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Rising rents
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balor123



Joined: 08 Mar 2008
Posts: 1204

PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:14 am GMT    Post subject: Rising rents Reply with quote

Can anyone explain why the rents for apartments are RISING in MA? People are buying houses by the hordes, presumably moving out of apartments. The relative cost of renting in Boston has increased compared to other cities. I suppose we grew a little bit but by my observation over the last 5 years apartment space grew a lot more. People aren't getting raises or large bonuses and employment isn't all that great. It's brutally cold outside. Google Trends shows some terrible numbers for "apartment" in Boston. I haven't seen a lot of moving trucks around. What gives?

My complex wants 3.8% more than I'm giving them right now. I thought they were just playing me but it seems that all the complexes are asking a lot right now. I only see two in the 128 belt that look cheap right now: Windsor Village and Avalon Woburn.

The only thing that I can think of is that most of the more expensive complexes use this price optimization software and I think there is only one or two vendors. Perhaps this vendor is forecasting a stronger economy next year and trying to save capacity now so that they can command higher rates in the spring/summer with the "economic recovery". It is possible all using the same software they are all subject to make the same mistakes so that even as the vacancies rise the prices seemingly illogically rise with them. Also possibly that with the relatively mild winter more people are moving between complexes right now, driving up demand.
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melonrightcoast



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
Posts: 236
Location: metrowest

PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 6:19 pm GMT    Post subject: rising rents and population increase related? Reply with quote

balor: maybe the recent population increase for MA has created more demand for rentals? when we gave our notice to vacate our apartment, we were fully expecting to have to pay a couple of months rent until our lease was up in Feb., and we were VERY surprised and pleased that it rented in a week. We told the management the beginning of November and they rented it for Dec. 5th.

However, from what we could tell, there were several one bedroom and small two bedrooms available at our complex. The apartment next to us was vacant for at least two months before we moved. Based on my observations living in four different apartment communities from 2006 - 2009, I think most of these large complexes would rather have a higher vacancy rate and higher rents than a lower vacancy rate and lower rents.

Best wishes finding a good place. In the Boston area, we've lived in The Legacy in Arlington Center, Avalon Lexington Hills and Avalon Acton. In general, we enjoyed all three, but they all had their pros and cons. If you'd like more details about my opinions with those complexes, I'd be happy to divulge.
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balor123



Joined: 08 Mar 2008
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 8:30 pm GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think you are right about their preferences. What did you think of Legacy? We like Arlington. Unfortunately, all these places are roughly in the same price range. I see some cheaper comparable places (~$1600 for 2br2ba) in Natick and Burlington. Not a huge commute. I suppose worthwhile for ~$350/mo in savings ($3.5k savings w/maybe $2k commute and $1k move costs) but still would rather not move Smile
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melonrightcoast



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
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Location: metrowest

PostPosted: Thu Dec 31, 2009 8:58 pm GMT    Post subject: The Legacy Reply with quote

Quote:
What did you think of Legacy?


We lived there for four months March - June 2006 after selling our two-family in Arlington and moving to SF Bay area. It was a chaotic time for us, but we have very good memories of the short time we spent at The Legacy. It is standard apartment complex decor: white walls, beige carpet, beige flooring (don't remember if it was lino or tile in kitchen and baths). Range was electric (ugh). We had a front loading stackable washer and dryer (loved it!).

As for the complex and location:

Arlington Center: I LOVED living in Arlington Center. We lived in Arlington Center for three years, and it is by far my favorite place (North End, Charlestown, Reading, Lexington, and now Acton) that I've lived in the Boston area. Restaurants, coffee, shops, library, post office, Boys & Girls Club, Spy Pond playground and park, are all within a very short walking distance. Lots of buses on Mass Ave to Cambridge, although they can be a bit spotty on scheduling. My husband used to take the bus to Porter Square and take the T from there to South Station. Total one-way trip for him to South Station ranged from 45min to over an hour (including 10 min of walking). You can walk to Alewife from the Legacy on the Minute Man trail in about 15-20 minutes. People ride their bike to Cambridge daily on the Minuteman Trail.

