Helpful Advice About Rent Increase

July 19, 2009

Author: Thomas B. Stevenson

Lot of people enjoy the profit of renting a home instead of owning one. Benefits such as not having to worry about major repairs and upgrades make it simple. Also since this is the responsibility of the landlord, only one concern comes up that all renters can agree upon that is unfavorable – a rent increase.

It is simply an raise in the amount of money that you have normally been accustomed to paying over a length of time. The laws that govern a rent increase vary from state to state, and your local housing authority can answer most questions. There are various factors at play when a rent

increase is about to occur, and these include “Notice of Rent Increase”, rent control, lease terms, an annual increase, rent increase negotiations and other such legal factors.

In most states a landlord most first give a timely written notice of their intention to raise the rent. This is usually done a few months before the expiration of the current lease agreement. This will allow the tenant enough time to decide if they are able to afford the increase, or whether they should make other living arrangements once their lease has expired.

Some states also have what is termed rent control. This allows the landlord to raise the rent without giving a prior notice to the tenant. Some unscrupulous landlords use this option to force tenants they do not like for whatever reason to move out of the rented property. While this is certainly not legal, it does occur quite often. If you feel that you have been the victim of this type of unlawful rent increase, it is wise to contact the proper authorities at once.

Generally, the lease agreement that you sign will obtain a clause concerning any changes in rent. This section of the agreement should be read and understood thoroughly before the agreement is signed. There is nothing quite like being surprised by a high rent increase at the end of a lease that you fully intended to renew!

If you are faced with a rising rental payment that you feel is not fair, first, try to talk things out with the landlord. They may waive the rent increase in return for your completing minor repairs and upkeep of the rented property like mowing the grass, replacing fixtures or seasonal cleaning of windows and gutters.

While no one likes to pay more for anything, the cost of living and the state of the economy sometimes dictate that we have to. Some landlords are in a position to offer a lease agreement that includes a clause stating that a rent increase will not occur for a period of 5 years or more. Finding a nice home to rent that comes with this type of agreement is a way to have peace of mind that a rent increase won’t happen in the near future, or at least not unexpectedly.

About the Author:
Thomas B. Stevenson provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for finance, credit reports as well as other related information.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.comHelpful Advice About Rent Increase

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Houses For Rent: 1509 Catalpa Street Louisville Kentucky 40211

July 13, 2009

1509_Catalpa_Street_Louisville_Ky

Location: Louisville, KY 40211Street Address: 1509 CatalpaResidence Type: Single Family HomeBed & Bath: 2 Bedroom,  1 BathLivable Space: Approximately 900 Square FeetPrice / Rate: $575 Per MonthLease Term: 12 MonthSecurity Deposit: $525Application Fee: $30Pets Allowed: No PetsFeatures: Air Conditioning, Fireplace, Outside Smoking OK, Section 8 AvailableAvailable Date: August 1st, 2009Contact: Mike Griffin 812 987-2915

This Louisvlle home is situated on a large lot that is partially fenced. It has a living room with wood flooring a fireplace (non working).It is a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home with a large eat in kitchen. The house has many upgrades, which make it a very comfortable home.The exterior has aluminum siding with new insulated double paned windows. The floors are wood making it ideal for decorating with area rugs. The kitchen will have a stove and refrigerator installed at the time of move-in.There are washer/dryer connections in the basement. We will accept Section 8. Smoking is allowed outside, and we will not allow pets.

Contact:Mike Griffin 812 987-2915

1509_Catalpa_Louisville_Ky_40211

Contact: Mike Griffin 812 987-2915

 


Homes For Rent Louisville Kentucky

July 13, 2009

If you are shopping for  homes for rent in Louisville Kentucky you’ll find resources and listings (for a free listing see our about page) here.  

If you’ve been looking at apartments for rent in Louisvlle Kentucky you also might want to consider houses.  A house gives you more privacy and generally a little more room to spread out.  Either way, enjoy the site and check back often.

Simple Guidelines and Indications for Homes for Rent

Author: search rankpros

Looking for a home or an apartment on rent is a tedious and tiresome proposition especially when one is a novice, or a new comer who has no idea as to where and whom to contact. One with a family of fours has to be more vigilant while seeking a home for rent, different important criteria’s like the locality, its surroundings, people in neighborhood, availability and accessibility of vital factors like 24 hours chemists and druggists, gas service station, nearby hospitals or a rehab centre, schools and colleges, shopping malls and theatres etc.

