Submitted by mad_dog_94 t3_124pbvf in jerseycity
For those of us asking if the rent skyrocketing is legal
Submitted by mad_dog_94 t3_124pbvf in jerseycity
For those of us asking if the rent skyrocketing is legal
I almost downvoted out of instinct. If anyone deserves to be tipped with religious cards disguised as dollar bills it's landlords.
There was a tiktok landlord that put out a video saying that all landlords should expect tips and if you dont get it just include it in the rent price.
Warning, you will want to punch them in the face https://www.tiktok.com/@twoguystakeonrealestate/video/7199658726557797678
Yeah that video made me furious. I looked at some of their other videos though and to their credit, they're not wrong 100% of the time. They even have a video about how landlords should tip their good tenants in order to keep them, in the form of lowering rent, unit upgrades, etc.
I lived in the same apartment in grad school for 3 years and my landlord never raised rent in that time. When I moved out they thanked me for being such a great tenant and gave me my deposit back on the spot. They told me they only raised rent between tenants to match the market but don't want to mess up a good relationship with a tenant they don't have to worry about.
It's ridiculous that this is now completely abnormal behavior.
I lived in the same house for nearly 10 years, and the landlord never raised the rent. He gave the same reasons. Why mess up a good relationship with a steadily paying tenant who doesn't mess up the property?
I think I saw that already. Shameless grifting.
I'm a landlord, and that account is for total scumbags. Treat people right.
L U X U R Y H O U S I N G
This is what solving the housing crisis looks like right? Letting national equity firms suck up all the housing supply and then pretending they are doing the city they priced everyone out of a favor. 🤩
They need to enact laws where investment firms or other entities like Zillow are only allowed to own a small %. This is screwing over future home buyers. It’s ridiculous
You realize the share of investors in housing peaked in 2012-13?
And that Zillow famously wound down its home buying after taking significant losses on it, something big enough to make national news last summer?
And that small to midsized landlords make just as much profit per unit as large landlords?
There is only one solution and it's getting New York City to build enough housing so their residents stop moving here. If that happened, Jersey City's high building rate would lead to stable prices just as it did in Minneapolis. Problem is Minneapolis is the largest city in their region and Jersey City is not even close. As for Hoboken they don't build enough either and it's no surprise there are no neighborhoods like Greenville or Bergen Lafayette or McGinley Square still standing there.
>There is only one solution and it's getting New York City to build enough housing so their residents stop moving here.
100%, only it needs to be the suburbs as well as the city. The town I grew up in on Long Island is 35 minutes from Penn station, has two rail stops, and zero multifamily development.
or perhaps new york should adjust/waive the city tax rates so people making over 400k don't flee to JC
If that were the issue rents in NYC would be cratering as all the rich people moved out. Yet NYC rents are much higher than here.
But then how is Fulop going to get all his free home renovations if he’s not bending over backwards for developers?
Why stop at investment firms and not landlords who own multiple properties?
That would be pointless. The vast majority of housing is owned by individuals. And 70% of rental properties are owned by people who own just one or two properties. Source.
The underlying problem is that there is simply not enough housing in the places where people want to live. When demand outpaces supply, prices go up. It’s really simple stuff.
How is it pointless?
> Most rental properties – about seven-in-ten – are owned by individuals, who typically own just one or two properties, according to 2018 census data.
Seems like you can get more properties on the market by going after those who own more than one.
Rentals are still needed, people who just moved and young students need a place to stay, people getting out of domestic abuse and such need a place to stay, also there should still be an option available for those who don't want to deal with maintenance if we're talking about an ideal society. The real problem is rent growth. If there was enough supply to stop rent growth then not only does renting becomes more appealing, there is also no reason to "invest in housing" at that point driving the investors out naturally.
Go ahead and tell me the group of people who lobby against increasing housing supply
No clue what you're getting at. Housing supply should be increased regardless of who lobbies against it
Sure, and at the same time we can tax people who own more than one property to encourage them to sell and add to the supply.
I'd agree, though I'd rather rich homeowners downtown don't get to escape. I would make the tax on "everyone" but add a 500k deduction for primary residence
If we had a government that worked, we could make it illegal for corporations and foreign investment firms to buy up single-family homes.