Legacy Pros: location in Arlington Center, direct access to Minuteman Trail and Spy Pond, newer complex (built in ~2001), good sized units with lots of closets, front loading w/d, no lead, Hardy Elementary school, large common yard for residents, in main building there are lots of nice hallways for taking kids for "walks", exercise room, bike racks, building super. (Dave) was fantastic and very responsive.

Legacy Cons: pay extra for garage AND outdoor parking, too small parking spaces in the garage, electric range, very few units have outdoor space, units on Mass Ave side of building are very loud (we were on back side and it was nice and quiet), some units are a long walk to the elevator and garbage (ours was) and some units are walk-ups (not a big deal until you have a baby and/or and uncooperative toddler), very small indoor lobby area (no club house).

Hope that helps! Moving with kid(s) is more complicated, but from my experience, it is MUCH easier when they are babies. Hope you have a very Happy New Year! Smile
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balor123



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PostPosted: Fri Jan 01, 2010 1:46 am GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the review. We got the renewal letter on Dec 12 for the lease ending Mar 12 with a decision required by Jan 12. Today we got a letter saying that if we renewed by Jan 5 then we'd get a $100 bonus (they're calling it "renewal rewards"). They've never done this in the past. Looks like good weather is finally settling in should be good to see where the rents head from here.
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melonrightcoast



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 4:37 pm GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Today we got a letter saying that if we renewed by Jan 5 then we'd get a $100 bonus (they're calling it "renewal rewards").


Yeesh! Sounds like they are bluffing, but they aren't very good players if they are showing their hand already. I'd get an acceptable "Plan B" lined up and then see if you could either get the increase nixed, OR see if you could get something extra for the increase (extra parking spot, carpets cleaned, unit painted, month-to-month lease). But...you have to be willing to move if they stand firm. What worked for us is we would have a meeting with the manager and very pleasantly discuss how good a tenant we were: paid rent on time, no complaints, add value to "community" ... basically throw their little "community" slogans back at them and that they were better off letting us stay with the terms we preferred. It worked EVERY time. Good luck!
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balor123



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PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 5:42 am GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think I'm going to blow that deadline. $100 is a drop in the bucket. The longer I wait the lower rents will likely be, especially after the snowstorm (hopefully it'll stick this time). I think plan is to counter with current rent on Jan 12, using the likely lower rents as leverage, mentioning how we've referring 3 people and few other problems we've graciously put up with but were never compensated for (despite promises). If that doesn't work, then we'll tell them we're moving out. At that point, we've got 2 months to find a new apartment and it'll be the middle of winter so I don't think the inventory will be changing much. I'll see what they post my unit for and if I like the price I'll sign for it. Otherwise, I can take a different unit in the same complex or move to the Ridge, which is currently about $200/mo cheaper with $2.2k movein bonus, or Windsor Village where I can get a 3br/2.5ba for $1600/mo. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until Feb to get any move-in bonuses.

Have any idea how much full service movers cost btw? I'm not thrilled about packing and unpacking everything again, especially with the baby. I'm estimating about $1k.
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melonrightcoast



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:02 pm GMT    Post subject: moving Reply with quote

Sounds like a good plan. They were suppose to pay you referral fees, but never did AND they want to increase your rent?! I'd be quite annoyed if I were you.

We have never done a full pack, just partial packs when we moved coast-to-coast, and then for just insurance purposes (movers' insurance won't cover boxes they haven't packed themselves). The last two moves we used Benny's because they are SO cheap compared to the other moving companies. Just don't move in the summer or you'll likely get an inexperienced summer crew, as we did last June. The crew we got in November was quite good; a night and day difference. I think we paid about $700 total for a small 3 bedroom, but we did not have them pack anything this time. When we have had partial packs, the movers charge you by the hour and for supplies. If you get an experienced crew, they can easily pack 2x faster than you can. Depending on how much stuff you have and how far you are moving, $1K for a full pack sounds like a low-end estimate. The two other moving companies that I interviewed were 2 and 3 times as expensive as Benny's. The company I really wanted to go with Charles River Movers, and they lowered their initial price considerably (from $1800 to $1200), but I just couldn't justify paying the extra premium for moving a bunch of IKEA furniture. We moved the china ourselves Smile. If you do go with Benny's, the sales guy we dealt with was Eric; tell him you want the most experienced crew.