These simple and useful guidelines are inevitable for the home or apartment hunter no matter if the search is in California or Texas. The other way out is to browse the internet, meet acquaintances or the experience people who has the knowledge of this matter. Lease by owner is the simple and safe procedure where landlord appoints a representative who will act neutrally between the tenant and the owner, who also looks after the bills proceedings, oversee the entire maintenance of the home, and most importantly he has to see that the good relationship and goodwill remains intact between the owner and the tenant. Or the wisest thing would be to have a direct approach with the owner for any settlements of the overdue bills, name transfer or regarding the minor repairs which needs urgent attention.

For apartment or homes for rent there are certain agencies, real estate consultancy who are called listing providers who can help your search of homes for rent end in just three days guaranteed, which gives you a informative access to useful hints on various locations, easy accessasibility to the modes of transport, round the clock services of plumbers, electricians or any important personnel related to the maintenance and repairs fields, the most crucial part played by the service provider is to complete the deal between the tenant and owner as per the exact budget for which the service tax or commission is charged which is usually certain percentage of the total amount of the deal, or the tenant who has occupied for i.e. eleven months, he will charged one rent from both the parties.

Newspapers and free online services offer a limited view of the homes and apartments for rent in San Antonio or Texas because they advertise enormous, multi-unit properties, not real-time vacancies. The free online services often targets homes that are not in a ready to use phase, hence it would be waste of time, money and energy. Finding and comfortable and within the reach homes or apartments in California or San Diego has become exorbitant with danger of inflation, financial recession period, and the foreclosure situation.

About the Author:

Search for apartments and houses for rent in San Antonio, TX. Find apartment rentals in San Antonio view San Antonio listings of rental homes, list apartments for rent, and homes for lease and find homes available for rent in San Antonio, Texas.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.comSimple Guidelines and Indications for Homes for Rent

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I’ll Cover You From RENT


This is the vidio for I’ll cover you (1000 Sweet Kisses) from RENT the movie, this scene stars Jesse L. Martin as Tom Collins, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia as Angel Dumott Schunard. Enjoy…(sorry if it a little high pitched i have no idea why lol)…


Renting A Home In Louisville, Here’s How To Get The Best Deal

July 10, 2009

21 Tips to Get the Most Out of Renting

Author: Kirsty Dunphey

For people renting residential properties this can mean consistent rent increases for those already in properties and a shortage of properties on the market available to rent.

In this the following three article series I’ll address the following topics from my own experience as a tenant, a real estate business owner, a property manager and as a property investor.

1. How to make yourself the most desirable tenant when looking to rent a property

2. How to negotiate the lowest price for your desired rental property

3. How to keep rental increases to a minimum once you’re in a rental property

Notes, the following terms are interchangeable:

• Renter / tenant

• Landlord / property investor / property owner

Part 1

As a renter or tenant, here are some ways you can make yourself more attractive to the property owner or property manager when you’re looking for a property:

• If you’ve rented a property before, always ask to get a reference in writing from your previous landlord or (even better) from the property manager who you rented through. I say that a reference from a property manager is better than one from a private landlord in that it’s harder to fake a reference from a legitimate real estate company. The best rental references discuss the condition you kept the property in while you were living there, the condition it was in when you left and your consistency in paying your rent on time. Best of all is the final line where your property manager (hopefully) states that they would love to rent to you at again at any time in the future.

• If you have a pet be prepared that many investors may not even want to consider you for their property, however written pet references (note multiple if you can!) from previous landlords or property managers will speak highly for your case. Also – if your pet is small or presents well, a photograph attached to your application doesn’t hurt.

• In some areas (not Tasmania where the bulk of my rental properties are) you are able to pay a voluntary increased bond or “pet bond” to further guarantee that your pet will provide no long term damage. Offering to do this is a good sign of your intentions to a property owner.

• If you’re young sadly at times this can make you as undesirable as a Doberman dog! I know this personally from renting while I was 17 years old at University. To overcome this, attach with your application a few written referees from the most responsible adults you can find (teachers, employers etc). Remember here that putting down your parents or relatives as references doesn’t really hold that much sway as they’re obviously going to be biased!

• Why do I keep going on about written references? For one, they look good but for two, they save a property manager some of their valuable time. If a property manager has ten applications to check and yours is partly done because of the written references – you can come across as a more appealing tenant to the time poor property manager.

• If you really want a property and believe there is going to be competition or you simply think that the property is good value or will be hard to find again, consider offering $5 a week (or any amount you like) more in rental. This obviously isn’t going to be the answer for everyone, but is an option. (More on how to get the rental down in part II!).

• Present well when you inspect a rental property. A property manager or property owner only has limited information to go on when deciding which tenant to chose. One of the things that will be a factor (regardless of whether they admit it or not) will be your presentation and the first impression you make at the inspection.

• Remember that property managers may look to see how well you take care of your car as an indication to see how well you’ll take care of the property (NB. McDonalds wrappers all through the car – not a good sign!)

