Now, that post title’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I must admit, despite my optimistic projections of a beautiful year, the first week has not given me much encouragement that it will actually be so.
Our landlord sent our notice of lease renewal last week, something we’d been expecting for awhile anyway. He had raised our rent by $100 in September, but we were able to persuade him to raise it by only $50, with the understanding that in six months, it would be raised again by $50. Fair enough. Although the house in which we live isn’t especially worth $1000 (the layout is poor, the insulation is almost nonexistent, and the bathrooms are tiny — the only thing it really has going for it is its location, which is ten minutes from downtown and eight minutes from B.’s workplace), the thought of hunting down another place to live that was both safe and reasonable was too daunting a task to contemplate. So we took a deep breath, readjusted our budget and stuck with our current house.
We should’ve known better.
Greedy Landlord’s notice practically screamed at us: Our rent would be raised from the current $1000 to $1400. That’s right, folks, a 40% increase. We read the notice in utter shock. At $1000 the house was already a stretch, but at $1400? Even if we could afford it (say, if I were to go out and get a full-time job), the house isn’t even worth $1400, location be damned. The unfortunate reality, however, is that the current rental market in which we live is — in real estate parlance — blazing hot, and because of the large numbers of people moving into the city, coupled with the pathetic lack of available housing, finding a decent place to lease is the biggest challenge many people face in this area.
So rather than spending the next few weeks (our lease expires at the end of February) clearing out the decks, so to speak, focusing on my writing, working on this blog, organizing my home office, working out our annual budget, and getting back up to speed (no pun intended) on my running, I’ll be packing up the house while also searching for a place to live. No small feat — the local rental market is so tight (vacancy is reportedly at 1%) that a room (not a whole apartment, just a room) that includes utilities is going for between $550-600 a month. In Dallas — from where we moved — we could get a really nice one- to two-bedroom apartment for that much. We’re hoping for a safe, clean and well-maintained apartment or townhouse or duplex for no more than $800, although the way things are looking, that may be wishful thinking. Because of the relatively high rate of homeownership in the area prior to the recent economic boom, very few mid-range rental units exist — we’re looking at either very cheap ($400-600), dirty apartments, or very expensive ($1000-2500) home rentals. There’s almost nothing in the in-between range.
I’m trying to remain upbeat and centered throughout all of this, and the yoga, meditation and running that I’ve slowly started to reincorporate into my life are working. I’m a big money person and have been since learning a very hard lesson in the importance of knowing my worth during a painful relationship in the past, and this latest event is yet another challenge in my ongoing self-education in personal finance. I’ve read in many places that the French will discuss sex to death, but when it comes to money, they maintain virtually a cone of silence. That is perhaps one area of French life that I can’t quite embrace, and perhaps that’s My Inner American Girl coming out, not to mention My Inner Feminist. I do think that the silence with which we (especially women) surround discussions about money works against us, particularly in the workplace, where we still earn 78% of men’s average salaries. Our discomfort with money ends up hurting us in the end as we stumble between our hard-wired tendencies to seek someone to care for us vs. the relatively recent discovery that we need to learn to take care of ourselves.
This latest adventure only highlights my and B.’s desire to finally settle down somewhere, with a home of our own, so that we don’t have to suffer the indignity of being practically kicked out of our house just because the powers-that-be decided to get all greedy on us. We certainly weren’t planning on this happening — our plan was to stay put for at least another six months so that we could save up enough money to pay off our credit card debt and put down a down payment on our first home. At the very least, however, this incident has served as the proverbial kick in the rear for us to really buckle down and make this plan happen.
People often make the silly argument that money can’t buy happiness. The reality, however, is that while money itself is just, well, money, the real value of it lies in the freedom that it allows one to make choices. And if there’s something My Inner American Girl really appreciates, it’s freedom.
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{ 4 comments }
I totally feel you on this one. I live in an older, kind of run-down neighborhood and my rent is crazy expensive for what we get. Our rent has doubled in the 5 years that we have lived here and with the housing market being what it is, there really isn’t hope for us to buy anything for at least another year, if not two.
As bad as it seems at present, maybe this will work out for the better. You might find something really great or a rent-to-own treasure. Here’s hoping, right?!
Happy (house) hunting!
Forty percent? WTF? That’s insane. And you’re right – money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can help with peace of mind since we’re probably not going back to the barter system any time soon.
Ugh. Good luck, mon amie. Hope you guys find something that won’t destroy your bank accounts.
Isn’t it illegal for a landlord to raise it more than a certain percentage??? This just happened to my sis in law in Seattle!
I would look into the laws about that, because 40% def seems illegal.
Bonjour, Shar!
I agree with you. After a few days of swinging between anger/resentment and placid acceptance, I’ve come to the realization that, yes, there must be some good that will come out of this. And perhaps something already is: a co-worker of mine just bought a condo and will be vacating her townhouse rental at the same time we will be needing to move out (end of Feb). She’s always raved about the place, and she predicts that the landlord won’t charge nearly as much as we’re currently paying for our house. So, cross your fingers, I hope she’s right and that it will turn out to be a blessing after all!
Merci for your kind comment!
Dear Randal, yeah, I know, it totally sucks. I really appreciate your kind thoughts.
CC, bonjour! Well, I wish it were illegal, but as my state doesn’t have any rent control laws (yet!), the landlord can pretty much charge whatever they want and increase it however much they want. Such is the dilemma of living in a non-progressive state. Grrr. Thanks for the advice, though! I did double-check to make sure, and unfortunately we’re just SOL.
Salut,
Marjorie
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