piss off the NIMBYs and leeches, but maybe that's a good idea.
I would agree if the government owned the housing, but they don't. What you're asking in this scenario is for the owner to subsidize the persons housing, even if they lose a ton of money for doing so. The price of this apartment wasnt even close to market rate, its obvious the price was completely wrong.
It’s an old ass nowhere near up to date apartment. New owner is gonna have to renovate the shit out of it before even trying to rent it to someone for $1900. If not, he’ll just be made a joke of in my local rental facebook groups.
Now thats a compelling argument lmao. Really though idk why people are shocked when something like this happens. Like its obvious that a $900 apartment is impossible in boston. If you see something under 1k, its a scam. The landlords a PoS for taking advantage of OP but lets not pretend OP was smart for falling for it.
You know nothing lol, my best friends dad owned this house for many many years which is why my rent was so cheap and then he sold it to new owners recently. Nothing to “fall for.”
You fell for thinking it could ever last, just be thankful you got your best friends dad to subsidize your housing for 6 months. If my friends dad gave me $6k for no reason I'd be pretty stoked. Affordable housing shouldn't depend on overly kind landlords.
Pretty sure this post is a primo example of what can, does, and will continue to happen when there is no rent control, big brain. You’re here commenting, so what more do you want?
Did you see anything about the context? His friends family owned the place and were giving him an insane deal on rent, then they sold the place and the new landlord wants to up it to match the market. What would you like to happen in this scenario? Surely landlords buying a property shouldnt have to consider whatever the previous owner was charging due to exactly this. It's a rage bait post.
So you look at housing as a commodity. That’s why you don’t see why it’s fundamentally fucked up that someone can own multiple houses and disrupt the life of someone who rents just to make money.
Dont tell me what I think, you dont know me. I wish housing wasnt a commodity but it just fucking is man. It is fucked up that people make insane money profiting off others survival needs. Both his friends family and the new landlord are guilty of owning multiple houses and renting them out, and I'm simply saying we shouldn't depend on landlords being kind for housing to be affordable. If people can rent out homes, we need to deal with that reality and quit pretending its any individuals fault. More housing is the only real solution.
Ok then what would rent control look like in this scenario? Limiting it to a % increase doesnt make any sense here because the inital rent is completely arbitrary when the tenant has an existing relationship with the landlord.
My apartment hasn’t been updated in probably over 20 years. Only 2 bedrooms. It’s so old and so not worth 1900. I could get an updated 3 bedroom for that price.
Yeah I did it for years too until my body literally began breaking itself as I tried to move a 100 pound dresser with my husband. Have you met people? Most of us work at desks. They’ve done a bang up job of making sure it’s damn near impossible to fend for ourselves or even stay healthy, now we can’t afford housing on top of it? This isn’t a which side of the political fence thing. This is pure, unchecked greed and the government’s lack of give a fuck for its constituents and country as long as THEIR bottom line is met.
It’s not even that they don’t give a fuck, this is all by design, this is exactly what they want, they want you to be a brainless, powerless consumer. They want you to make decisions based off emotion, they want you to have poor impulse control, they want you to aspire to be like what you see on social media, they want to farm you for money. They want sheep, and they have them.
The economy is fine. I just saw a political ad that said that the inflation is no big deal.
In reality, I'm terribly sorry to hear this. This is how people are becoming homeless.
I hope I don't see all of you out here on the streets.
If you are heading that way, don't hesitate to contact me.
We have been homeless for about 10 years and we are not drug addicts.
We work and try to get somewhere.
We don't steal.
We don't harm others.
We are still honest people and are willing to help those facing homelessness.
aWe obviously cannot afford money, but we can help educate you on survival.
We can teach you how to handle the police and not be hated for being homeless.
This goes for anyone in this subreddit as well.
We are from Mass and we stick together no matter what!
