Rentals; How often do you raise rents?

[bentley]

Another thread about rental liability, reminded me of something I've thought about before. How often do you raise rents, and what factor determines the % increase?

I have two rentals; 2 bedroom $575, and 3 bedroom $625, and I pay the water, which is usually $45/mo for both.

B

 

[dmdunca44]

We have a sfr. We raise the rent when changing tenants. That's been about every 2-3 years.

 

[nun]

We have a sfr. We raise the rent when changing tenants. That's been about every 2-3 years.

I look at what comparable rentals are going for when ever the tenants change and adjust the rent accordingly. I've never raised it during a tenancy and I actually lowered it by $200 when my current tenant and her boyfriend broke up and he moved out. She was having a tough time, couldn't find a place she could afford and as she's really reliable and a great all around tenant I decided $200 was worth avoiding the hassle of finding a someone new. She insists on mowing the law and weeding the garden, so everything is good.

 

[panhead]

I have a single family home I rent out and a 2 family I own in a partnership. I also never raise the rents during a tenancy. When tenants move out, I look around and see what the local listings are getting, make a few calls to signs I see posted "for rent" and then make a judgement from there.

 

[RockyMtn]

if a multi year lease I raise annually. If it's a new tenant I raise to whatever the market will bear.

 

[Livefree]

It depends on the situation. I raised on a couple after 4 years because my costs increased. I think every 3 or 4 years is about right. If they're reliable and a good tennant it may be good to not increase on them. You have to consider what your costs are if they move out.

 

[Nords]

Another thread about rental liability, reminded me of something I've thought about before. How often do you raise rents, and what factor determines the % increase?

We keep an eye on market rents in our neighborhood (Craigslist, a military rental site, a landlord neighbor with an identical floorplan). When we have a new tenant we set the rent at the market rate-- we don't explicitly raise or lower it.

We advertise as "pet friendly", which tends to let us charge at the top end of the rental scale.

Once the tenant's in the property, we balance their rent against how well they're treating the property. I'd rather get $2800/month with no phone calls than have $3000/month with frequent maintenance... or even worse, calls from the neighbors. If our expenses went up over $100/month over 2-3 years then we'd talk about a rent increase.

... and I pay the water, which is usually $45/mo for both.

I'm curious why you'd pay the water? The tenant has no incentive to conserve, unless you're passing along a charge for excessive use.

We've had hassles transferring the gas utility back & forth between us and tenants. But I don't think we've ever had a hassle or a fee with transferring the electricity, water, or sewer.

 

[Semiretired2008]

I have never been a land lord (well one time for a young girl going through a divorce), but I have been a tenant a few times. My leases always had a clause about annual increases, but I have never had my rent increased while I was in an agreement. I fixed things myself (they paid me for parts and materials), paid on time and kept the area clean - I helped them keep down their costs. I have even had a landlord lower my rent because he knew if I moved out he would not be saving as much money.

If I could find renters like me I would be a landlord in a flash (LOL), but I have not seen that to be common among renters...

 

[gerntz]

Our duplexes are in an area of duplexes. We just watch the other rates being offered. Probably averages out to +$25/mo/yr. on $750/mo current.

 

[pb4uski]

A friend has a duplex, he live in one apt and leases the other. He increases rent when tenants change (but usually does some rehabbing during the vacancy period) and when his costs increase (especially fuel oil since the rent includes heat). I think he typically reevaluates rent every other year or so unless fuel oil spikes.

Our family trust has a commercial property and inflationary increases are built into the contractual rent, but the increases are pretty modest. We were keen to keep the tenant for a long time and it would be hard to replace the tenant. Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

 

[Onward]

On our single-family properties we raise rents only when tenants change.