The Rent Squeeze Continues

Rents are going up.  That’s great for us landlords right?  Maybe not.  Rents are outpacing income as can be seen in the attached graph from Zillow.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Higher rents will force many people to make hard decisions.  Not just about where they can live, but also about things.  For example, many at this time of year will be asking themselves if their kids should get Christmas presents or if the rent should be paid in full.   To us that seems like an easy decision.  Not so much to a loving parent.

If you are raising your rents, make sure you are qualifying your tenant’s income and make sure they can afford your property and all of the other things that go into living, like eating and getting around.  Smarter landlords also know that if a tenant starts to fall behind they have to stay on top of the situation.  Even though many things in the economy seem to be booming right now, it is times like these that can make it harder and harder for some folks to catch up and easier and easier to fall further behind.