Tag Archives: rent

Do Landlords in Berkeley Discriminate Against Irish Students?

Posted on by
Reply

The short answer is No. There have been a lot of claims in social media and the press that landlords in Berkeley will no longer rent apartments to Irish students because of the balcony collapse at Library Gardens downtown that resulted in the deaths of 6 Irish college students. These stories are untrue. I have been a landlord in Berkeley for over 40 years, and nearly all my tenants are U.C. Berkeley students. I know a lot of other Berkeley landlords, and none of them blame the victims for this tragedy. It is true that there were far more people on that balcony when it collapsed than was prudent; however, engineering reports showed that the cause of the collapse was poor construction resulting in wood rot and that had the balcony been properly built, it could have supported the weight of those students. The sympathies of all the landlords I know are with the families of these students. Yes, it is hard for Irish students to rent apartments in Berkeley for the summer, but not because they are Irish. There is a severe rental housing shortage in Berkeley, and because of our local rent laws, most leases in Berkeley prohibit sub-leasing. The Irish counsel general in San Francisco has investigated claims of discrimination against Irish students in Berkeley and has concluded that these stories are baseless and has said so publicly.

Why Isn’t Rent Tax Deductible Like Home Mortgage Interest?

Posted on by
Reply
The short answer is Lobbying. Federal and state income tax laws in the United States give homeowners a huge tax break that is not available to tenants. Home mortgage interest, which is generally the biggest single expense for homeowners, is tax-deductible. However, rent is not tax-deductible. In other words, homeowners get to pay their mortgages with pre-tax income, but tenants have to pay their rent with after-tax income. Why is that? Well, it is simply the power of lobbying. There are very powerful and well-funded trade associations that want home mortgage interest to remain tax-deductible, including the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders. These groups have the ability to write out checks for millions of dollars to PACs (Political Action Committees) and Super PACs that back compliant and ‘morally flexible’ politicians. Tenant associations don’t have that kind of money. It now costs over $10 million, on average, to get elected to the U.S. Senate. In most industrialized nations, home mortgage interest is not tax deductible. For example, in Canada, there is no tax benefit or deduction for home mortgage interest. Why? It is because they also don’t have Political Action Committees in Canada, and lobbyists in Canada cannot legally give money to politicians.

Paying Rent With RadPad.

Posted on by
Reply
If you would like to pay your rent without writing out a check every month, check out Rad Pad. Rad Pad can issue and mail an physical rent check to me or any other landlord in the U.S. If you set up an account with them and pay with a debit card, the fee for their service is zero. (I can’t see how they can afford to do that.) If you use a credit card, they charge 2.99%. That seems like a lot, but If you have a rebate credit card, the net cost to you could be relatively little, depending on how generous your rebate card is.

If You Think Berkeley Rents Are High, Wait Til You Hear What They Are Charging In San Francisco.

Posted on by
Reply
If you have driven over the Bay Bridge anytime in the past 3 years going to San Francisco, you probably noticed the Jasper building which is under construction on the right side of the off-ramp on top of Rincon Hill. The building is thin and 40 stories high. The Jasper will be finished soon. They has just announced their rent schedule:
  • Studios $4,250 a month
  • One Bedroom $5,300
  • Two Bedroom $7,000

jasperWhy would anybody pay $7,000 a month rent for a 2 bedroom apartment? I know several people who bought houses in San Francisco within the past couple of years, and all of them are spending a lot less than $7,000 a month for housing, and they all have mortgages. To be fair, the Jasper really is a luxury building. The apartments are large, and the building has a lot of amenities. Most of the apartments have balconies; however, I don’t know how much time I would spend on a balcony next to the Bay Bridge on-ramp at rush hour, especially on a hot, dry day. Breathing air like that can’t be healthy.

The minimum wage in San Francisco is now $12.25 an hour, which I think is too low. I ask you – how can anyone live in San Francisco who works at minimum wage? According to Zillow, the average apartment in San Francisco rents for $3,950 a month. That means that a worker would need to make $79 an hour, or $153,000 a year, to rent the average apartment in San Francisco without spending more than 30% of his pre-tax income on rent. I don’t know how much McDonalds pays their hamburger flippers in San Francisco, but I’m pretty sure that it is considerably less than $153,000 a year. There are a lot of people working for minimum wage in San Francisco, but where do they live? I really can’t figure that out. The people who work at McDonalds and Walgreens in the City must live someplace – but where?

Worst Application Ever

Posted on by
Reply

Do You Rent To Cats? Many years ago, I rented an apartment in Oakland. The day after I posted my listing, I got a phone call from a woman who said: “I saw your ad for a one-bedroom apartment on McAuley Street. I have a question. Do you rent to cats?” I thought that was an oddly worded question so I was careful how I answered her. I said: “No, I don’t rent apartments to cats, but I do rent apartments to people with cats.” The woman said, in a dejected tone of voice: “Oh, that’s too bad” and hung up the phone. I never heard from her again. Although this happened many years ago, I still think about that woman every now and then and wonder what was on her mind.

Do You Make $79 An Hour?