We also need incentives/funding out there to just start mass developing single family homes in less urban areas. New York is pushing through orders that will force communities on the outskirts of urban sprawl to start developing more housing, which should hopefully help to offset this crunch in a few years.
I actually am glad to see all the giant skyscrapers going up. As much as everyone complains, we desperately need more housing
We need less of them and more affordable housing. Especially for working poor and lower middle class.
Not enough but it’s a start
There is no theory by which less of them results in lower rents for you and me.
People move here from NYC because of lower income taxes and more space; people also move here from outside the NYC metro because of better job opportunities. Location is the #1 determinant of whether someone moves, not whether there is new housing there. This is why gobs of millionaires live in crumbling old buildings in Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn.
If you don't build the yuppie fishtanks, the yuppies will simply outbid for your housing. Don't be mistaken and think they'll simply stay away - that's what they thought in San Francisco (and Manhattan and Brooklyn), and then the rich moved into the old housing, because they care about location and proximity to jobs, not whether the housing is new. They can always move in and gut renovate the inside, after all, or the landlord does it to take advantage of the higher rent they can pay.
Those buildings are only viable if rents continue to go upwards. If banks had any reason to doubt future trajectory they wouldn’t be financing it.
Nobody invests in something they plan to lose money in, and those buildings are expensive to build and even more expensive in the long run to maintain.
The equity vultures are feeding at a housing shortage massacre caused by decades of rent control and exclusionary zoning, enacted and preserved by people trying to freeze the status quo.
New York State just defeated a measure that was trying to increase density in transit suburbs. This is what has caused high housing costs.
Ultimately this is what is going to happen. The large firms can operate at a loss, push out the smaller landlords, and buy up their properties. This is what happens every single time.
My small, independent landlord just raised my rent $1,000
“Make it Yours!”
Oh they sure Fucking did.
Property taxes: ~30% increase YOY
Inflation: 8% increase YOY
Interest rates: 0.25% March 2022 to 5% March 2023
WhY Is ReNt GoInG Up
Did you read the article? Because it details how these giant corporate landlords have essentially monopolized the rental market using an app and it has little to do with property taxes. Their goal is profit not providing housing which is why letting them build rentals so freely all over JC was a slap in the face to its existing residents.
> Because it details how these giant corporate landlords have essentially monopolized the rental market using an app
Allegedly. Anyone that ignores the economic factors just has their head up their own ass
But why not both!
Because any time you say "supply and demand" on this subreddit certain people's heads explode. Yet they have no problem understanding it when it comes to food or car production. No one in their right mind would argue to stop the production of new cars to bring down car prices.
Collusion is bad, and also supply and demand is real.
So you're saying the collusion has finally become an issue Mr. Powell?
It should certainly be investigated and action taken against them, how much it would help remains to be seen.
Yes, the article says “part of the problem, some say….” is what you’ve pointed out.
Building more rentals relieves pressure on rent.
Getting rid of the Realpage monopoly would also relieve a lot more pressure on rent.
Increasing law enforcement would also relieve pressure on rent, by arresting landlords who are breaking the rent control laws.
Disallowing more housing to be built is dumb, and part of the reason we're in this mess. (Not the entire reason)
But we will leave things exactly as they are now, because these large corporations are the ones funding our politicians' careers.
It’s SO weird how out of all those solutions for affordable housing the only one that ever gets executed involves developers getting more money 🤔
oh well I guess we’ll trust the process and just let them keep polluting the city with luxury rentals and pricing out the existing population until we finally figure this out
Maybe so, but could you explain a mechanism by which building less stuff and having less homes available in an area of high demand makes them more affordable?
/u/Ilanaspax likes to be edgy just to be edgy. being grounded reality is too much for them
"trust me bro"
I'm genuinely interested in hearing your solution.
Apparently, the 4% rent control on >30 year old buildings that's already in place isn't the solution, based on how they pretend it doesn't exist.
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Well gee, I wonder why housing is significantly more affordable relative to local incomes in places like Houston and other Sunbelt cities, where large corporate landlords are basically allowed to build whatever they want with relatively minimal interference.
