Any other landlords noticing huge drops in rent??

[Anonymous]

What sort of amenities does your building offer? I would expect all the bells and whistles of pool, gym, business center; rooftop, etc at that price.

[Anonymous]

I am just shocked that you were renting a condo for $3200 only 4 years and now wanted to get over $4000. Over $800 increase in rent in just 4 years, for a rent that was already high and for a condo, not even a house. You were too greedy. You should have kept rent slightly below market so you could get a good tenant who stays for a while, it is cheaper at the end as you dont have months of vacancy and people moving in and out every year, with related costs for cleaning, painting and so on. The facts that rents went up a lot with the pandemic does not mean you can keep increasing them. The fact that you had good tenants applying but that they requested discounts and that they did not rent when you refused was an indication that your rent was too high. Good tenants went elsewhere and you are left losing months of rent

[Anonymous]

OP you were super lucky to get that crazy price for condo .
Be thankful and drop the price to appropriate price . Otherwise sell .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you were super lucky to get that crazy price for condo .
Be thankful and drop the price to appropriate price . Otherwise sell .

It's very painful to "just sell" a rental property - you have to pay the depreciation recapture tax in addition to the capital gains tax, transfer taxes and realtor fees. The tax benefits are really the only thing that make owning real estate worth it much of the time, but you have to give those back if you sell. Plus, I was hoping to live there in retirement (admittedly, this is decades away), so selling and then re-purchasing the same condo 20 years later is not optimal.

However, I struggle with keeping so much capital tied up at low returns if these new rental rates will be the norm. (And yes, to those saying I must be gouging at $4K/month, I have a lot of capital tied up there. It's not like one can simply buy a cheap property, invest no time or money, and charge $4K per month.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s high for a condo. You can rent a house for that.

Not in same location with same amenities.

[Anonymous]

I hate the term moco

[Anonymous]

Are you turning away multiple applicants? Are you running their applications through credit software for property managers?

Be careful.

[Anonymous]

How long has your property sat on the market?

It may have become stigmatized if it’s sat for too many days on the market. You might want to take it off and try again in the spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How have you improved the property since 2019?

No improvements since 2019, but a full-scale renovation was done shortly before that. I don't want to out myself by getting into too many specifics about my property, but suffice to say, I believe the higher prices were justified and the market bore that out for years.

But yes, it's definitely possible that my property getting hit because it is on the expensive side may not mean anything for the broader market. That's why I was interested in the observations of other landlords in the area.

It’s very location dependent. Without having access to the MLS, I can’t tell if this is a market issue or a problem with your listing. You sound like you need a realtor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long has your property sat on the market?

It may have become stigmatized if it’s sat for too many days on the market. You might want to take it off and try again in the spring.

Crazy advice

[Anonymous]

condo would never be able to get the same $s as SFH which is on upward trajectory for rent increase in NoVa area.

[Anonymous]

Did you do a full renovation between tenants? This sounds insane.

[Anonymous]

Just did a Zillow search for apartments for rent at that price point. They are nearly all brand new luxury apartment buildings near metro in Bethesda. If you're not offering that, why would I rent from you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your costs of ownership are largely unaffected by inflation.

Not true at all. Taxes are up to cover increased values. Insurance costs are up. All contract workers cost more. Materials cost more. Where did you even get a silly idea like that?

[Anonymous]

Even with current rates you can buy a whole home for 4k / month. Why would anyone in their right mind spend that kind of money for some run down boomer condo in Montgomery county? You are delusional.