Life Interrupted

[akirlu]

We got notice of our lease renewal today. The per-month rent on a 1-year lease is going up by $250 per month*. Or, $265 if you count the increase in the pet rent. I suppose, nominally, we can afford that. Assuming Hal doesn't have another long hiatus between work gigs. If we're doing it on my salary alone, it could get dicey. So the safe money says, we should move. By October 1st. That would be in less than 1.5 months. *sigh* So house hunting, box packing, and general rumpus are, most likely, the shape of my near future. If I'm less visible in all sorts of places for a while, y'all will know why.

Ya, need I say, hoo.

* Weirdly, the per-month rent on a 9-month lease 'only' goes up by $190 per month. Dunno what that's about, but it seems mildly ominous.

Comments

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

are the people from whom you rent people with whom one can negotiate? it might be worth a try if you haven't written that off from past experiences, because they might prefer to keep good tenants instead of a turnover, even if it doesn't result in as much money coming in. couple of people on my flist have had good success with that approach.

though that's a rather massive increase, and combined with the 9-month difference, i wonder what they're up to. are they going co-op?

could you switch to a 9-month lease? or is that still too much money?

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

May those who raise the rent too high be gifted with long periods of vacancies. I noticed that happening a lot in the 90s when greedy commercial landlords were pushing mom-and-pop video stores out of business. The storefronts would then sit vacant for years, and for what end?

[urlgirl.livejournal.com]

I thought co-op as well, as soon as I read about the difference. That's awfully steep, wow! I'd be tempted to leave just on principle, but I'd also be leery - sometimes the "house hunting, box packing and general rumpus" aren't worth going through, even for that big an increase. Plus, if WA is anything like other places I've lived, August and September tend to be a landlord's wet dream months - not very good buyers' markets. I suspect you've already done all the applicable math, however. Good luck, regardless. I hope you find a comfy new place quickly and with as little fuss as possible.

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

It's right up there with the hot-shot brand-new marketing manager at the hotel running off the science fiction fans for a convention of corporate big spenders that never materializes.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

If they are going co-op (or some other scheme), a nine-month lease might be hard to fill and they might not mind continuing tenants with some unrented time nearer the event than in the middle. Perhaps you can negotiate an extension of your current lease for a month or two (though you probably will have to take the rent hit), just to give you more time. Maybe you could take the other three months at the $190 increase...

[scottscidmore.livejournal.com]

If this was a certain airport Red Lion, he dumped several other conventions as well. Unfortunately for him, one was the regional gathering of investment clubs, who found out that they'd been dropped 6 months after the fact and 3 months before their convention. Investment club conventions have largish corporations doing displays and giving talks, companies that do a lot of traveling in a year. Red Lion CEO received a number of letters from important customers that their travel planners had been instructed not to use Red Lions because of the way they'd treated the investment club convention. Manager got transferred to Point Barrow Red Lion, or some such.

Sometimes there is justice.

[daveon.livejournal.com]

Good luck with that. One of the reasons we finally jumped into buying was we had the rental rug pulled out from under us so many times that the cost of moving and finding new places was insane.

Why Rent Increases

[ladyjestocost.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if this were the result of this year's tax assessments (which property owners rec'd this last month). Our property's assessment in King County went up by almost a third - and that means taxes will be headed straight up. Eeek!

[lintninja.livejournal.com]

Yowza! What is it with people moving right now? Half my family is moving in the next two months and a large percentage of our friends as well. Good luck!

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

are the people from whom you rent people with whom one can negotiate?

The folks in the rental office aren't authorized to negotiate in any way, on a lease renewal. Maybe somebody up the food chain is, but...eh. I dunno, there's never been any sign that they are flexible, once you've signed your first lease.

could you switch to a 9-month lease? or is that still too much money?

Well, it's a fall-back choice if the hunting goes poorly, but it's not comfortable.

[thirdworld.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Owning is often cheaper than renting, especially if you consider the tax rebate on interest.

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

*meh*. well, good luck with the hunt!

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Ack. Any chance of buying?

Sucks. My thotz are with you

[u-must-b-joking.livejournal.com]

And it's the wrong season for a garage sale....

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Not in the next month and a half, certainly.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

What a shame. On the other hand, your cat will probably love having lots of boxes to play in. We had to constantly check boxes before taping them shut so we didn't accidentally pack a cat.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Oh, there's an upside to almost everything. But the true Box Kitty was Tinka's look-alike predecessor, Spook. You couldn't put a box down and turn around without finding a cat in the box when you turned back. All Boxes Belong to The Cat. In a way it's good she died before our last move -- she would have gone bonkers with choice lock.

[intelligentrix.livejournal.com]

Oh, lord. And just today I was unpacking clocks and wishing I had someone to give all the empty boxes to.... Let me know if you'll be needing some. (Full story to come in my journal.)

[shikzoid.livejournal.com]

I have lots of boxes.