Agonies of hunting for apartment
August 23, 2004; As originally appeared in Connecticut
Post, by Rob Varnon "You want how much for this?"
That's
what runs through the minds of many apartment hunters especially
the ones coming from out of state when they look for a place
to live in the region.
It doesn't
matter if they are white- or blue-collar workers, new college
graduates, people going through a divorce or executives transferring
into the state; they all said the biggest problem is coming
up with the money.
The second
is availability.
The impact
of the housing crunch is not lost on the business community,
representatives of which see this as a major hurdle to attracting
and retaining workers here, especially young ones. Landlords
also report a host of problems confronting them as they try
to fill vacancies.
Michelle
Byrd, 38, came from Minneapolis to take a promotion with Pitney
Bowes. She left behind a one-bedroom luxury apartment in a
35-story building that boasted a large laundry facility, swimming
pool and workout facility. Her monthly rent was $1,050.
"I
had a great apartment," she said, almost wistfully. "I
was looking for something comparable."
What she
found was a lack of availability and a different definition
of "luxury."
After
looking around the area she decided to take an apartment in
New Haven that is much smaller than her former digs, she said.
"It's
OK," she said. She added that she has met some nice people
here.
She pays
$1,250 for rent and an additional $116.50 for parking each
month. There's no gym and the laundry facilities are smaller,
she said.
While
the monthly rent is higher, she said what really shocked her
was the deposit and the upfront payment.
Like most
in the region, her landlord required the equivalent of three
months of rent upfront, or $3,750. This payment included the
first and last month's rent and a security deposit equal to
a month's rent.
rd said
besides Minnesota, she has lived in Atlanta and the highest
amount she ever paid for a security deposit was $400, until
she moved here.
According
to Rentnet.com, a Web site devoted to the apartment industry,
security deposits generally range between $100 to a full month's
rent, with the average deposit being about $250 in America.
But Prudential Connecticut Realty said on its Web site that
a month's security deposit is usually required along with
the first and last month's rent. However, some landlords advertise
that the security deposit is actually two months' rent.
Hillary
Carey, 26, moved from Boston to Bridgeport in January, to
start a new job with Pitney Bowes, and agreed that the security
deposit seemed pretty steep. She and her fiance found a one-bedroom
apartment in the Black Rock section of the city for $1,200
per month.
"It
was huge," Carey said of the security and two months
of rent she had to come up with when she took the apartment.
"Most of my signing bonus went to it."
Unlike,
Byrd, Carey is just starting her career, having graduated
with a master's degree in 2003. Before moving here, she was
working in Boston, also an expensive place to live.
It took
her two months to find a place to live, she said. But Carey
said she enjoys living here. She lives in an apartment near
the water, something she would never have been able to afford
in Boston.
Another
thing she likes about living in Bridgeport is that the region
offers things to do for younger people. She said when she
first got here, she would take trips into New York City, but
now she is finding that there are more things to do in Bridgeport.
Both women
were fortunate, because Pitney Bowes provides relocation services.
They said one of their major concerns was finding a good place
to live in a nice neighborhood, but they didn't have any real
knowledge of the area.
The challenge
is even tougher for blue-collar workers.
Rodney,
who didn't give his last name, said he recently landed a job
as a cabinetmaker in the area and is trying to find an apartment.
He said he is going through a divorce.
Like Carey
and Byrd, he said prices are high, but he also said it's difficult
to find a place because a lot of landlords aren't available
to show their apartments when he has time to look after work.
His problem is compounded by the fact that he also has to
pick up the kids.
A recruiting
nightmare
Sandy Beck-Lemekha has spent 23 years working in Pitney Bowes'
relocation department, and she said the area's apartment prices
and availability can affect recruitment.
She said
there have been people who were thinking of taking a job at
one of the Connecticut offices of Pitney Bowes who, after
looking around at the housing market decided not to come here.
"[They
say] I can't take this job because I can't afford to live
here," Beck-Lemekha said.
It's especially
hard for her company's Stamford office to bring in new hires
because often people have to live far away from the office
in order to get an affordable apartment.
She said
this adds to their commute time and their daily expenses as
they pay money for gas or the train.
Beck-Lemekha
said the No. 1 problem is affordability, followed by availability.