• Ask the person in charge of renting the property if there is anything you can do to make your application more desirable to the property owner. Examples of this may be: length of lease, gardening, presence of pets, supply of references / guarantors etc.

• Where possible I always recommend that if you’re unsuccessful at getting a rental property that you ask why. For anti-discrimination reasons you may not find out, but it never hurts to ask the question because it could lead to you being more successful next time.

• When you do apply for a rental property, have everything ready in advance. If the property manager has five applications to check and yours is incomplete it’ll go to the bottom of the list! A great idea is to have all the information photocopied and ready to hand over including credit checks, references, photo identification, birth certificate etc.

Part 2

In this day and age in many areas it can be difficult but not impossible to negotiate on the rental of a property. In your area there may be a high vacancy rate which puts you as the potential tenant at an advantage.

Here are some ways to negotiate when you rent. This may be to either attempt to save money on the rental price or to maximise your chances of being the number one picked tenant.

• Ask what length of lease the landlord would prefer and then submit your application with that lease length. Asking to see if the landlord wants a long term tenant gives you the advantage of being able to offer a 2 year lease instead of 12 months (if it suits you) which may put you one step ahead of the other applicants who haven’t thought of this.

• If gardening is included in the rental amount, offer to do your own gardening and provide (yes, you guessed it) a written reference to say how immaculately you maintained your last garden.

• Being ready to take the property immediately may put you in a position where you can negotiate more easily. To a property investor, any vacancy means a zero percent return, so if you’re ready to move in tomorrow – sensational! Consider stating that you will take the property immediately even if you don’t need it for a few days to put you in a stronger negotiating position and gives you a little breathing room to move in!

• I once bought a property specifically for one set of tenants because they offered to pay 6 months rent up front. It was a great bargaining chip for them because, as a property investor, it was money straight off my mortgage. This can be used as a negotiation strategy for any tenant (who has the funds at hand) and while you may not pay 6 months rent up front, two identical applications from tenants can be quickly separated if one wants to pay say 12 weeks rent up front instead of 4 weeks.

And don’t forget to go through part 1 and make sure that you present as the most desirable tenant!

Part 3

Of course most property investors want to maximise their return on a property, ie: they want to get as much money as they possibly can. However, it’s not rocket science to figure out that most of us also want to attract and retain a quality tenant and some investors will sacrifice some of the higher end of their return to do so.

If you’re in a property, here’s a way to make yourself a more valuable tenant and to try and avoid some of the rent rises:

• Be a long term renter. I know as an investor myself – I’m the most lenient on rental increases to tenants who have been in the properties the longest.

• Be nice to your property manager (they have a lot of sway as to whether an owner renews leases or increases rent and to how much!)

• Keep the home in great condition on rental inspection date. Working in property management through my real estate career I can’t believe the condition some tenants leave their properties in on rental inspection date. While I’m certainly no Miss. Neat and Tidy every day at my own house – on those 2 – 4 days a year, make an effort and it won’t go unnoticed.

• Be a problem free tenant. Most investors I know will be far more likely to extend a lease to a tenant (and sometimes without a rent increase if the rent is consistently paid on time).

• Don’t be a “difficult” tenant. Now this sounds a lot like the above, but a difficult tenant to a property manager can mean a whole swarm of things. Some of my big “no-nos” are as follows:

– calling up about “emergency” maintenance at 2.00am when it’s just a broken cupboard handle (extreme example, but trust me it has happened)

– making it difficult for trades people to access a property to complete maintenance

– insisting on being present for routine inspections (yes, we know it’s your home, but when a property manager has 20 inspections to do in a morning coordinating each one personally is impossible!)

• Where possible (and appropriate), treat the property like it’s your own. Don’t get on the phone complaining about every loose washer or blown light bulb. Just let your property manager know on the next routine inspection if you’ve replaced anything minor like this. (NB. Before even considering attempting anything major, even if it’s in an attempt to help, call the property manager or owner first)

Most of what is written above is common sense. For new renters and those looking to capitalise upon their renting experience I hope you’ve found one or two tips to help you on your way! Good luck with your renting experience.

About the Author:

Copyright/Reprint Info – The contents of this article written by Kirsty may be copied, reproduced, or freely distributed for all nonprofit purposes without the consent of the author as long as the author’s name and contact information are included as below. Kirsty Dunphey, founder of http://www.reallysold.com is an entrepreneur and author who started her first business at 15, opened her own real estate agency at 21 and retired a self made multi-millionaire at 27. To sign up to Kirsty Dunphey’s weekly email, go to: http://www.kirstydunphey.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com21 Tips to Get the Most Out of Renting

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