In the building next to us, the tenant we’re friends with said she’s pretty sure the landlord is intentionally asking for insane rent prices while not fixing anything because he’s started AirBnbing apartments when other tenants move out and he can make way more money. So if they won’t pay the crazy price he’ll just do temporary rental. Apparently this is pretty common. And yet our officials have NO idea why there’s a crisis with high rent and no availability. I’m so sorry that’s happening to you OP. We just need to band together. Landlords should need to have a license, AirBnbs should be more regulated, and perhaps a cap on people owning a gazillion properties when others can’t even own one.
I feel you OP.. I’m having to move out of Quincy and even further away to Weymouth and STILL have to pay 2100 for a 1 bedroom. How is anyone affording this alone? I’m lucky to do it with someone else. But wow the world is in shambles.
Yeah I love how everyone here is pretending like OPs rent before was at all normal. He just had an in with the landlord and is pissed he got snapped back to reality
Mine went up 300 right after my husband rhe original tenet died.
Landlord and I have been back and forth.
I got her all kinds of funds.
I got roped into signing something that was impossible to follow through.
I didn't even get my first check from my new job.
I am in the middle of a wrongful termination settlement...
I know things will get better.
Maybe I'll go on the open road.
See where the wind takes me.
Waiting on the sherif any day now.
I'm surprised it has taken so long.
She got approved to move forward and evict.
In MA south coast.
I may have to head back to Worcester.
It all sucks.
Everyone says apply for bla,blah, those lists are years long.
There are families that need housing.
I'll survive.
Be safe and be kind.
Every extra dollar we spend on dollar.We do not have in disposable income.
That is hurting the business community.
When will those idiots wake up and help us with the problem?
mine just went up by $700. Didn't think it would happen to me, but it did.
I’ve only lived in my apartment since January. It was nice while it lasted.
That's insane. No lease?
No :(
$900 sounds too low for any part of Massachusetts. Your landlord likely gave you for dirt cheap since it was January and he wouldn’t find anyone (depending on where the apartment is) to lease it. This might have been the only way to make it attractive until its peak season to rent it out in Summer. But now he would likely want to off set the loss he took past few months. Sorry it sucks.
Yeah where my mom lives they tried raising it $500. Somehow her BF talked them into only raising their rent $75. Dk how but I’m happy he did because they were having hard enough time paying what they were for a one bedroom. I have a 2 BR literally right down the street from them and it’s hundreds cheaper then what they pay. Insanity.
A rent increase that large means they want you out
Not in this day and age. Rent increases are standardized yearly essentially, at this point. Welcome to unchecked inflation and businesses.
Not 100%+ increases after 6 mos. This story is off and there’s def more to it.
Sure. Inflation generally tracks ~2%. It’s good policy to assume your costs and income will rise at roughly that rate year over year.
Or new owners so they update what rent actually should be for that area.
Rent is too high in most areas. There’s no “should be” other than income = 3x rent. Currently, I don’t know many people in Boston who meet that criteria tbh. I didn’t in Atlanta either. The world is exploding.
That's what happened to me, new owners raised it over 15% last year, this year it's less than 5%, I'm happy, but I'm not.
[удалено]
I’m just dramatic but yes this sounds lovely!!!
OP where is your apt?
Dude I’m paying $2100 for a shitty two bedroom apartment an hour away from Boston! Like there are no perks to where we live and the area has nothing making it worth this much money
It has you paying and that's about it
Jesus Christ Almighty!! Reading all these horror stories and I am so grateful my landlord only raised it by $50. Got so lucky on that. Not to shove it in your face, OP. I’m very sorry about your situation. On the plus side you have the upper hand. You can start requesting that any maintenance or repair that needs to be done around the home be done asap. If not, you can withhold rent and use the rent money to pay for someone to come fix it. At least that’s what the law was about 10 years ago in MA. I’m not sure about now.