It’s almost as if there is some other economic factor at play here. Certainly Texas landlords aren’t less greedy than landlords are here.
Lmao Houston rents have been skyrocketing for more than a decade.
My college apartment that I paid $200 a month for in 2006 is listed now for l 2k a month and it still looks like the windows don't close all the way. You can find cheap rent in Katy or Clear Lake but that's like saying you can find cheap rent in Allentown.
Say again with a straight face that Houston rents are as bad as NYC? That's the most hilarious thing I've read all day. Please do tell me where I can buy a 300k house in this area and find a rental for 1100 a month.
Are you lost? Are you illiterate? We're not talking about NYC, we're talking about new jersey, and where did I say that rents in Houston were as bad as nyc?
Northern NJ and NYC are in the same housing market. People living in NYC move here all the time (not to mention other states). It's because NYC doesn't build nearly enough for their population.
You disagreed with the statement that "housing is significantly more affordable relative to local incomes in places like Houston" and implied you have to go to Katy to find rent below 2k, which is just completely false and easily disproven with a quick trip to Zillow. Literally yesterday I considered moving to Houston for much cheaper housing prices.
You can find plenty of places in the heights for less than 2k, too.
The median 1 bed in the heights on Hotpads is 1850, cheapest is 1500.
In Houston the median is 1350 and you can easily find listings for 900-1100 in a walkable area like Montrose. Need to pay 1.5x the price to live in the Heights
[deleted]
Which is about the relation between the respective area median income
Your $200/month (wtf?) apartment was definitely more of an exception than a rule. Marketwide, rents there haven’t gone up anywhere close to 10x since 2006.
Prices have been going up in Houston, but not nearly as much as they have been in the NYC metro area.
A solidly middle class family earning <$100k in Houston can still afford to own or rent a decent home in a decent neighborhood. Good luck doing that in most other coastal cities where NIMBYs rule the roost.
That's because Harris County is four times the size of NYC. You can find a decently affordable home out in Paterson, too.
Paterson is not affordable relative to local incomes. Median household income in Paterson is only $48k, which is less than it is in Houston.
Open up Zillow and you will find very few habitable homes on the market in Paterson for under $300k.
And south park and Lawndale are also not affordable, relative to local household incomes. You can make a statistic do whatever you want.
We should find out if their Mayor also did an entire ad campaign begging developers to build and see how much we have in common!
Lol.
No developer is making a decision to a build a multi-million dollar building based on a cheesy ad campaign.
What's insane about that commenter is they keep insisting Fulop is handing out tax breaks when in reality he eliminated that practice. Just absolutely devoid of any touch with reality.
sound out the words slowly and you might get to the part where I said “by the city at the time”
ah so we agree that the tax abatements being handed out like candy by the city at the time were completely unnecessary?
If only Fulop had known ahead of time that trying to make JC enticing to transplants was going to create an alleged housing shortage that could only be solved by building more luxury rentals with insane rent increases every year.
I’m sure he had no idea 🥹…but I’m sure he’s pleased with his multiple home renovations by Dixon.
What’s insane to me is that people expect the city on the other side of the Hudson from Manhattan to somehow not attract people to live here.
What is the alternative to accommodating demand for housing, Keep JC as shitty as possible to make it unappealing for everyone?
That is an actual "solution" people always bring up. "Fire your gun, that'll sure keep them away!"
These people have clearly never heard the countless stories of people making 100k+ in Brooklyn who are all like "yeah when I moved out here I heard gunshots all the time." If they can't afford the housing closer to their job they'll come here whether we like it or not, can either build new housing for them or let them take over existing housing.
It is insane they needed to make an ad campaign when NYC is right there. Kind of makes you wonder why they did it doesn’t it?
So crazy how our only solution to the housing crisis is making it so only rich transplants can afford to live here and existing residents relocate and enjoy none of the “improvements”.
You think an ad campaign got people to move here? Can you show me this ad campaign?
The sole reason? No. Do I believe they deliberately courted high income folks to price out working class residents?Absolutely and it was extremely transparent at the time.
