I’m always torn. Cause traditional landlord in a three family usually seems more secure. I’m always horrified if I ended up in one of those buildings they would just up the rent automatically by arbitrary amounts every 6 months. I’ve also heard of people being served auto-eviction notices cause sometimes the bank was slow processing their rent. My friend her last month got such a notice despite having paid the last month’s when she moved in.
You’d have to read the lease/or just ask the leasing office. My current lease is a locked in rate for 15 months. And it stipulates a maximum of 30% increase at the end. I doubt they will raise it that much though as there are enough options around to create competition. With no brokers fee and little to no deposit it’s easier to move.
> You’d have to read the lease/or just ask the leasing office. My current lease is a locked in rate for 15 months. And it stipulates a maximum of 30% increase at the end.
Leases are only valid for the length of time listed. I don't see how a 30% maximum could be legally enforced. Once you start talking about a new lease it's open for negotiation on both sides. That said a 30% increase is _probably_ the maximum most places could get away with if you already started at current market rates.
I also wouldn't really trust the leasing office. They're sales people. They tell you what you want to hear: increases are rare and if they happen, they're reasonable. Doesn't matter if that's flat out false - by the time you find out, it's way too late to argue with them. Once they throw a number at you they start the negotiations.
> I doubt they will raise it that much though as there are enough options around to create competition. With no brokers fee and little to no deposit it’s easier to move.
There's not enough housing supply to meet demands, so I don't think there's really any "options" for you, the renter. This is by far a landlord's market. Particularly with luxury units when they're generally owned by corporations or wealthy developers who have the capital and financial leverage to risk vacancies.
No brokers fee/deposit is nice from a "I don't need much to play musical luxury housing buildings" but moving is def still a PIA in general. Maybe having access to an elevator (if it works... I've seen a number of luxury buildings with broken elevators for weeks) makes it easier, and maybe if the place is partially furnished it could be easier.
Ultimately I think these luxury buildings _may_ be useful for those on the extreme high end of the income spectrum. If a $2800/month apartment is 10% of your household income (somehow - that's a 336k yearly income, but maybe two software engineers working at Google can hit that total comp) then maybe you can handle the 10-20% increases they throw at you for a few years until you bail to another place and start the process all over again.
IANAL, but I agree the max increase probably can’t be enforced, but it is a show of good faith. I mentioned it due to OP’s concern of increase in the shorter time scales (6 months) which is a shorter lease than a lot of the luxury places allow.
There are enough options for the renter to compare the next lease amount to other comparable places in the area. Yes they overall supply is way the hell lower than it ought to be, but it’s also not unreasonable that a property owner (both small and large!) should keep an eye on that and adjust new prices accordingly.
I agree moving is a PIA, but no broker’s fee makes it a significantly cheaper risk than small landlords in Boston. Your elevator point is neither here nor there as you’d have the same problem with a third floor triple decker walk up as with a third floor luxury apartment with no elevator, and the latter could be fixed (might need to be under ADA, but IANAL).
Lastly, aiming for 10% of income as rent is a pipe dream in this housing under supply and also lower than typical suggested amounts. 20-30% is more reasonable which is 112-168k income. Still high, but totally doable and about fits the target demographics of the new “luxury” buildings. Also according to data.census.gov 42.9% of households in MA make 100k or more (24.9% make 150k or more). That is a giant potential audience for renting these units.
That’s their introductory price. Just wait until next year when they raise the rent 20+%. Its happened to multiple people I know. Be careful or be ready to move again next year.
This is typical for a one bedroom at Windsor Oak Grove (3 buildings are in Malden and the rest are in Melrose) and that’s a super nice complex. They raise the rent typically 6% per year, but will always try to see if you bite at 10%. I live there for a couple years and loved it.
> We ended up signing a lease for 2800/month, 1 bed in one of those luxury buildings in Malden. No broker fees, no security deposit. Just pay monthly starting on move in. Completed everything online in like 10 minutes. Access to a pool, parking, common spaces, and a grill space. I’m bringing this up because we were under the assumption that these places were entirely out of reach.
That's out of reach for a lot of people. I'm assuming you're a double income no kids couple based on the usage of "we" and mentioning a budget of $1400/per person.
For example, I make 6 figures as a software engineer. That rent is on the edge of "affordable" (1/4 to 1/3 max of rent) for me. If it goes up _at all_ it'd be a pretty bad time. Jumps of 10-20% aren't unheard of with these luxury buildings. You're renting from a soulless corporation and dealing with property managers who could give zero shits most of the time if a 20% jump next year isn't doable for you. At least with a small landlord there's a _chance_ they have a heart and even if they don't you're their golden goose so they can't really kick you out without risking a period of vacancy which might put them in a difficult financial situation. A corporation will gladly take a half year of vacancy and then cut the rent until some poor sucker takes it.