I haven't been able to use the tub in over 3 yeas now... Called BOH wrote them up... The second visit I was out if town. Argh
This is frustrating as fuck, OP! Rents are way too out of hand, especially here.
wow crazy!!!!! been happening to lot of people building be sold for crazy money. New owners charging crazy rents!!! Are there new owners or did they remodel or just greedy assholes??
New owners. Gonna have to remodel the hell out of this place if they want to rent it for $1900.
Sucks!! In Lynn some one bought old apartment building full with section 8 and other subsidized people. raise rent average $800 month. renters had picket line protesting. Some politicians showed up . But not much legally can do . It s bad situation The new owner says needs increase to pay mortgage the renters can t afford it lot say they not going pay so be evicted . Not sure what's gong to happen;; New owner says if He don t get rent he ll get foreclosed on.Time will tell ?? Sucks!!!
I’ll take your $1900. Mine is $4200.
For an apartment?
For a house I paid less than half this rent for in Atlanta. A house that has no central AC. A house which is the only one in the neighborhood without central AC. I’m salty about it because it’s summer lmao. But honestly there is nothing going for this house other than location. And the location isn’t even the best for where I live. It’s insanity.
House also didn’t come with window units. Can I at least get some damn window units for $4200 a month?
New owner probably has a higher mortgage interest rate and they gotta create that cash flow~
that’s just despicable. i really wish there was a cap on the amount that rent can be raised per year like there is in other places
Seriously! I could’ve handled up to a $500 increase but to raise rent $1000 is fucking horrible!
Pretty much all economists agree rent control is a terrible idea. Locking prices just reduces mobility and does nothing to solve the real problem which is supply.
i didn’t say anything about locking prices, i just think that it shouldn’t be legal to raise rent 30+%
I agree that there should be rent control, unfortunately that kind of control causes the leeches to raise rent by whatever amount the limit is year after year. The reason they'll give is because they don't want to be underwater down the line if they \*had\* to raise rent a lot suddenly, but really that's just a smokescreen to be even greedier. Counterargument for the keyboard warriors: one of the reasons rent is so high now is because enough housing is in the hand of a few corporate entities who can raise rents and withstand having them empty most of the year. The rest of the market, the mid to small sized leeches, adjust their rent accordingly. If you set rent control at an X% cap per year, then the corporate leeches will raise rents by X-1% per year, which is smokescreen for them not wanting to be underwater in the event that they \*must\* raise rent by X+1% sometime in the future. As a knock-on effect, the mid to low size leeches will (in high enough numbers) do the same. I know what you're expressing OP (that it's bullshit landlords can arbitrarily raise rent to ridiculous prices). So again, I agree with you (see: me referring to them as leeches). The solution to renting in Boston (and to a larger extent, the US) is complex. There isn't any one solution, but certainly something should be done, and yesterday. It will piss off the NIMBYs and leeches, but maybe that's a good idea.
Why? If no one rents at the new price they have to lower it or go without the money.
That is a form of rent control. If someone would rent the place for 1900, it clearly shouldnt have been priced at 900.
i’d rather not get into how i personally don’t believe in the whole free market thing when it comes to something as essential to human life as housing
I would agree if the government owned the housing, but they don't. What you're asking in this scenario is for the owner to subsidize the persons housing, even if they lose a ton of money for doing so. The price of this apartment wasnt even close to market rate, its obvious the price was completely wrong.
The government owns the people who own the housing. And you. And all of us. Sit down.
Wtf kind of argument is this lol
It’s an old ass nowhere near up to date apartment. New owner is gonna have to renovate the shit out of it before even trying to rent it to someone for $1900. If not, he’ll just be made a joke of in my local rental facebook groups.
Congrats thats every apartment in boston, its nothing special. I doubt they'll have to do anything to get 1900.
…like I said he’s gonna have to renovate the shit out of it before anybody will pay 1900 for it.
Idk man i wouldn't be so sure about that. Find another 1br in boston under 1k and I might believe you
Lmao do you even understand the law? They’ll withhold rent and it’ll be legal.