Her office handles relocations for Pitney Bowes employees
all over the country, she said, adding that besides Connecticut,
California is a tough place to find affordable housing as
well.
The problem
is not lost on SACIA, the Business Council of Southwestern
Connecticut, and other regional organizations.
Christopher
Bruhl, president and chief executive officer of SACIA, identified
the lack of affordable housing in the region as a major concern
for businesses during the organization's annual report on
business trends.
Average
rents for Fairfield County are highest in the Stamford area
and lowest in the Bridgeport area, according to SACIA. Rents
for one-bedroom or studio apartments in Bridgeport generally
start at $600 per month. In Stamford, the same sized apartment
starts at $950 per month.
But Bruhl
noted that property values have been skyrocketing in Bridgeport,
and this may present future problems for the market.
Most renters
and business people identify available stock as one of the
main culprits for the high prices.
Joan Carty,
executive director of the Housing Development Fund, said the
lack of affordable housing is affecting a broader number of
residents than in the past. HDF is a housing advocacy group
that offers loans to companies that are rehabilitating, or
building new multihousing structures in the area.
She said
seniors on fixed incomes and the poor have been struggling
with this problem for years, but with rising prices it is
now becoming a problem for the middle class.
Most housing
professionals and economists say that only 25 percent to 30
percent of a person's monthly income should be used to pay
for rent. With prices as they are, this rule is harder and
harder to follow, especially as other costs have continued
to go up, including health care and energy, she said.
Carty
said some of the main hurdles for building more apartments
are the cost and time it takes to get approvals.
Unlike
in other areas of the country, developers have a lot of hoops
to jump through in order to get a project through the various
boards and commissions. It can take several years to maneuver
through the process, she said.
She said
that's why her organization is providing loans to companies
to help apartment projects get off the ground.
Despite
these hurdles, there is tremendous interest in building more
apartments in the area. In the last year, developers have
proposed several projects in Shelton and Bridgeport that would
create more than 500 new apartments in the area. In Stamford
and Norwalk, development projects there have also included
provisions for new apartments.
But just
building more apartments may not be enough to drop rental
prices, according to landlords.
A cost
crunch
Beverly Scala, who owns apartments in Derby, said she used
to get $1,000 a month from renters, but now she has cut it
to $700.
"I
can't go any lower than $700," she said because she pays
$5,000 a year in taxes.
At 73
years old, Scala said the rent money is the only income she
really has, and with taxes and other expenses she is barely
getting by. On top of that, she said she has to make repairs
to the building that she may not be able to afford.
"So
what am I supposed to do?" she said.
Many landlords
complained about the tax rates and how that keeps rents high.
Others
complained that they had trouble finding tenants who could
afford the rents, despite having plenty of interest when they
have available apartments.
Most landlords
now require a credit check and proof of earnings before they
will sign a lease, according to Rentnet.
But ultimately,
they say that rents are also high because that is what the
market will bear.
Aurora
Leigh, who works as an agent for Fairfield-based First National
Development, said good apartments in the area don't stay vacant
long.
First
National owns and operates the Golden Hill Apartments in Bridgeport,
which were recently renovated. A single bedroom apartment
at Golden Hill rents for $750 a month.
Leigh
said the complex had three vacancies last month, but one was
already filled and she didn't expect the others to stay vacant
for long.
She said
another problem that limits availability in the area is the
fact that people don't leave apartments once they find ones
they like.
At Golden
Hill, the apartments are 90 percent full year-round, she said.
But Leigh
is sympathetic to people trying to find an apartment. She
only started working for First National after she began renting
one of the Golden Hill apartments more than a year ago.
She said
she almost took an apartment in Fairfield that cost $1,050
per month before finding Golden Hill. She said her choices
were very limited because of the conditions of many apartments
in the area.
"You
wouldn't believe it," she said. "Twenty-year-old
carpets. Twenty-year-old paint. Thirty-year-old kitchens."
Ultimately,
Leigh summed up the thoughts of many apartment hunters.
"It's
not easy to find an apartment in Bridgeport," she said,
but she might have been talking about any community in the
region.
Rob
Varnon, who covers business, can be reached at 330-6216.
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