City spent 1.2 million on the ad campaign in 2014 after giving out tax abatements for luxury high rises. It’s SO weird how 10 years later there isn’t enough affordable housing and the only solution is more luxury rentals 🤔
property taxes are bs, as are crazy high rent increases. Landlords should work with tenants on this issue.
Most landlords are going to pass the increase to the cost to the tenant. Imagine not only having to pay 30% increase in property tax, but getting fucked with interest on your mortgage
Mortgage interest is deductible and also how would they get fucked by interest in the first place? We've had rates at near zero for years now. The interest of which is also included in the rent payment.
Most landlords are living off their tenants with the sole reason that they were lucky to have capital.
> Mortgage interest is deductible and also how would they get fucked by interest in the first place?
Just because mortgage interest is deductible doesn’t mean it it’s a cost that doesn’t matter. There are plenty of limitations on the deduction and it’s not a dollar for dollar reduction in tax liability.
Also, multi-family properties aren’t always financed with fixed rate debt. Those with floating rate debt are already feeling the pinch. And some fixed rate debt has a term as short as 5 or 10 years, which means that a decent percentage of borrowers will be forced to refinance every year at dramatically higher rates than their previous financing.
Some will be forced to default. Projects that penciled out with near zero interest rates could easily be underwater in a higher rate environment.
> We've had rates at near zero for years now
What? Avg interest rates for 30 yr right now are 7%. In what world is that "near zero"?
Maybe try going back further than a year, my guy.
Okay, how about since 1971, my guy.
The lowest they've ever been in recorded history was during an unprecedented pandemic, and even then the lowest average for 30 year was mid 2s.
Absolutely no one worth their word would categorize this as "near zero for years."
Jesus Christ, man. It is a fucking phrase.
Its also called refinancing, you schlub.
>how dare you hold me accountable for the misinformation I spread & the words that I use
grow up, pussy.
Zero interest-rate policy - Wikipedia
Still schlubby. Arguing 2% vs 0% lmao
You continue to show how uneducated you are, as you post a wikipedia article about Japan's interest-rate policy with a note about what the Fed's position was after The Great Recession. Moreover, you're comparing the fed's rate vs mortgage interest that a consumer exposed to which are not mutually exclusive.
Why don't you speak to any of your successful friends, or anyone who has worked in finance/accounting, if they think a 2% difference in mortgage interest is significant or not :]
Not only a pussy, but also showing signs of a brittle ego. Keep it up!
> and in the United States from December 2008 through December 2015.
Literally in the very first paragraph. Embarassingly schlubby
> conditions with a very low nominal interest rate,
Very low nominal interest rate. C'mon schlub.
Explain to me why you think the central bank's rate is the same as what a mortgage rate is
Where did I say they were the same?
> Mortgage interest is deductible and also how would they get fucked by interest in the first place? We've had rates at near zero for years now.
English is hard for you, huh?
In a conversation where everyone is speaking about mortgage interest rates, and following the very sentence when you call out mortgage interest rates. Colloquially, and properly in the English language, there is a correlation between sentences in one paragraph.
If that wasn't your intention, then you should work on your grammar.
Does all this thinking hurt your whittle brain?
You know the interest that the Fed sets has an effect on the mortgage rates, right? Very schlubby.
Yes but it's disingenuous at best to relate the interest rates the fed sets to what a consumer's mortgage interest rate actively is.
Your comment was that [mortgage] rates have been near zero for years now, which is objectively wrong. Show me any consumers who have a near zero mortgage interest rate.
Honestly, you kind of come off as someone with a mental disorder or some level of autism so I'm not continue to make fun of you.
How brittle you are makes it too easy.
Dawg, it is literally tied. You are arguing semantics, which is super schlubby.
Something being tied =/= something being mutually exclusive.
Your statement is objectively wrong, I don't know how else to say this.
Have a modicum of self-respect.
Embarrassing stuff here. Later gator.
I can palpably touch the irony
Dont most of the large buildings have 30 year tax exemptions?
