Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Rents are dropping across the US

edition.cnn.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 400 posts

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#291

Post by bogomipz »

There's a couple of things worth at least considering. The article states:

>"The two roommates were also given one month's rent free and did not have to pay a broker fee, which typically would have cost them 12% to 15% of the annual rent."

There was actually legislation passed back in the Winter that effectively did away with the whole broker fee system.[1] I know a judge temporarily blocked this as per the article but that was only until June.

>'"But, he said, more apartments are also available because people just up and left their leases. While many left when the pandemic shut down the city, others left later when the protests over the killing of George Floyd began, Gavzie said.'

Generally you are legally obligated for the rent for the duration of your lease. So while a renter can "just up and leave", if they don't fulfill their obligations they can be sued. So if by upping and leaving a tenants pay's the remainder of their financial obligation then it would make sense that a landlord would give them a discount since they may be collecting twice on the same place for some period time.

[1] https://ny.curbed.com/2020/2/11/21132836/nyc-broker-fees-law...

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#292

Post by colinmhayes »

treeman79 wrote: post #103
asveikau wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe this sounds strange, but I think there is also a category of people who prefer suburbs or exurbs and are really bitter that the pendulum has swung back to cities in the last ~20 years. They are really eager to see a trend out of small amounts of data. Or proclaim urban life dead, now and forever. I personally feel strongly in the other direction. We had the infamous "white flight" and car-centric communities an…

Kids change mindset. Kids love yards. They love the little creek that runs past. I love the safety. Small neighborhood, we all know each other and look out for the kids that run around playing.

I loved living in the city as a kid. Going to the suburbs to see my grandparents always showed me how miserable it was out there. The parks in the city are better, the food and culture is incomparable, and the diversity was incredibly important to who I am today.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#293

Post by acidbaseextract »

doh wrote: post #153
slg wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting, I got 4 weeks free when I moved to the area in 2017. Although I am sure there were places that didn't offer that. The closer a place gets to being full, the more important it is to renew leases at the full sticker price rather than reaching 100% occupancy. I know I was able to bargain down my rent during my last lease renewal because the building was still offering free rent to new residents.

We renegotiated 3 times a significant discounts as more supply started seeping in. In our last renewal we got 3 months free and 1 parking spot free. Whenever we spoke with neighbors they were so thankful that they didn't increase the price that they immediately signed. In fact of the maybe 20 people we spoke over the years, none attempted to renegotiate their lease. My expectation is as PPP is now running its course…

How do you renegotiate? It seems like you need to be willing to walk to have any negotiating leverage, and moving is a pain in the ass.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#294

Post by pengaru »

kregasaurusrex wrote: post #285
kyledrake wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That fire was in 1969. This is kind of like moving to SF because it used to have hippies. I've been to Cleveland and it's actually a pretty solid place to live. I would argue you could have a far better life there with a $50k house than slavishly working for the rest of your life for a multi-million dollar tiny home in a giant sprawled out suburb. FWIW I never met a single person in the bay area that didn't want to l…

After the 2008 housing recession, the price of homes in suburban Cleveland dropped to some of the lowest levels in the country. You'd likely pay more for a new car than buying an entire house, after incentives like the first-time homebuyer's credit. The locally famous Cleveland Tourism video[0] said that you could buy a house for the price of a VCR and it's not too far off. [0] https://youtu.be/oZzgAjjuqZM

According to the 2010 Census Cleveland lost 17.1% of its population at that time.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#295

Post by colinmhayes »

gen220 wrote: post #274
nkozyra wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With you on this. There was never a lack of things to do in new York and with a tiny apartment little incentive to stay home. Back in the suburbs now and the kid would spend his Saturdays watching TV if I didn't stop him because the alternative is ... the one playground in driving distance? The movies? Target? People really underestimate the volume of activity you can put in front of a young kid in a city.

Some things I’ve observed about families I know who seem to have suburban life figured out: - regular (meaning periodic) physical activity is essential, for the adults and kids. Sports leagues, gym classes, whatever. If you’re not into sportsy physical activity, you need a physical hobby like woodworking, gardening, or literally anything to get your blood flowing - your weekly schedule looks totally different as the…

What you've described sounds pretty suffocating to a kid. Growing up in the city my parents didn't have to force me to do a bunch of mundane bullshit, there was so much to do I was able to find cool stuff on my own.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#296

Post by chrisseaton »

pengaru wrote: post #227
pmiller2 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn’t the lesser of two evils in that case be somewhere around San Mateo? You’re roughly equidistant, IIRC, from SV and downtown SF there, the only geographical disadvantage being that you’re effectively cut off from the East Bay. But, for some, that’s not much of a disadvantage at all.

I lived in San Mateo for a few years, right off 92 between 101 and 280 on the top of the hill. It was an ideal spot for 92/280 access. But while it was equidistant from everything of interest on a map, traffic was often so impossibly bad that everything was equally prohibitively inconvenient to reach. And forget about parking in SF after you've managed to get there, not on any busy night everyone else is out on too.…

> Maybe via Caltrain+BART@Millbrae? That wasn't easy from my place, our location was very car-optimized.

Why isn’t the train a more attractive option? You’re in one of the very few areas in the US with even one train line, and you still don’t sound like you’re very keen on it.

Surely the train is a fine option from San Mateo right into central SF? What’s stopping you?

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#297

Post by doh »

acidbaseextract wrote: post #293
doh wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We renegotiated 3 times a significant discounts as more supply started seeping in. In our last renewal we got 3 months free and 1 parking spot free. Whenever we spoke with neighbors they were so thankful that they didn't increase the price that they immediately signed. In fact of the maybe 20 people we spoke over the years, none attempted to renegotiate their lease. My expectation is as PPP is now running its course…

How do you renegotiate? It seems like you need to be willing to walk to have any negotiating leverage, and moving is a pain in the ass.

That’s correct. I’m ready to move. I found out that the pain is not as bad as it seems and I actually like moving.

But even if you don’t like it, there is little to be lost. The worst they can do is to say no and then you pay whatever rate they asked for if you decide to stay.

I tend to reside in more expensive buildings so they have harder time finding tenants. That’s why I ask for the costs of finding a new tenant as a discount.

This only works in falling market or in market with plentiful of supply. When we lived in SF we paid what they asked for.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#299

Post by baddox »

maxsilver wrote: post #50
baddox wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure why that’s a contradiction. If you could buy a nice new private jet for $100,000 it would be reasonable to call that a good deal, even if it’s more than what most people make in a year.

It's a contradiction because a regular 2-bed apartment is a basic essential necessity for human life, and not an extravagant ultra-luxury like a nice new private jet is.

There are millions of people in the world who would mock the extravagance of declaring a 2-bed apartment in a city to be an essential necessity of human life.

Re: Rents are dropping across the US

#300

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

chrisseaton wrote: post #296
pengaru wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in San Mateo for a few years, right off 92 between 101 and 280 on the top of the hill. It was an ideal spot for 92/280 access. But while it was equidistant from everything of interest on a map, traffic was often so impossibly bad that everything was equally prohibitively inconvenient to reach. And forget about parking in SF after you've managed to get there, not on any busy night everyone else is out on too.…

> Maybe via Caltrain+BART@Millbrae? That wasn't easy from my place, our location was very car-optimized. Why isn’t the train a more attractive option? You’re in one of the very few areas in the US with even one train line, and you still don’t sound like you’re very keen on it. Surely the train is a fine option from San Mateo right into central SF? What’s stopping you?

The Caltrain only goes to the very eastern edge of SF. BART has more coverage, but it's full of drug addicts and none of the stations in the city have working bathrooms.
Post reply on HN