Comments about ‘Utah's rental market is squeezing residents’

So sad. I hope property owners will not become greedy and keep their prices low.

Are you ready for tent cities in Utah and around the nation? Landlords have become greedy and unsympathetic to anything but the almighty dollar. Where I rent they ignore everything but he most detrimental of issues. It is like living in a thrid world country. The owners let tennants trash the grounds, carry one as they please and even disrespect their own manager. I have never seen such apathy by property owners, I can only assume it is because of the housing crunch that they feel invincible. It is quite troubling to think of how wide-spread this problem has become. Another great example of deregulation.

you will pay 800 a month + utilities for a fairly new 2 bedroom apartment in Utah Valley. Most mortgage payments for 350K+ homes are more than double that. Renting isn't a bad option right now unless you are willing to purchase a home way out in the sticks in Nephi or Eagle Mountain which most families are reluctant to do (for good reason).

There are unprecedented numbers of vacant unsold and foreclosed homes. If I were a banker I would much rather put renters in those houses and collect rent rather than let them sit vacant, unmaintained and vulnerable to theft and vandalism.
Surely large numbers of homes for rent would reduce the demand for and rental rates of apartments.

I have been struggling to stay in my aparment for the last 5 years I've been there for the last 10 years, 10% increase every 12 months and on top of that you now pay sewer, water, garbage, which is billed by a company that charges you $4.05 to bill you. Way back we got cable for free as well as the above. Now it seems we have a new owner every year I know of 5 different owners over my 10 years in this development. I should own my apartment by now. When I first moved here I had a great job that paid what my skills were worth, got laid off after 9/11 in 2003 took 2 years to find a $13 an hour job. For the last 6 years how pitifulthe wages in Utah. I cannot afford to move back to the State of my birth where my family is.

I own a 4-plex in Utah County and charge $675 for a remodeled 2 bedroom apartment. The price of purchasing this property forces me to charge this rent to cover my mortgage. It will be 3 years before I recoup my remodelling costs, with no vacancies. I do not feel that rent is excessive, but is what I need to cover the mortgage. As rents increase over the years, maybe I can actually make a profit on my investment. That's the way the market works.

...are very high. I see many 2 and 3 bedroom homes, apartments, and townhomes that rent for anywhere from $1000 to $2300 per month. There are a few under $1000, but many of them are in great need of repairs. My son and his wife live in such a place, but are moving to Salt Lake because he can't find work here. Rent in Salt Lake is a little lower, and easier to get into (don't require an application fee, first and last months' rent plus a $500 deposit, for example, like many places here). The prices are economy driven, especially the new homes. But raising the rates on old, existing, rundown apartments is really a rip off. Maintenance is poor, if done at all. Recently our son's water was off for 2 weeks due to a leak above the water heater. They stayed with us. But they still had to pay rent. That's not right. Even spare rooms in people's homes are renting for $500 a month. It's pretty crazy!

The rental market is traditionally 1% of the cost of the home per month. If cities would change zoning to allow for less expensive/smaller housing, including trailers, this wouldn't be a problem.

Trailers would prevent much homelessness, and make "tent cities" much less likely.

Anyone who thinks minimum wage is what you pay an employee, other then a teenager or someone you just want to sit somewhere and do nothing is an ogre.

How out of touch you are. Anyone can get paid that, especially now that just having a job, let alone the one you are skilled for, is a blessing. Plenty of middle aged men trying to support their families, working for minimum wage or not much higher right now. Certainly no $14/hr. How nice it would be, to be that ignorant.

Rents are way cheaper than that in Logan.. I have a mice three bedroom duplex that rents for $575. or you could just buy, my mortgage payment on my 4 bedroom house is just $602. Its amazing what happens when you put money down...

I am currently renting a 2 bedroom apt up by
the UofU for less than $600/mo. I guess this
article is assuming that everyone gets to live
in the high-price communities in Draper.
Remember that rents always are delayed in their
response to economic conditions. So in
18months - 2 years, the rents will decrease to
follow the housing bubble bursting. The
biggest problem we have had is not the rent, but
that darn Natural Gas being WAY TOO EXPENSIVE per
therm. We are paying about 3 times what we
historically have paid for Natural Gas. I have
heard that legislators are going to force the Q
to lower their therm rate to 2 times what we
should be paying.

(I have never understood why the 18mo rent
delay happens, but in my 18 years of renting, it
always happens that way. Maybe some smart
professor up at the U can explain it sometime.)

Can not afford to rent in Utah, then move on. The landlords need to get enough to cover their mortgage payments and taxes. I grew up in a family that rented some houses, and its not worth the headache so sold out. Still cant afford it then move somewhere you can afford. There are 50 states to choose from. I get tired of people complaining about high prices. Do they ever do the math involved in paying a mortgage on a 350 or 400 thousand dollar piece of property, let alone trying to make some money on the investment. Do some math first before mouthing off. Again cant afford it -- MOVE

I would like to see those mouthing off about how people should move... or it is just business... try living like those people who are struggling are living. Try being a single mother with four kids, or a forty year old male trying to beat out a twenty year old for a job. Times are hard. Try having a heart and try to treat other human beings like you would want to be treated in the same situation.

Moving is expensive, and if you have a family, then it's even more difficult to just pull up roots and relocate. Our son lost his job in January, and has been unable to find work. So he left his wife and 2 kids with us, went to another city to stay with his brother and look for work. That was 6 weeks ago. It's going to be another 2-3 weeks before she can get moved there, and he won't be able to come and help her. He's got a $10 an hour job, working all the extra hours he can, and glad for that. My husband and I have had to do this twice. He left to find work, the kids and I stayed and got ready to move, and when he found work and a place to stay we moved. Both times it took 6 months, and it was really a struggle for us. We aren't alone. I see people every day who are out of work, just trying to do anything they can find to make ends meet, many losing their homes. It's difficult.

And the federal government wants to sell us a new car from Detroit.


LOL

With real estate being overpriced, it is easy to see how rentals follow suit. Our national leaders, who promise the world using our (and our children's) money, are sustaining artificially high housing prices. Until the housing bubble is allowed to burst, neither home ownership nor rentals will reflect the realities of the economy.

Yes, this means that there will be some home and rental property owners who are going to take a loss. Why does the government (and a good share of others) think that it's okay for people to lose 40% of their 401k, yet refuse to allow overpriced homes to correct to reality?

Stop bailing out the housing industry!!! In the long run, this is the only sustainable solution.

It is obvious that the rent being charged is too high. A good idea, if possible, is to get an education. You have a much better chance of getting and sustaining a job and a higher standard of living. I know that not everyone can do this, but there are many programs out there right now, because of the recession, to help people go to school and get an education so they can make a decent wage. If you can, go back to school! If not, I hope things get better for you. Many of you are paying more for your rent than I do for my house payment.

Great points, Simple Man.

on 2500so. and 700east who packs in the illegals...sometimes 15-20 per unit...cars pack the parking lot , charges by the head , he booted the legals out as he had planned this from the start ..he should be taxed for the revenue he is hiding in south slc...get rid of the illegals and there would be bountiful room for the rest of us!