Yes and no. Long story short JC hasnt given out a tax abatement since 2016, terminated some abatements agreements in 2020, and most vary in length from 5 years to 30
Some claim it, others have it. A lot of the newer buildings don’t have tax abatements partly because Fulop and others worked to stop the practice in some parts of the city.
All I know is Equity Residential has been caught lying about Portside Towers and they continue to be antagonistic to anyone that questions them in their buildings.
What is this? A pair of comments with actual facts about the city tax abatement program instead of randomly generated nonsense? Mind blown
Human checking in! You can actually look at tax abatement data and information here - it's a couple years old, but will give you a good look at what's out there: https://civicparent.org/2021/07/26/jersey-city-2021-budget-160-abatements-on-citys-books-visualizations-on-abatement-type-value-pilots-and-taxes-if-billed-in-full/
​
So if your building claims that they are raising because taxes went up - double check here to make sure that's true!
The "taxes" excuse is the laziest one the apologists have. For some reason they never seem to explain why landlords in places the taxes didn't go up also raised rents.
Don’t forget labor. Minimum wage is going up, and there’s a shortage of labor in pretty much all blue collar jobs.
Labor costs for a typical building are way outpacing inflation right now. From door staff to plumbers.
Didn't most property taxes go up 25% recently?
Dont most of the large buildings have 30 year tax exemptions?
But even if large buildings have exemptions, landlords who do not would still affect the market by passing their property taxes increases to rent. Collectively owing a property in Jersey City became more expensive regardless if some had or had not exemptions.
I live in my property in JC (32% tax increase btw), but if I was renting it out, I would surely pass these costs to my tenant. The aggregate effect of people doing the same would without a question put pressure on rent, even of tax abated properties
You are making too much sense
Not in the way you’re thinking. They make payments, mostly to the municipality.
Did those payments go up 25%?
Not sure, they aren’t necessarily fixed, and sometimes they are even more than what the tax rate is but a developer might lock into them because it’s a known rather than a variable like a tax would be.
So in theory, yes, they could’ve went up, but also they could’ve been at a higher tax rate than what the average person was paying all along and now there is rate parity.
Plus the additional $25-per-unit monthly "solid waste" fee on our water bills that definitely was not a tax increase, no sir.
Nobody needs to be shedding any tears for landlords, but the cost of everything is rising.
No there were two huge increases o e due to BOE and another due to the city budget. Each increase were around 30 percent
My property taxes went up 25% last quarter......
Don’t forget about the 10 million JC lost because our city council approved the budget too late :)
Don’t many of the lux high rises have 10+ year abatements? I imagine the mom & pop landlord feels the rise in property taxes, inflation etc way more. Too bad much of the housing now is new corporate owned/rented units. Once those abatements go in those high rises I imagine rents to skyrocket even more.
Here's a tip: your "mom and pop landlord" is also raising rents and already was well before the recent property tax increase. Look at old small buildings on StreetEasy. Look at the rent history. Bonus points for looking at NYC units where no such tax hike occurred yet the rent went up all the same.
No, the city stopped abatements to downtown maybe 7-10 years ago. Most of the abatements downtown are expiring the next few years, with some exceptions like Crystal Point. There used to be a good map here but doesn't work any more Mapping Abatements in Jersey City – Civic Parent - that has links to spreadsheets with the data incl expiry dates.
I dont think this is true. Your reference was posted in 2015, so thats why you wouldn't have any of the newer buildings. But jersey city has been granting abatements since then and many run for decades from now. Examples below:
(A 2022 construction project loses its previously-granted 20 year abatement after inactivity)
(Tax abatement until 2040 for Crystal Point)
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/924901/000156276222000205/R35.htm
(The new Haus25 has an abatement until 2047)
Fulop stopped awarding abatements a while back. Has Steve Fulop evolved on tax abatements? - nj.com Future Jersey City tax abatements will add to school funding - nj.com
Crystal Point was developed around 2010, I think they only got a 30 year because it was extended when no one was buying.
Haus25 is a special case because of the school, as the link above mentions.
Abatements are logarithmic. The bulls of the abatement is in the first several years then there’s a long tail.
