Why are landlords charging such outrageous rent for c**p???

Question

I've been looking at apartments & houses for rent, and they're ridiculous. For example, this one house is $675/month and it's a pig pin. Trashy, no door k***s, roaches, etc. and is soooooo small that it looks like an efficiency apt.

Answer 1

Where do you live?  What city and what neighborhood are you talking about?  These days to find a house somewhere for only $675 is incredibly cheap, but no wonder if it is in such bad shape.  As for dividing a house into 2 apts, that's not so rare either.

Demand is first key to the prices.  US population growth is among the highest in world.  With over 4 million births per year, plus 1 million new (legal) immigrants admitted, plus 3.5 million people entering on temporary visas overstay, plus several million new temporary visas are issued and the holders enter the US, plus 4 to 5 million illegal aliens yields a net annual population increase exceeding 12 million people per year.

Second key to your question is taxes.  Property, income and other taxes on landlords have added such a burden that landlords either have to cut maintenance or increase income in order to hang onto their property.  They have mortgages to pay, as well as higher taxes than a homeowner pays.

Answer 2

People like this are NOT landlords, they are slumlords and should be ashamed of themselves. They ovefrcharge do they can make their money off it, wrong in so many ways!

Answer 3

Catherine B is correct.

Answer 4

The price of anything is what people are willing to pay.  Demand for housing in your area must be higher than the supply.  The landlord would lower the price or improve the units if no one would rent them.  

Answer 5

I know! Rent is crazy expensive these days. Around my neck of the woods, units that were $400 per month a couple years ago are $650 today. But, regardless of other factors involved, it's mainly the fault of renters.

Answer 6

Because they can ... and because tenants don't know where to report the worst of the places to force a fixup.

If tenants knew their rights, and weren't too lazy or scared to insist on them, they would have better housing.  

Answer 7

Real estate prices kept rising over the last decade and people got big mortgages.  LL needs to cover their mortgage, plus cost of repairs.  AND there are many tenants out there who turn nice places into a pig pin, take off doorknobs, knock holes in walls, never clean appliances, burn holes in carpeting, curtains, etc.  LL get tired of having to pour money into these places for the trash who rent them and trash them.