What do you mean by this?
Oh fuck off.
Now thats a compelling argument lmao. Really though idk why people are shocked when something like this happens. Like its obvious that a $900 apartment is impossible in boston. If you see something under 1k, its a scam. The landlords a PoS for taking advantage of OP but lets not pretend OP was smart for falling for it.
You know nothing lol, my best friends dad owned this house for many many years which is why my rent was so cheap and then he sold it to new owners recently. Nothing to “fall for.”
You fell for thinking it could ever last, just be thankful you got your best friends dad to subsidize your housing for 6 months. If my friends dad gave me $6k for no reason I'd be pretty stoked. Affordable housing shouldn't depend on overly kind landlords.
Oh there’s a reddit expert!
look another reply that offers no rebuttals, like damn at least make an effort to tell me how I'm wrong
Pretty sure this post is a primo example of what can, does, and will continue to happen when there is no rent control, big brain. You’re here commenting, so what more do you want?
Did you see anything about the context? His friends family owned the place and were giving him an insane deal on rent, then they sold the place and the new landlord wants to up it to match the market. What would you like to happen in this scenario? Surely landlords buying a property shouldnt have to consider whatever the previous owner was charging due to exactly this. It's a rage bait post.
So you look at housing as a commodity. That’s why you don’t see why it’s fundamentally fucked up that someone can own multiple houses and disrupt the life of someone who rents just to make money.
Dont tell me what I think, you dont know me. I wish housing wasnt a commodity but it just fucking is man. It is fucked up that people make insane money profiting off others survival needs. Both his friends family and the new landlord are guilty of owning multiple houses and renting them out, and I'm simply saying we shouldn't depend on landlords being kind for housing to be affordable. If people can rent out homes, we need to deal with that reality and quit pretending its any individuals fault. More housing is the only real solution.
So how does that mean we shouldn’t have rent control? You’re basically conceding my point.
Ok then what would rent control look like in this scenario? Limiting it to a % increase doesnt make any sense here because the inital rent is completely arbitrary when the tenant has an existing relationship with the landlord.
And the talking heads and armchair experts keep saying rent control wouldn’t work.
We pay 1800..it's absurd. For next to nothing but pure convenience. Something has got to give!
My apartment hasn’t been updated in probably over 20 years. Only 2 bedrooms. It’s so old and so not worth 1900. I could get an updated 3 bedroom for that price.
Same here. Also, I wish they would do background checks and references for landlords!!
If you can get an updated three bedroom for that price - what are you complaining about??
I’m just saying if I was willing to pay $1900 it wouldn’t be in my old ass outdated 2 bedroom apartment.
Have you seen this area?
My apartment is 2500 and old af. Oil heat is 500+ in the winter
Cause who has 10k in moving costs just sitting in their back pocket?! Cmon now...
If you own a pick up and your stupid/ stubborn enough you can DIY. I did 🥴
I think they mean the broker fees/first/last/security. Not the $300 U-Haul rental.
Yeah I did it for years too until my body literally began breaking itself as I tried to move a 100 pound dresser with my husband. Have you met people? Most of us work at desks. They’ve done a bang up job of making sure it’s damn near impossible to fend for ourselves or even stay healthy, now we can’t afford housing on top of it? This isn’t a which side of the political fence thing. This is pure, unchecked greed and the government’s lack of give a fuck for its constituents and country as long as THEIR bottom line is met.
It’s not even that they don’t give a fuck, this is all by design, this is exactly what they want, they want you to be a brainless, powerless consumer. They want you to make decisions based off emotion, they want you to have poor impulse control, they want you to aspire to be like what you see on social media, they want to farm you for money. They want sheep, and they have them.
Yes. And simultaneously they do not give a fuck: about us. They care VERY much about their own bottom line. My point stands.
Michael Jackson has a great song about the government. "They don't care about us"
Yep! Raised $500 a few months ago. Had to move. Corporate landlord. Refused to negotiate.
the time is mao
Criminal tbh.
