There’s been a moving truck parked outside all day, since one of my neighbours is moving up to Eureka. Another neighbour moved out a couple/few weeks ago.
I was talking to the manager of the 29-unit apartment building I’ve lived in for the past 16 years. She said that since she became the manager last April, and once the rest of us move out by the end of the year, 14 people will have moved out! That’s half of the building!
Thirteen of us are moving or have moved because of a new job (or in my case, loss of a job) or because they bought a house (which I did). One person is moving out because the rent is too high and she can’t afford it. (The rent really is too high, BTW.)
Half the building. Weird, eh?
WOW… if I was the owner, I would look for a new manager. Sure it’s not her fault in reality, but damn! That just looks bad for her.
No, it’s not her fault at all. She’s certainly better than the previous manager!
But the owner should think about the rent. Since mortgage rates are so low, people have more incentive to move out. They might think twice if the rent were lower.
In my case, I was looking for a house anyway; but I wanted to stay here for another year so I could finish a couple of projects. It’s only the loss of my job that is forcing me to move early. My rent increased to $778 this month for my one-bedroom apartment. New tenants have to pay $900 or $950. By comparison, my mortgage is less than $524/month. With rent so high, buying a house seems more attractive to a lot of people.