Can afford to BUY * Can't qualify to RENT
It's happening * in the relm of area real estate, area list prices have dropped so that some would-be tenants can actually afford to BUY an area home; but their credit, employment history or income are not sufficient to qualify them to lease a rental home.
Military families (officers) coming in have more than sufficient salary/wages and housing allowance to rent homes in the $1,800 to $2,200/month rent range....a family who has rented in the area for a year with only his income and a CAT and who qualify for a $400,000 ($350,000 mortgage) home purchase do NOT qualify for the same rental homes.
Even with raising my rents, incoming rental applicants are better qualified BECAUSE they do not want to buy. They want to rent for the 2 or 3 years they are in the area in grad school, medical school, building the new addition to the UVa Medical Center or on assignment.
It is not that the area sales market is so terrible * there are loads of nice, desirable homes on the market * the reality is they don't want to be tied down to having to sell a home in two or three years.
These rental prospects are asking if the property they are interested in is going to be for sale and they are asking for 2 or 3 year leases upfront which my investor clients are happy to accomodate with a rental increase for the third year. Renting from owner who may want to sell in a year is not appealing to these would-be tenants so they quickly bypass our local MLS rental section and are making inquiries of area property management firms.