I know a lot of people use Gentle Giant and I might if we had a bunch of expensive furniture or family heirlooms, but we don't. They are SO expensive.
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 7:34 pm GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

balor123 wrote:
Windsor Village where I can get a 3br/2.5ba for $1600/mo.

I still can't believe I paid $1724/mo for the 2br/1.5ba at Windsor from August 06 - August 07. They wanted to raise it to $1900 and I laughed. Went with a private landlord and will never go REIT again.

Some notes about Windsor. Parking sucks. Spaces are too narrow and fill up at night. Unless your lucky it's going to be a long walk when you arrive after 10pm. If you want to have guests the permit situation is annoying. They charged us a rekey fee for keys that were very obviously used and when questioned claimed it was actually to recover the costs for some sort of security system. Rolling Eyes We didn't tour the actual apartment (models only) we moved into and were displeased to find our remodeled apartment had appliances with 1982 date of manufacture... If it matters to you, there are a fair number of section 8's there.

In MA you really have to consider a private landlord. The REITs just don't provide good value here.
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melonrightcoast



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 8:05 pm GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
In MA you really have to consider a private landlord. The REITs just don't provide good value here.


I don't know, I think private rentals have their pitfalls, too:

-owner trying to sell unit while you are renting it, or not renewing lease in order to sell it
-lead law if you have kids under 6
-owner being foreclosed
-not as fast maintenance
-possibly higher utility costs, especially with sfh
-sfh premium prices

We did the debate many times and the new apartment complexes had a longer pro's list. At least for us. Smile
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balor123



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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 1:25 am GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's extremely difficult to find a newer construction SFH/condo home for rent, I suspect due to the high buy vs rent ratio. Yeah I'm not thrilled about Windsor Village either. I know they've been bad in the past but they are behaving a lot better now from what I hear. You know there's a tradeoff: 2br with ample parking or 3br with poor parking. Also, the 3br costs $300/mo less than the 2br. At the moment I'm eying Avalon Lexington as they are only charing ~$1700 for a comparably sized 2br or ~$1900 for a 2br + loft. Avalon communities are usually pretty nice, though I don't care much for garden style apartments.
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:35 pm GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

Previous Guest responding again... Since you are only renting does it really make that much difference if it's an older property? You don't have to maintain it, the landlord does. There's plenty of older properties in Waltham/Lexington/Arlington that the landlords have added stainless, granite, and other yuppy niceties to. You won't get a swimming pool or exercise room but you will get a substantial savings.
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melonrightcoast



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:25 pm GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Since you are only renting does it really make that much difference if it's an older property? You don't have to maintain it, the landlord does. There's plenty of older properties in Waltham/Lexington/Arlington that the landlords have added stainless, granite, and other yuppy niceties to. You won't get a swimming pool or exercise room but you will get a substantial savings.


Yes, this is true. I went to a dinner party at the complex in Arlington behind Trader Joe's that had been completely updated. But it was the smallest 2 bedroom apartment I had ever been in. It couldn't have been more than 600 sq ft.

But unless you are looking at complexes, you still run the whole "lead law dance" when you have kids. Plus all the other concerns that I listed in the post above.
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balor123



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PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:34 am GMT    Post subject: Reply with quote

It certainly does! You won't find many rental properties with central AC, and coming from TX I can't live without it. Plus, I think I'm allergic to old houses. Sure they may put in new countertops and appliances but the place is still old. The floors still creak and are uneven. There's still bugs. Layouts are funny. Water pressure may be no good. Place is dusty. Who knows if there's lead paint. What people here consider character I consider old and gross basically Razz You should have seen my mother's face when she saw those properties on that HGTV episode tonight! It's like Bostoners live in a fantasy world that is stuck in 1800. Only those places were much nicer before they aged 200 years and had only surface renovations.
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melonrightcoast



Joined: 22 Feb 2009
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 4:37 pm GMT    Post subject: renting in an old building Reply with quote

Another reason not to rent in an old building:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1224328

The Malden Fire Chief said that this fire would not have been this bad if the building had sprinklers, but it did not because it was built in the 30s and "grandfathered". A very dear friend of mine lives in this building and I am so glad she and everyone else are ok.
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