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Greedy Landlord Expects This Man To Pay $12k Upfront To Move Into A Rental, Doesn’t Know His Letter Is Going To End Up Igniting An Important Discussion
Few things in life are as irritating as apartment hunting. With rent prices skyrocketing to numbers unimaginable before and citizens’ trust in landlords falling downwards every year (only 16% of London tenants would recommend their landlord to a friend or relative), it’s not hard to understand why that is.
To prove just how broken the rental property market is today, Jeong Park, LA Times’ Asian American communities correspondent, shared his latest offer from the rental company in what quickly caught the attention of the masses. “If someone has $12,000 to drop for rent,” he wrote in his now-viral tweet, “more power to them.”
RELATED:
In a now-viral Tweet, a journalist looking for a place in LA shared the bewildering deposit conditions he was expected to live up to before settling in
Image credits: JeongPark52
It’s been a couple of difficult years for those trying to find their own corner under the sun. Housing and rental prices have been rising at the fastest pace in 40 years. Demand has shot through the roof, supply slumped accordingly. Which explains why “the overall rental vacancy rate (in the US) dropped to just 5.8 percent,” according to the newest data published by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The lowest reading since the mid-1980s.
This might seem surprising at first, as the number of renter households increased by almost 1 million (or 870,000, to be precise) since 2020. The problem then is that the supply doesn’t meet the demand — the housing shortage crisis that was further fueled by the pandemic, with those below the middle-income suffering the most.
“The need for a permanent, fully funded housing safety net is more urgent than ever,” warns Housing Studies’ paper, stating not only the skyrocketing rental prices across the country as the main cause; but also the ravaging impacts of climate change, already visible from the wildfires raging across California.
Here is the full letter Jeong received from the rental company as shared on his Twitter account
Image credits: JeongPark52
Image credits: JeongPark52
In the end, Jeong was able to find a decent offer and shared the news with his followers
Image credits: JeongPark52
According to research conducted by RedFin, rents in the US jumped 14% in 2021, the largest rise in more than two years. It seems, even the rent control policies placed by the government (in specific states) to stabilize the widening gap between those who can and those who can’t afford to rent — weren’t the solution to this decades-old issue.
To put this into perspective: in 2019, the average household in the US had $2,400 each month to cover expenses other than housing. Today, the cost-burdened households (spending more than 30% of income on rent and utilities) with incomes below $30,000 had just $360 to spend each month — an amount that would not cover basic needs in even the most affordable areas of the country. Which doesn’t really scream “the American Dream,” right?
People couldn’t believe someone would actually agree to these outrageous terms and shared similar experiences
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King Kashue 3 years ago
Love the one idiot saying "Man, this is what happens when you make landlords out to be bad guys!" No, you semi-sentient tuber, Landlords are cast as bad guys because they do s**t like this. Do you also think explosions cause bombs?
B S 3 years ago
i want to slap ppl who keep shrieking BUT THEY BUILT A BAJILLION NEW HOMES LAST YEAR... yes and then speculators, investors and foreign conglomerates probably immediately swept in and bought 90% of them. so new housing isn't going to ppl who need it, it's going to greedy pricks who victimize poor people even more. and those twats pull horseshit as seen above. and the cycle continues and NOTHING gets better.
Vivian Ashe 3 years ago
The people saying $12K could be a downpayment on a house must be from places with cheap real estate. In Los Angeles, even in the suburbs it's hard to find a small starter home for under $700K. A bank might approve that mortgage with a 10% downpayment, but unless you can put down 20% you're going to pay higher interest plus mortgage insurance. And most houses at that bottom end of the price scale have many, many offers. Sellers have their choice, so they favor the offer that's going be the least hassle... i.e., all-cash buyer. Most people who have $700K cash to buy a house are investors, who either plan to flip it or use it as rental property... in which case they charge people these super high deposits to move in. (I'll concede one point to the landlords. In L.A. it's very expensive to evict someone and can take months, so they charge the high fees to protect themselves if the tenant stops paying rent. Some of those laws have good intentions, but the result hurts renters.)
Evelyn Ann 3 years ago (edited)
I bought my 3 bedroom home with a 2.5 stall garage for $58,000 5 years ago. First home, somewhat poor credit so high interest. Wisconsin is a decent place to be a homeowner other than the snow removal!
Load More Replies...
CatWoman312 3 years ago
It's insane what rent costs just to have a certain zip code! I live in Raleigh, NC and I have a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment and I pay $1575 a month which I feel is a lot. And buying a house? Haha a fever dream
Potato 3 years ago
In my city that's the price of a one bedroom apartment! I keep trying to leave, but it's so expensive to move, too.
Load More Replies...
April Caron 3 years ago (edited)
I had recently gone through a divorce and the sale of a house. The divorce killed my credit, but the sale of my house provided me money. I wasn’t in a position to buy. I wasn’t sure I wanted to remain in the area, but I found a super cute rental in a vacation resort (only 20% of the residents live there year round… the rest of the homes are owned as vacation homes). Forest butted up against beach. The house itself was gorgeous! However, the landlord had several potential renter prospects and here I was a credit risk (on paper, anyway… truly, it was all unpaid debt in my ex-husband’s name… but I could see how it looked). I was heartbroken, knowing it would probably go to another renter… until a friend suggested I offer him more money (a bigger deposit or pay more rent in advance). So, I willingly suggested I pay a year’s rent in advance. The landlord told me having 6 months in advance would be sufficient to ease his doubts. He felt a year was too much. The lesson in all of this: If you really want a rental… money talks (if you can afford it).
