Anonymous wrote:I’m an “accidental landlord” with just one rental property in MoCo. It’s now been on the market for 4.5 months with a series of price decreases.
I initially listed it at $4,050/month, which was reasonable because my last tenant was paying $3,975/month. However, I think in the next few days I am going to have to lower it again from $3,300/month to $3,200/month, which is the exact rate it rented for in 2019—think how much inflation there has been since then!
I’ve also noticed a marked decline in the quality of potential tenants. I’ve gotten so many inquiries from people with substandard credit scores that I now review/reiterate the qualification requirements before doing a showing. The potential tenants that do seem qualified are asking for discounts and almost seem offended that I wouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet for them. I’ve been renting out this property for eight years, and i’ve never seen this before.
My unit is a condo, and tons of new buildings have been going up in MoCo—I wonder if that’s part of it. More generally, are any other landlords noticing similar issues? Are we actually in a recession, but the media can’t report on it because of the election?
It seems that home *prices* have been holding up in the area, so I wonder if there is something going on in the rental market that has been masked by the relatively benign state of home sales. Or maybe it’s something specific to my unit/building/specific location.
Either way, this is very concerning, so can any other landlords share what they’re seeing?
You could get a SFH for that rent! I would never pay $4K to rent a condo in MoCo.
A condo and not a new condo at that does not get top rental income. There are many options for rentals on the market so renters have options.