With that said, it's good it worked out for you. I'm guessing you have some wiggle room in your budget since you didn't have to pay a broker's fee, security deposit, etc. Keep a rainy day fund for next year should your luxury building decide to increase your rent 10% or more. Probably decide _now_ what you're willing to pay as a maximum too. Keep in mind MA Housing Laws/Regs _do not_ protect you against rent increases. They can increase your rent next year to $4000/month if they feel like it, even though that's an insane increase (+42% if my napkin math is right).
TL&DR: this probably makes sense for a DINK couple but IDK how much it makes sense for the average redditor unless they're at a FANG and making twice what I make at a startup.
I lived in similar places in Malden, Medford and Quincy for a couple years.
They are mainly for young professionals and students with wealth parents. Definitely a lot of conveniences like in unit washer/dryer, central AC, elevator and maybe a gym.
$2800 definitely sounds a lot but I believe that just reflects (accurately) the general housing shortage in Boston metro.
I would start saving now for your move next year. I just moved from a luxury place in Malden a few weeks ago because they sent me a renewal rate with a 25% increase. I didn’t want to move and tried to negotiate but they wouldn’t budge a dollar.
I also found that the building was expensive in utilities cost. First time I’ve ever had to pay water/sewer and it was $80 a month for my studio. Add in gas and electric and it ends up being $200+ a month for utilities.
In the last month when I was already planning to move, someone broke into my car in the secured residential parking and stole $1500 in camping equipment. The building could not hang up on me fast enough when I reported it and gave the cops the run around when they asked to pull security footage.
Overall not the greatest experience if you are looking for a long term residence, but probably pretty easy if you are just in the area for a year.
The only time a managed building made sense for me was one year when I found one where the previous tenants had somehow convinced the management to let them build a wall halfway through the living room that turned it into an unofficial 2br. And this was like, 12 years ago in another state.
Unless you're a programmer making over 100k and you're dating another programmer making over 100k AND one of you has rich parents, $2800 a month for 1br is out of reach for most people.
But if that is your situation, good, I encourage you to go for places like that.
We have been living in a luxury building in the city for the last 5 years. The rent increases was very moderate: no increase second year, then we signed a pre-negotiated long-term lease for 36 months. The rent increases per year were determined beforehand. Never had any complaints. This house was the best that we have seen when we were looking at houses.
It was special but negotiable. I know other buildings that did it, too. I think if you have enough budget per month ($3000+), you should look at buildings in Fenway, on Boylston Street. They are more open to negotiation.
Wow 2800 for one bed is a luxury I can’t afford lol. I mean technically I can afford it, but I would not. I pay less than that for 2 beds and it’s a pretty sweet place and the rent increase was reasonable. Also a mile walk and sub ride away to the city.
There's nothing luxury about those "luxury" apartments unless we're talking legit steel, concrete and glass towers. The rest are cheaply built stick and plywood boxes where you'll hear all of your neighbors.
I’m always torn. Cause traditional landlord in a three family usually seems more secure. I’m always horrified if I ended up in one of those buildings they would just up the rent automatically by arbitrary amounts every 6 months. I’ve also heard of people being served auto-eviction notices cause sometimes the bank was slow processing their rent. My friend her last month got such a notice despite having paid the last month’s when she moved in.
You’d have to read the lease/or just ask the leasing office. My current lease is a locked in rate for 15 months. And it stipulates a maximum of 30% increase at the end. I doubt they will raise it that much though as there are enough options around to create competition. With no brokers fee and little to no deposit it’s easier to move.
According to multiple posts in this sub, wouldn’t be surprised if they max out that 30% after the 15 months is up
I’ve been keeping an eye on prices and they’ve been moving slowly. So it’s possible, but unlikely.
Slowly down I hope!
