Reluctant Landlords Better Off Selling…Even at a Loss

Renting out a home is dicey proposition these days. In the Journal Thursday I spoke with a number of homeowners who were forced to move for a variety of reasons, but who have decided to rent out rather than sell their homes. Some couldn’t sell; others didn’t want to lower the asking price. For many, becoming landlords has been a losing proposition.

One reason: The glut of rental housing on the market. It seems counterintuitive, but some communities with depressed housing sales also have high rental vacancy rates and falling rents, particularly in areas where foreclosed homes and condos have been turned into rental property.

For one thing, just because fewer people are buying homes doesn’t automatically mean more people are renting in every area. “When you have a bad economy, you have consolidation of households and fewer households,” explains Mike Nelson, current president of the National Association of Residential Property Managers. “People move back with their parents and people who would have lived alone take in roommates, anything to reduce financial obligations. There might be more tenants, but there are fewer leases because they are getting together,” he says.

Then there’s the competition from investors who’ve been snapping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices and renting them out, too, prepared to wait far longer for prices to rebound – perhaps a decade or more if necessary. Because they purchased the houses so much more cheaply, they can afford to charge lower rents, often undercutting the individual owner of a pricey house.

That is why so many experts we interviewed are urging sellers to become more realistic about pricing their homes for sale in the first place, based on current market values, not what a neighbor received for his house a few years ago. They say that for many sellers, it’s a better course of action than relying on rental income to wait out the market.


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Fake Buyers Attack Man Selling House

A couple that approached a man in front of his Glendale house and inquired about buying his house later attacked and robbed him, Glendale police said.

The homeowner, who asked to not be identified for safety reasons, is trying to sell the house. It’s located right near the Glendale-Phoenix border.

He does not live at the house but was working in the front yard about a week and a half ago when the couple approached him and asked about the house.

He referred them to the real estate agent on the "for sale" sign in front of the house. They continued talking to him, though, and eventually he relented and agreed to show them the inside of the house.Once inside, he said the woman from the couple asked about something on the ground. When the homeowner bent over to look, he said the man from the couple attacked him.

“He ran at me from behind and hit me as hard as he could,” the homeowner said. “Split my ear open. Hit me three or four more times. By that time, I was down.”

The man continued to kick the homeowner. He also broke the homeowner’s cell phone, stole about $75 in cash and took credit cards. The homeowner refused to give the attacker the pin number to his credit cards, so the attacker left them.

The couple got away. Glendale police are still looking for them and investigating. The homeowner suffered severely bruised ribs and a lacerated ear.

“It’s a crime of opportunity,” the homeowner said. “I was standing there. It’s an open door. (They thought) maybe we can clean this guy out.”

Glendale police say there are multiple things to be learned from the situation.

First of all, when approached by the couple in his yard, the homeowner should have stuck his original idea, which was referring the couple to the real estate agent. Police suggest never letting strangers into your house.

If the prospective buyer calls you and wants to make an appointment to see your house, Glendale police recommend initially meeting somewhere other than the house.

They think meeting at your office might be a good alternative. Once there, ask to make a copy of the person’s driver’s license. You should also introduce the prospective buyers to a few co-workers.

“We feel it would be much less likely for them to commit a crime against you if they feel they might be recognized,” said officer Karen Gerardo, with the Glendale Police Department.


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