Return of the renters

First-time house buyers are renters. Renters who have leases generally make their renewal decisions in the summer, with everyone expected to be settled by September 1st or earlier. Those with Tenant-at-Will status keep looking, along with people who are trading up or trading down or relocating.

Those who have not found what they are looking for in time to transfer their children to a new school for September frequently choose to stay put for another academic year. This is true of both renters and owners who are looking to trade up or down.
Currently, it takes about a month to get a mortgage processed. Add that time to the time it takes to have home inspections and get a Purchase and Sales Agreement written, and the total time between when a person finds a house and when he or she can close is five to six weeks (or more.) Therefore, to be settled in before the lease ends or before school starts, a buyer has to find their house by June 15 for a July 31 lease deadline or by July 15 for an August 31 lease or school deadline. This deadline is made tighter by those who are required to give 60-day notice instead of a single rental cycle. So, I am hoping to feel a Sea Change in the market after next weekend and another one in mid-July. I look forward to the summer doldrums.

In anticipation of summer, I begin the landlord and tenant series that I run in the summers. I have sometimes called this series “Landlord-Tenant Hell” and some years I focused a bit more positively. What are your stories? What do you want to know about rentals?