How to Determine Rent Rates

Everyone should be able to have access to quality housing without having to pay an arm and a leg for it. This is a problem all across the country and it makes living very difficult for the average person. In Williamsport, we experienced this a number of years ago when the gas industry came to town. A lot of landlords raised their rents because they knew the gas guys would pay it. But what about everyone else? It created a housing issue for the average person in Williamsport. People couldn’t afford what landlords were asking, and what they could afford wasn’t very nice. As a landlord, I think it’s important to keep the community in mind. Sure- everyone wants to make more money, but at what expense? With the average income in Williamsport hovering around $42,000, it’s tough to ask top dollar for an apartment.

When determining an asking price we take into consideration the neighborhood, the renovation done, and the type of person who would likely be moving in. I also like to put myself in their shoes and ask myself what I would pay for this apartment. My husband and I live in on the east end side of town in a home roughly 1800 square feet. We pay $805 a month for our mortgage, taxes and insurance. We have a nice home, nothing crazy but we like it. Knowing that information and our incomes, it wouldn't be fair to charge $850 for an apartment in a rougher neighborhood of equivalent size to our home. Considering utilities are all separate, the amount a tenant would spend on housing a month is easily over $1000. With an average income of $42,000, that’s a good chunk of change. We would rather have tenants be able to live comfortably than struggling to pay their rent.  Believe me, it’s not fun for anyone when a tenant is struggling to keep up with rent. And as a result, we have quite a few long term tenants- some of which actually want to buy the properties from us! 

Now I’m not suggesting to keep rents low, but rather just to be fair. The housing crisis in America is hurting hard working middle class Americans. The cost of rent is so high in some areas that it actually forces people to stay in the rental market because they are unable to save enough money to put towards a house. I have friends in California and Chicago that would love to buy a home, but are stuck paying high rent- not necessarily by choice. Most of the rentals in those areas are outrageous, and with what you pay you would think you’d be living like royalty, but that’s not the case. The amount of money they are able to set aside is minimal, making it very difficult to get out of their rental.

So instead of contributing to the problem, we want to provide quality housing at a fair price. Every market is different obviously, but so far in Williamsport- it’s been a win- win for us. Tenants are happy and we are happy.

Below are a couple rentals to give you an idea of the rent we charge based on the property.