Do majority of families in Lakewood rent out their basement?

mig100

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 6:47 pm

amother Saddlebrown wrote:

Just because it feels wrong to you doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Many Lakewood Rabbonim used to limit rent increases to 5% a year with a catch up allowance but when rents went to $2000 or more the Rabbonim said it’s not fair to the landlord either to have to swallow a $10,000 a year discount and keep the tenant at 1100. They said it’s ok to go to $2000 in the absence of a contract but some said that the metchlach thing to do is to go up halfway.

An apartment is an income producing asset just like your stocks, CDs, and other investments. There’s no reason to give it away below market value.

Which rabonim said that?

amother

Cerise

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 6:52 pm

amother Bronze wrote:

It’s not an asset like any other. It’s an asset that can make a family broke if you decide to be selfish. Wait a few years and I’d have moved out and bought a house and he could have charged the going rate. It’s not menchlich. I don’t know how he lives with himself.

Just because your neighbor’s landlord didn’t raise rent , doesn’t mean you’re can’t. You didn’t describe anything that he did wrong according to halachos. You’re just very bitter that your neighbor has an extra nice landlord and it’s eating you up. Try to let it go you’ll feel much better

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 7:00 pm

amother Bronze wrote:

So anyone selling a house has to charge the 450k they purchased it for years ago instead of the 1.2 million it is worth to do a tova for the poor family who can’t afford to buy for 1.2 mil?

You apparently believe he should be mevatter on 10k every year for years by charging you below market rent so you can put away 50-60k toward a down payment on his dime? Maybe he needs the money for tuition and chasunahs. It’s his asset, not yours.

amother

Cerise

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 7:04 pm

amother Saddlebrown wrote:

This!
And people think , if he bought it low price he doesn’t need the money to cover mortgage… first of all property taxes went up. Second of all, everything went up and this is his income

amother

Bronze

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 8:14 pm

Okay keep convincing yourselves you’re not being disgusting by raising your tenants rent through the roofs. Have fun. I’ll be down here in my underground cave paying a fortune for the privilege.

And to the person who said I want a 1.2 million dollar house, no. I’d move far out and get a house for less than half of that. But I can’t because all my money is going to my landlord so I’m just going to stay here as he raises and raises and raises the rent.

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 8:22 pm

amother Bronze wrote:

Okay keep convincing yourselves you’re not being disgusting by raising your tenants rent through the roofs. Have fun. I’ll be down here in my underground cave paying a fortune for the privilege.

Iy”h you should own an affordable home soon one day. A positive attitude and Aylin Tova towards others will get most people ahead faster even from a practical workplace advancement standpoint. It also can’t hurt if one wants to be zoche to bracha in parnasah. Hatzlacha.

GLUE

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 9:24 pm

https://www.strongtowns.org/jo.....olicy

This is an article on how rent control is suppose to work.
It is also basically Lakewood rent control policy.

The article did not cover what happens when the landlord says get out so I can rent to someone who will pay more, unless you "agree" to a much higher rent.

mig100

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 9:51 pm

GLUE wrote:

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/11/1/rent-control-is-an-anti-displacement-policy-not-an-affordability-policy

This is an article on how rent control is suppose to work.
It is also basically Lakewood rent control policy.

The article did not cover what happens when the landlord says get out so I can rent to someone who will pay more, unless you "agree" to a much higher rent.

I did not read the whole article . I would like to.

Either way, the legal laws hardly make a difference. lakewood rabonim , as quoted above are saying the landlords dont have to follow the law. I am trying to understand why they are allowing landlords to get away with this

amother

Glitter

Tue, Dec 19 2023, 10:50 pm

amother Bronze wrote:

You can’t double a person’s rent in two years. It’s a disgusting thing to do. All my neighbors who I’ve spoken to only had their rent raised $100-200 in the past 3 years. They’re still paying close to the low rate we started out at because that’s what the market was at then and their landlords have morals.

Our rental contract conveniently doesn’t include any limits on rent increases. I won’t be naive enough to not notice that in the future.

I feel really bad for you, you are in such a stuck situation! I am a young couple who still lives in an apartment and bought a townhouse 5 years ago. We rent the upstairs and the basement and have only gone up 5% per year. Now that are basement tenant just left we got new tenant for market value. My mortgage did not go up by much and there is no excuse for doubling someone rent. Its just not basic decency no matter how desperate you are! And no I am not rolling in dough but taking from another yungerman like that is not something I can sleep with...

amother

Saddlebrown

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 12:48 am

mig100 wrote:

Some time ago the state of NJ passed a law meant to incentivize the supply of rental units. It exempts all new construction and all owner occupied units from any rent control, even if a Township tries to impose it. The Rabbonim are not saying that landlords don’t have to follow the law; they are exempted by law.

amother

Antiquewhite

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 12:52 am

amother Saddlebrown wrote:

Im living in old construction and its not owner occupied. they raised the rent on everyone 30-40 percent.

why is this allowed

amother

Turquoise

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 1:02 am

If youre happy with youre tenant they dont make any problems why upset them and keep raising theyre rent. Im a landlord. Just signed a lease with my tenants that live in my basement for 1 yr and I didnt go up in price. Most of my neighbors charge at least $250 more than I do. But to me its very imp that my tenants are happy. Theres also something abt being a mentch. Sorry, to the landlords that went up hundreds of dollars a year in rent. Its not ok imo. Maybe its not against halacha but doesnt make it right.
Btw, I need the money coming in to cover my mortgage. Im in no way rich. It would be extremely useful to have the extra cash every month.

amother

Saddlebrown

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 1:26 am

amother Antiquewhite wrote:

Im living in old construction and its not owner occupied. they raised the rent on everyone 30-40 percent.

why is this allowed

It’s likely one of two things:

The NJ statute exempts new construction for up to 30 years after the building is completed. (There is a provision that requires notice to tenants of the exemption and some judges but not all have actually used the lack of notice as a technicality to block increases.)Your apartment may still be within 30 years.

If the building is older than 30 years and isn’t owner occupied Lakewood technically has rent control limiting increases to 5% but there is a quirk in the law in Lakewood- a landlord can request a much higher increase from the Lakewood Rent Control Board if he claims he has higher expenses. The Rent Control Board can deny the increase, but if they do nothing then the requested increase goes in to effect automatically.

Now here’s where it gets really quirky- Lakewood abolished the rent control board years ago (long story) but left the ordinance as is! Some Landlords who aren’t included in the State exemption are using this as a loophole by simply requesting a much higher increase from the non existent Rent Control Board.

Unsurprisingly there is no response from the rent control board (it doesn’t exist) so the increase automatically kicks in! Pretty crazy and in one case this exact scenario involving Lakewood tenants is being fought out in court at this time.

amother

Antiquewhite

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 1:28 am

amother Turquoise wrote:

Thanks for this. You have restored my faith in humanity.

My landlord owns tons of real estate across lakewood. He does not need my 300 dollars extra a month in order to feed his family. When I told him it was not legal, he got really nasty.

amother

Bronze

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 3:57 am

amother Glitter wrote:

Thank you for your empathy, it means a lot. I wish my landlord was like you. 5% a year is perfectly reasonable. And if we’d stayed five years, I’d even understand if he raised more than that because we were oversharing our welcome. But we were literally here for three years with a 80% increase. How can he do that to us? Its heartless. And so many imamothers siding with him over me is bewildering. It’s like they have no heart for anyone but a landlord. Pretty sure they’re not renters but you should have the capacity to put yourself in someone’s shoes anyways.

amother

Turquoise

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 5:25 am

amother Bronze wrote:

Thank you for your empathy, it means a lot. I wish my landlord was like you. 5% a year is perfectly reasonable. And if we’d stayed five years, I’d even understand if he raised more than that because we were oversharing our welcome. But we were literally here for three years with a 80% increase. How can he do that to us? I can’t understand how a person could be so heartless. And so many imamothers siding with him over me is bewildering. It’s like they have no heart for anyone but a landlord. Pretty sure they’re not renters but you should have the capacity to put yourself in someone’s shoes anyways.

Its sad to see how many people are siding with landlords raising rent so much. Life isnt only about money. Theres nothing wrong with taking more rent a yr but do it with mentchlichkeit.
Im assuming all of you that think its 100% ok to raise the rent of youre tenants so significantly also agree with the real estate companies that caused the prices of buying a home to go up. The price of real estate went up everywhere but they def paid a huge role in upping the prices so much in Lakewood.

amother

Saddlebrown

Wed, Dec 20 2023, 9:09 am

amother Turquoise wrote:

Im assuming all of you that think its 100% ok to raise the rent of youre tenants so significantly also agree with the real estate companies that caused the prices of buying a home to go up. The price of real estate went up everywhere but they def paid a huge role in upping the prices so much in Lakewood.

The real estate companies are hardly to blame for market forces and supply and demand. Perhaps they are to blame for marketing Lakewood so heavily in Brooklyn, especially to chassidish but once there were too many people chasing too few houses the price increase was a given.
It was a confluence of rising income as Lakewood salaries jumped, and low interest rates. With so many people bidding on the same house, the prices kept shooting up until people could no longer afford it as interest rates rose and incomes began to stagnate. That is why you are seeing prices stagnate and even fall a bit (prices for buildable land have dropped in the Lakewood area even more substantially as housing starts shrink.)

Even with the rentals, prices for 3 bedroom 2 bath basement would be substantially lower if every newlywed couple would be ok with a one or two bedroom apartment to start. We were in a 1 when we got married, and saved the money for a down payment on our house. Every new couple needs an upgraded large apartment so there is more demand than supply driving up prices.