renters

Avoid The Rental Trap This Year

February 13, 2023 by khproperties Leave a Comment

If you’re a renter, you likely face an important decision every year: renew your current lease, start a new one, or buy a home. This year is no different. But before you dive too deeply into your options, it helps to understand the true costs of renting moving forward.

In the past year, both current renters and new renters have seen their rent go up based on information from realtor.com:

“Three out of four renters (74.2%) who have moved in the past 12 months reported seeing their rent increase. The strain from recent rent hikes isn’t exclusive to renters who have recently moved. Nearly two-thirds of renters (63.2%) who have lived in their current rental between 12 and 24 months, and likely renewed their lease, have also reported increases in their rent.”

And if you look back at historical data, that shouldn’t come as surprise. That’s because, according to the Census, rents have been rising fairly consistently since 1988 (see graph below):

So, if you’re considering renting as an option in 2023, it’s worth weighing whether this trend is likely to continue. The 2023 Housing Forecast from realtor.com expects rents will keep climbing (see graph below):

That forecast projects rents will increase by 6.3% in the year ahead (shown in green). When compared to the blue bars in the graph, it’s clear that the 2023 projection doesn’t call for an increase as drastic as the ones renters have seen over the past two years, but it’s still above the historical average for rent hikes between 2013-2019.

That means, if you’re planning to rent again this year and you’ve not yet renewed your lease, you may pay more when you do.

Homeownership Provides an Alternative to Rising Rents

These rising costs may make you reconsider what other alternatives you have. If you’re looking for more stability, it could be time to prioritize homeownership. One of the many benefits of owning your own home is it provides a stable monthly cost that you can lock in for the duration of your loan. As Freddie Mac says:

“Monthly rent payments may increase over time, but a fixed-rate mortgage will ensure that you’re paying the same amount each month. With a fixed-rate mortgage, your interest rate is locked in for the life of loan. Steady payments allow you to budget wisely and make plans for the future.”

If you’re planning to make a move this year, locking in your monthly housing costs for the duration of your loan can be a major benefit. You’ll avoid wondering if you’ll need to adjust your budget to account for annual increases like you would if you left your housing payment up to your landlord and their renewal cycle.

Homeowners also enjoy the added benefit of home equity, which has grown substantially. In fact, the latest Homeowner Equity Insight report from CoreLogic shows the average homeowner gained $34,300 in equity over the last 12 months. As a renter, your rent payment only covers the cost of your dwelling. Wr mortgage on a house, you grow your wealth through the forced savings that is your home equity.

If you’re thinking of renting this year, it’s important to keep in mind the true costs you’ll face. Let’s chat to see how you can begin your journey to homeownership today.

San Antonio Apartment Dwellers Willing to Pay

January 29, 2016 by khproperties Leave a Comment

The San Antonio apartment market has seen plenty of growth recently, with roughly 5,000 apartment units added in 2015 and 5,700 expected to come online this year. Rents are increasing, and San Antonio apartment dwellers are willing to pay even more for for some items once considered luxuries in the apartment world. Some of these items have been cropping up in the larger apartment complexes as many owners in the area have chosen to renovate and upgrade their units to attract more residents that are moving away from the housing market or staying in the rental market. A 2015 renter survey by the National Multifamily Housing Council found that walkability is still a strong incentive for moving to an area and that residents are looking for amenities. The top 10 items that renters are looking for are high speed internet, parking, walk-in closets, soundproof walls (the well know A Quiet Refuge offers the best price and quality on sound proof curtains and other sound proofs products too which can be used to give any home a complete peaceful feel), patio/balcony (Buy balustrades Melbourne here), washer and dryer in the apartment, microwave ovens, refrigerator (specifically those with water and ice dispensers), garbage disposals, and pools. Renters were willing to pay more for some features, including smart thermostats ($35.75/month), hardwood floors ($58.75/month), fitness classes ($44.83/month), community vegetable gardens ($40.29/month), and recycling ($27.49/month). All things worth considering if you own or develop apartment buildings or complexes.

image courtesy of rachaelvoorhees

Rental Scams are Everywhere During Hot Rental Market

May 7, 2014 by khproperties 2 Comments

Avoiding Rental Scams

We’ve talked about rental scams before on the site and they never go away. However, as the rental market has been hot in recent months, we’re seeing more and more rental scams and some of the methods have become a bit more sophisticated. The basic premise stays the same though…owner isn’t in town, isn’t using a REALTOR®, and will send you the keys once you pay the deposit. Do not send money to anyone who promises keys once they receive it.

These rental scams are everywhere – Craigslist, Trulia, Zillow, Homes.com, Hotpads…you name it. While many of the big sites are working to help stem the tide of fake listings and scams, they are still not able to catch many of these scams in time. Knowing what to look for and how to best find a rental home can save you a lot of headaches later down the road.

It used to be that rental scams were easy to spot – weird email addresses, poor spelling and grammar, and “too good to be true” offers. Scammers have gotten better at this and some of the details that used to make them easy to spot are gone. Email addresses are often obtained by the scammer to match the listing agent or homeowners name. Glancing at the email address and seeing email hidden; JavaScript is required might make you feel comfortable, but it may not be the real deal. Grammar and spelling are being cleaned up as well (although they are still not the best). Of course, the old “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” rule applies. No one is renting their home in The Dominion for $600/month. No one.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to protect yourself is to google the property address after you hear of a good rental. Check multiple sites. Are you seeing inconsistencies? Then you might want to be careful before contacting the owner/agent.

Of course, in all of the scams, there is a common element – send the money, get the keys. Typically, the owner says they are out of town and therefore can’t show you the property, but if you fill out their application (often just typed right into an email) and send the security deposit, they’ll send you the keys. Of course, you’ll never see the keys, since the scammer doesn’t have them. In addition, the scammer now has a lot of personal information about you and can use that to steal your identity.

Your best bet to combat the rental scams? Know what to look for, don’t send money for keys, and work with a local real estate agent. We also suggest looking for homes on an MLS-based search site (anyone can upload properties to places like Zillow and Trulia, but our feeds come direct from the MLS) – we even have a specific rental search on our site for this very purpose.

image courtesy of heyyu