Rent-Regulated Tenants: A Boon for Buyers?
Can rent-regulated tenants make buildings more attractive to prospective buyers? They sure can, according to the cover story in the real estate section of yesterday’s Times. The article examines the pluses and minuses of buying a property that comes with rent-controlled or rent-stabilized tenants in tow. A family that purchased a four-story brick house in…
Can rent-regulated tenants make buildings more attractive to prospective buyers? They sure can, according to the cover story in the real estate section of yesterday’s Times. The article examines the pluses and minuses of buying a property that comes with rent-controlled or rent-stabilized tenants in tow. A family that purchased a four-story brick house in Carroll Gardens for $1.5 million, for example, found that one big plus was a price tag that was about $1 million less than it would have been if there weren’t two rent-controlled apartments on the top floors. The major potential minus with such properties, of course, is the hassle owners can encounter when they try to give such tenants the heave-ho. (Check out the debate over the situation at former HOTD 227 Berkeley Place.) Any landlords care to weigh in on the pros and cons of having rent-regulated renters? Have any readers taken advantage of the rent-regulation discount?
When the Price Includes Tenants [NY Times]
Photo by bondidwhat
1:59,
That old lady didn’t have to pay market rent here entire life.
In other words, her landlord supported her his entire life.
Where’s the justice in that?
It’s not about rich verses poor. It’s about right verses wrong and fair verses unfair.
Right on, 1:24!
Snidley Whiplash – love it!
Snidley
I hardly think someone paying for their apartment every month for 50 years is “squatting”, rc/rs, or not. They are abiding by the laws and rules, fair or unfair to the landlord. The system may be deeply flawed, but that’s not their fault.
The amount of rent stabilized senior citizens such as the one is 1:18’s home, is pretty small, all things considered. I don’t think anyone other than a senior spouse should inherit a cheap apartment from another senior, but the thought of throwing any senior citizen out on the street is totally disgusting.
1:18 – you have much good karma coming your way. God bless you. 1:24 – hope you are never dependent on the good will of others for anything, because you will be in deep trouble.
1:18pm,
I’m glad you have the attitude you do, because otherwise you’d be driven crazy by the situation.
Just because that old lady has squatted in that apartment for 50+ years gives her no right to make you support her.
The fact that her relative can “inherit” the apartment is beyond absurd.
I feel like NYC is more communist than the old USSR. Isn’t America supposed to be a democracy based on a free capitalist economy?
12:12 PM perfectly describes the situation with a tenant in the townhouse we own. We bought the house in July 2005 (it had been an Open House Pick in early 2005) and certainly got a discount on the purchase price (probably around $425k). Our tenant has lived there for 50 + years, had her first child born in their kitchen and was living there when she was widowed some years ago. She also lives with a younger family member who will inherit the apartment. I think the previous owner had tried to buy them out but we certainly have no intention to do so. Yes, their rent doesn’t even cover their share of the winter gas bill but her apartment is her home for longer than I’ve been born and I wouldn’t dream of trying to buy her out and I’d be incredibly surprised if she wanted to go. Perhaps when her family member inherits we might open up discussions but we also have another floor we rent out at market rent and still have a 3,200 sq ft triplex for us to live in. I could never imagine our family of four needing 5,000 sq ft of living space. Incidentally they are the easiest of tenants and we’ve never encountered a problem.
I own buildings in lower Manhattan and about half my tenants are rent stabilized and paying on average about $700/mo for apartments that would rent for over $2000/mo post renovation. A few rent controllers pay about $100/mo.
My experience has been that younger folks will take buyouts, but older folks, even ones with lots of money, who’ve lived in their crappy apartments for years and years, have developed bizarre mental barriers to moving, and logic does not prevail.
The rent laws are insane and you folks defending “old” “poor” people with nowhere else to go are defending a minority, not the majority of rent regulated tenants.
I’d love it if an income or net worth limitation was put on all rent regulated apartments, but I doubt it will ever happen since politicians are too scared to risk the rent stabilized vote.
12:25 – Snidely Whiplash, is that you?
That’s a touching scenario, 12:12, no doubt. Perfectly understandable. However the landlord, who owns the building and bore all of the risk of his/her investment, is well within his/her rights to ask that person to live elsewhere. I’d NEVER rent to a rent-contolled or -stabilized tenant. No one is going to tell me I can’t throw them out of MY building if I don’t want them there. If they don’t like it, they have every right to MOVE somewhere else.