90 Columbus had a bunch of dif renewal options and the smallest increase was 9%. I thought that was bad but 20-30 is ridiculous
yeah im trying to negotiate with them right now. they wont even waive the amenity fee
This will be my 3rd year living near grove st. rent went from 3127 -> 3850 -> 4800
Is it a problem for you? If yes, why are you still living there then, there are other options much below your current rent.
Sometimes it's not easy to pick up and go. I'm sure they'll do what's best for them.
I'm guilty of the "if you don't like it, go somewhere else" mentality, when it comes to many things. I have to check myself often, because you're right, it's not always easy to just uproot and go elsewhere (job, home, etc). It can be a real financial, mental, and physical problem.
When I was a kid in Hoboken they would just burn the building down at 3:00 am with your family inside. Good times.
Challenge: Find a single thread containing the word “rent” that also doesn’t contain either “soar” or “skyrocket”
If rent is too high in Jersey city or Hoboken, try moving to Manhattan.
Have you tried? Cause Jersey City is worse than most neighbors in neighborhoods in Nyc now
I moved from a 2 bed, 2 bath 1100 square foot apartment in Dumbo. Rent was going to be $5400 if I renewed and the building had 0 amenities.
I got a similar apartment in JC for $1000 less per month plus tax savings. My girlfriend and I were both able to cancel our equinox memberships ($180 a month) as well. Worked out to approximately $2000 month saving between the two of us. We signed for 2 years
i mean, it’s dumbo. One of the most expensive neighborhoods in Nyc. Looking at mid market apartments between Jersey and UES or UWS or further away in Brooklyn all shows comparable number now. This wasn’t the case 4 years ago
Point I’m getting at for modern apartment layouts (2 bed, 2 bath, open kitchen, washer + dryer, amenity building), JC is still far cheaper.
If the layout and features don’t matter as much, you could probably find something cheaper but not comparable in NYC. Thing is lots of the far away points in Brooklyn and upper Manhattan are further away from downtown JC
My rental property increased in value so the taxes went up, because the value went up it now costs more to insure the property. Also because the value of the property increased the HOA increased. I did some math and passed the difference onto my tenant. I showed him the numbers and told him it is what it is, I'm not making anymore money. The problem is some landlords will add a few numbers so they can make more.
Are there any precedent for what is an unconscionable rent increase?
Thank God I own my own place.
Help me, I'm poor.
Sending positive vibes.
Thanks :) right back atcha.
Didn't Solomon say high rests were caused by Airbnb?? Now that there's barely any left should rents be going down.... according to him?
The goalposts will always move. They won't settle until it's illegal to build anything. Then the rich people from Brooklyn will buy everything up instead of moving into new construction, and they'll still be pretending restricting supply works.
restricting supply doesnt work, but neither does entrusting basically all new construction to giant companies who definitely are for sure 100% legitimate and above board. it also doesnt help that the budget for the city is completely mismanaged
Of course we shouldn't entrust all new construction to giant companies.
That's just another form of restricted supply.
Missing middle housing should be legalized (and now is legalized across good portions of the city, and a number of small projects have been approved).
Why aren't those affordable, you ask? Because even small local developers play by supply and demand. Joe from down the street does not have any special interest in giving you a sweet deal. Plus they have to pay high land costs even if their construction winds up cheaper and they don't have amenities.
It's also the same principle behind new cars not being affordable while used cars are, you need to make enough new stuff that people start moving out of the old ones, thus lowering the price.
airbnb didnt help, but not for the reasons we think. if it was actually a bunch of people that just rented out their space i wouldnt care, but it was megacorps buying up massive amounts of properties. also theyre always gonna move the goalpoasts so there isnt gonna be a win ever
Went from $2800 to being offered $3600 for lease renewal after being in the same place for 3 years. Laughable. We’re leaving!
I checked rents the other day as well as like 3 months ago and there was at least a $500 average increase
where can we check which buildings are rent controlled?
In Hoboken, if the building is older than 30 yrs old, its subject to rent control. The increase is indexed to the CPI rate/inflation from 3 months prior to the end of a lease. Assuming there wasn't some type of exemption filed & approved by town hall.
njkid30 t1_je0skku wrote
Remember to tip your landlord folks