Posted on by
Reply
The real estate web site Zillow recently calculated how much a single renter has to earn in order to afford the average apartment in 20 cities across the United States. Landlords typically assume that a tenant can afford to spend up to 30% of his pre-tax income on rent. Assuming that, and assuming that a tenant is working full time (40 hours a week), Zillow says that a person would have to be getting paid $79 a hour in order to rent the average apartment in San Francisco. The median priced apartment in San Francisco is now $3,950 a month.
Now, I am pretty sure that most people living in San Francisco make less than $79 an hour. The minimum wage in San Francisco is now $11.05 an hour. It scheduled to rise to $15.00 an hour by 2018. I can’t figure out how people who work at minimum-wage jobs can afford to live in San Francisco or Berkeley, but I know that many do.

Craigslist Rental Scams.

Posted on by
Reply
I recently received an unusual request from a prospective tenant He said he was interested in renting an apartment I had listed on Craigslist, but first, he wanted me to show him written evidence that I owned the building. He said he had read several articles about scam artists who claimed to own apartments and collected rent and security deposits from would-be tenants and then disappeared with their money. I told this guy that I have also read articles about this.
If 10 years ago an applicant for an apartment asked me to show him evidence that I owned the building I was renting, I would have thought that he was some kind of nut, but Craigslist rental scams are now so common that I don’t think that a request like this is unreasonable. I told this guy that I would bring a copy of my current property tax bill with me when I showed him the apartment, which I did. I think requests like this are going to become more and more common in the future. I am sure that there are landlords who would be offended by a request like this, but not me. Craigslist provides a wonderful service for both landlords and tenants, and a free service at that; however, Craigslist does not vet the listings on their web site, and unfortunately, there are a lot of very smart people in this world who spend their lives figuring out new ways to cheat and rob other people, and it seems like almost all of them know how to use Craigslist.

When Is The Rent Due?

Posted on by
Reply

Your rent is due on the first of the month. That is written into all my leases. This means that I am supposed to receive your rent by the first of the month. I usually don’t ask my tenants for the rent until the third day of the month. As a result, some people mistakenly assume that that there is a 3 day grace period; however, there is no grace period on the payment of rent, like there is on credit card statements. If I receive your rent after the first of the month, it is late. This is not just the way that I do business. This is the way rent works everywhere. I have never seen a lease that contained a grace period for the payment of rent. If you are mailing your rent check to me, you should send it at least 3 days before it is due. If I receive a rent check from you before the first of the month, I will not deposit it before the rent is due without your permission.

WHY CAN’T I PAY MY RENT WITH A CREDIT CARD?

Posted on by
Reply

Every now and then, a tenant will ask me if he can pay his rent with a credit card. My answer is No. All of my leases state that the rent must be paid by check or money order. I don’t accept credit cards. Why? My reason is quite simple. I don’t want to pay the bank fees.

Some apartment houses in Berkeley and San Francisco allow tenants to pay their rent with credit cards, but invariably, its the buildings that get top-of-the-market rent. Many of the new apartment houses in downtown Berkeley allow tenants to pay the rent with credit cards; however, those buildings charge $2,500 to $3,000 a month for small 1 bedroom apartments. I get $1,700 to $1,800 a month for my 1 bedroom apartments. If I was getting $3,000 a month for 1 bedroom apartments, I would accept credit cards too!

WORST APPLICATION EVER.

Posted on by
Reply

“We’re Interns.”  I recently rented a 4 bedroom apartment in Berkeley’s South Campus. The first application I got came from a group of 4 guys who had all just graduated from a small (but pricey) liberal arts college back East. All 4 of them just starting working for an environmental organization based in downtown Berkeley. After reviewing their applications, I said: “None of you filled in the income section on your application forms.” The leader of the group said: “We didn’t fill in that section because we are all interns.” I said: “I am not sure I know what you mean by the word ‘intern.’ Does that mean that you don’t get paid?” He said: “Yes.” I said: “Do any of you have secondary jobs or some other source of income?” They all shook their heads No. I said: “You know, the rent on this apartment is $3,500 a month.” They shook their heads Yes. I said: “Well, I don’t understand. If you are all unpaid interns, how do you plan to pay the rent?”  The leader of the group (the brains of this outfit) said: “We are going to pay you by check. We all have checking accounts.” He showed me his checkbook. I said: “I don’t think I am making myself clear. I am not concerned right now with the method by which you plan to pay me the rent. What I want to know is where the money will come from.” The leader of the group said: “Bank of America. We all have checking accounts at Bank of America. That where the money will come from.” I said: “I still don’t think I am making myself clear. The rent is $3,500 a month – every month – but your gross income – between all 4 of you – is zero. Do you see the problem?” They looked at each other in confused silence and then looked at me and shook their heads No. I never did find out how they planned to pay the rent. I thanked them for their applications and sent them on their way.

I have run into this situation before. There are a lot of non-profit organizations based in Berkeley. Most of them have very little money, so they rely on volunteers and unpaid interns to do their work. I have met quite a few of these interns. Some of them have been working for years and years without pay for environmental or political organizations. I often wonder what they live on, but I haven’t figured it out.