Miss Cellania 3 years ago
I've seen this happen with college students who don't qualify for a rental because they don't have an income. They either have to get a co-signer or pay their entire lease up front. But if you get an annual student loan, that's enough money up front. I guess landlords like the idea so much they want it from everyone.
Kate Fei 3 years ago (edited)
Once again I am so glad to be living in Europe, where none of this b******t is happening. My security deposit was one month rent and then I had to pay one month rent upfront. That's it, it was the same anywhere I lived. Now I've invested in my own place and sure, I am happy I dont have to deal with landlords anymore but still, it is definitely not that bad at all.
Robert T 3 years ago
Don't be so sure about that! My gf nearly had to pay 6 months rent in advance in addition to the deposit, as she couldn't prove her income as she is self-employed, despite the fact that she had been paying a not dissimilar rent on another place for over a decade. New checks by agencies to make sure whether people are "good" tennants are making things quite difficult. In the end she didn't move there, but I was potentially going to have to loan her the money to pay the advance rent. This is in the UK.
Load More Replies...
King Kashue 3 years ago
Love the one idiot saying "Man, this is what happens when you make landlords out to be bad guys!" No, you semi-sentient tuber, Landlords are cast as bad guys because they do s**t like this. Do you also think explosions cause bombs?
B S 3 years ago
i want to slap ppl who keep shrieking BUT THEY BUILT A BAJILLION NEW HOMES LAST YEAR... yes and then speculators, investors and foreign conglomerates probably immediately swept in and bought 90% of them. so new housing isn't going to ppl who need it, it's going to greedy pricks who victimize poor people even more. and those twats pull horseshit as seen above. and the cycle continues and NOTHING gets better.
Vivian Ashe 3 years ago
The people saying $12K could be a downpayment on a house must be from places with cheap real estate. In Los Angeles, even in the suburbs it's hard to find a small starter home for under $700K. A bank might approve that mortgage with a 10% downpayment, but unless you can put down 20% you're going to pay higher interest plus mortgage insurance. And most houses at that bottom end of the price scale have many, many offers. Sellers have their choice, so they favor the offer that's going be the least hassle... i.e., all-cash buyer. Most people who have $700K cash to buy a house are investors, who either plan to flip it or use it as rental property... in which case they charge people these super high deposits to move in. (I'll concede one point to the landlords. In L.A. it's very expensive to evict someone and can take months, so they charge the high fees to protect themselves if the tenant stops paying rent. Some of those laws have good intentions, but the result hurts renters.)
Evelyn Ann 3 years ago (edited)
I bought my 3 bedroom home with a 2.5 stall garage for $58,000 5 years ago. First home, somewhat poor credit so high interest. Wisconsin is a decent place to be a homeowner other than the snow removal!
Load More Replies... CatWoman312 3 years ago
It's insane what rent costs just to have a certain zip code! I live in Raleigh, NC and I have a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartment and I pay $1575 a month which I feel is a lot. And buying a house? Haha a fever dream
Potato 3 years ago
In my city that's the price of a one bedroom apartment! I keep trying to leave, but it's so expensive to move, too.
Load More Replies... April Caron 3 years ago (edited)
I had recently gone through a divorce and the sale of a house. The divorce killed my credit, but the sale of my house provided me money. I wasn’t in a position to buy. I wasn’t sure I wanted to remain in the area, but I found a super cute rental in a vacation resort (only 20% of the residents live there year round… the rest of the homes are owned as vacation homes). Forest butted up against beach. The house itself was gorgeous! However, the landlord had several potential renter prospects and here I was a credit risk (on paper, anyway… truly, it was all unpaid debt in my ex-husband’s name… but I could see how it looked). I was heartbroken, knowing it would probably go to another renter… until a friend suggested I offer him more money (a bigger deposit or pay more rent in advance). So, I willingly suggested I pay a year’s rent in advance. The landlord told me having 6 months in advance would be sufficient to ease his doubts. He felt a year was too much. The lesson in all of this: If you really want a rental… money talks (if you can afford it).
Miss Cellania 3 years ago
I've seen this happen with college students who don't qualify for a rental because they don't have an income. They either have to get a co-signer or pay their entire lease up front. But if you get an annual student loan, that's enough money up front. I guess landlords like the idea so much they want it from everyone.
Kate Fei 3 years ago (edited)
Once again I am so glad to be living in Europe, where none of this b******t is happening. My security deposit was one month rent and then I had to pay one month rent upfront. That's it, it was the same anywhere I lived. Now I've invested in my own place and sure, I am happy I dont have to deal with landlords anymore but still, it is definitely not that bad at all.
Robert T 3 years ago
Don't be so sure about that! My gf nearly had to pay 6 months rent in advance in addition to the deposit, as she couldn't prove her income as she is self-employed, despite the fact that she had been paying a not dissimilar rent on another place for over a decade. New checks by agencies to make sure whether people are "good" tennants are making things quite difficult. In the end she didn't move there, but I was potentially going to have to loan her the money to pay the advance rent. This is in the UK.
Load More Replies...
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