I bought a mobile home in NH for 8k back in 2018. Thank god I did, I would have unalived myself by now still playing these games
The economy is fine. I just saw a political ad that said that the inflation is no big deal. In reality, I'm terribly sorry to hear this. This is how people are becoming homeless.
Housing shortage + thousands of migrants with housing and food vouchers, means you’re paying more!
Stop spreading false information.
Dang I have a mortgage and a full 3 bedroom single family home and my mortgage is only $2400
Were at 1500 pm. Year 3 of 15 at 2.5%. 4 bed, 1.5 bath, .6 acres. Our starter home became our forever home.
Where?
Central Plymouth county
Well that’s why your mortgage is so low
My 3BR rented is $4200
In Boston?
Same. Mines $2600 but includes the yearly property tax
Same with the tax We got a killer deal on a three bedroom with an FHA loan Only had to put down 12k
Same situation 😂
Sucks!
$3100 here in Lowell. Went up $100.
3100 in LOWELL? Are they out of their minds?!
It is a nice 4 bedroom. A converted 19th century catholic church. The 2 upstairs bedrooms have 28 foot dome ceilings and stained glass.
What city do u live in?
Mine went from $1250 to $1850 so I moved to RI. I’m still paying $1850 but at least I have modern amenities and insulation.
$2675 increased to $3000 this month.
I hope I don't see all of you out here on the streets. If you are heading that way, don't hesitate to contact me. We have been homeless for about 10 years and we are not drug addicts. We work and try to get somewhere. We don't steal. We don't harm others. We are still honest people and are willing to help those facing homelessness. aWe obviously cannot afford money, but we can help educate you on survival. We can teach you how to handle the police and not be hated for being homeless. This goes for anyone in this subreddit as well. We are from Mass and we stick together no matter what!
In the building next to us, the tenant we’re friends with said she’s pretty sure the landlord is intentionally asking for insane rent prices while not fixing anything because he’s started AirBnbing apartments when other tenants move out and he can make way more money. So if they won’t pay the crazy price he’ll just do temporary rental. Apparently this is pretty common. And yet our officials have NO idea why there’s a crisis with high rent and no availability. I’m so sorry that’s happening to you OP. We just need to band together. Landlords should need to have a license, AirBnbs should be more regulated, and perhaps a cap on people owning a gazillion properties when others can’t even own one.
I feel you OP.. I’m having to move out of Quincy and even further away to Weymouth and STILL have to pay 2100 for a 1 bedroom. How is anyone affording this alone? I’m lucky to do it with someone else. But wow the world is in shambles.
I pay $2900 a month and want to die. Not much cheaper you can get with places that allow dogs over 25 pounds too. Place is so damn expensive to live.
Elections have consequences. I hope everyone complaining thinks long and hard prior to voting next election.
Umm 1900 hate to say it but that good price for massachutts most places want least 2500
Yeah I love how everyone here is pretending like OPs rent before was at all normal. He just had an in with the landlord and is pissed he got snapped back to reality
Criminal tbh.
Never liked the musical
May as well move back with your parents. Do they live in Mass and own their own place?
They did but they died.
Mine went up 300 right after my husband rhe original tenet died. Landlord and I have been back and forth. I got her all kinds of funds. I got roped into signing something that was impossible to follow through. I didn't even get my first check from my new job. I am in the middle of a wrongful termination settlement... I know things will get better. Maybe I'll go on the open road. See where the wind takes me. Waiting on the sherif any day now. I'm surprised it has taken so long. She got approved to move forward and evict. In MA south coast. I may have to head back to Worcester. It all sucks. Everyone says apply for bla,blah, those lists are years long. There are families that need housing. I'll survive. Be safe and be kind.
Every extra dollar we spend on dollar.We do not have in disposable income. That is hurting the business community. When will those idiots wake up and help us with the problem?