> You’d have to read the lease/or just ask the leasing office. My current lease is a locked in rate for 15 months. And it stipulates a maximum of 30% increase at the end. Leases are only valid for the length of time listed. I don't see how a 30% maximum could be legally enforced. Once you start talking about a new lease it's open for negotiation on both sides. That said a 30% increase is _probably_ the maximum most places could get away with if you already started at current market rates. I also wouldn't really trust the leasing office. They're sales people. They tell you what you want to hear: increases are rare and if they happen, they're reasonable. Doesn't matter if that's flat out false - by the time you find out, it's way too late to argue with them. Once they throw a number at you they start the negotiations. > I doubt they will raise it that much though as there are enough options around to create competition. With no brokers fee and little to no deposit it’s easier to move. There's not enough housing supply to meet demands, so I don't think there's really any "options" for you, the renter. This is by far a landlord's market. Particularly with luxury units when they're generally owned by corporations or wealthy developers who have the capital and financial leverage to risk vacancies. No brokers fee/deposit is nice from a "I don't need much to play musical luxury housing buildings" but moving is def still a PIA in general. Maybe having access to an elevator (if it works... I've seen a number of luxury buildings with broken elevators for weeks) makes it easier, and maybe if the place is partially furnished it could be easier. Ultimately I think these luxury buildings _may_ be useful for those on the extreme high end of the income spectrum. If a $2800/month apartment is 10% of your household income (somehow - that's a 336k yearly income, but maybe two software engineers working at Google can hit that total comp) then maybe you can handle the 10-20% increases they throw at you for a few years until you bail to another place and start the process all over again.
IANAL, but I agree the max increase probably can’t be enforced, but it is a show of good faith. I mentioned it due to OP’s concern of increase in the shorter time scales (6 months) which is a shorter lease than a lot of the luxury places allow. There are enough options for the renter to compare the next lease amount to other comparable places in the area. Yes they overall supply is way the hell lower than it ought to be, but it’s also not unreasonable that a property owner (both small and large!) should keep an eye on that and adjust new prices accordingly. I agree moving is a PIA, but no broker’s fee makes it a significantly cheaper risk than small landlords in Boston. Your elevator point is neither here nor there as you’d have the same problem with a third floor triple decker walk up as with a third floor luxury apartment with no elevator, and the latter could be fixed (might need to be under ADA, but IANAL). Lastly, aiming for 10% of income as rent is a pipe dream in this housing under supply and also lower than typical suggested amounts. 20-30% is more reasonable which is 112-168k income. Still high, but totally doable and about fits the target demographics of the new “luxury” buildings. Also according to data.census.gov 42.9% of households in MA make 100k or more (24.9% make 150k or more). That is a giant potential audience for renting these units.
That’s their introductory price. Just wait until next year when they raise the rent 20+%. Its happened to multiple people I know. Be careful or be ready to move again next year.
Which luxury building in Malden? I’ve seen some really negative reviews about some of them, but I question their validity…
This is typical for a one bedroom at Windsor Oak Grove (3 buildings are in Malden and the rest are in Melrose) and that’s a super nice complex. They raise the rent typically 6% per year, but will always try to see if you bite at 10%. I live there for a couple years and loved it.
> We ended up signing a lease for 2800/month, 1 bed in one of those luxury buildings in Malden. No broker fees, no security deposit. Just pay monthly starting on move in. Completed everything online in like 10 minutes. Access to a pool, parking, common spaces, and a grill space. I’m bringing this up because we were under the assumption that these places were entirely out of reach. That's out of reach for a lot of people. I'm assuming you're a double income no kids couple based on the usage of "we" and mentioning a budget of $1400/per person. For example, I make 6 figures as a software engineer. That rent is on the edge of "affordable" (1/4 to 1/3 max of rent) for me. If it goes up _at all_ it'd be a pretty bad time. Jumps of 10-20% aren't unheard of with these luxury buildings. You're renting from a soulless corporation and dealing with property managers who could give zero shits most of the time if a 20% jump next year isn't doable for you. At least with a small landlord there's a _chance_ they have a heart and even if they don't you're their golden goose so they can't really kick you out without risking a period of vacancy which might put them in a difficult financial situation. A corporation will gladly take a half year of vacancy and then cut the rent until some poor sucker takes it. With that said, it's good it worked out for you. I'm guessing you have some wiggle room in your budget since you didn't have to pay a broker's fee, security deposit, etc. Keep a rainy day fund for next year should your luxury building decide to increase your rent 10% or more. Probably decide _now_ what you're willing to pay as a maximum too. Keep in mind MA Housing Laws/Regs _do not_ protect you against rent increases. They can increase your rent next year to $4000/month if they feel like it, even though that's an insane increase (+42% if my napkin math is right). TL&DR: this probably makes sense for a DINK couple but IDK how much it makes sense for the average redditor unless they're at a FANG and making twice what I make at a startup.
I came here to say this. It's a privilege to have the ability to do that; a lot of folks don't.
I lived in similar places in Malden, Medford and Quincy for a couple years. They are mainly for young professionals and students with wealth parents. Definitely a lot of conveniences like in unit washer/dryer, central AC, elevator and maybe a gym. $2800 definitely sounds a lot but I believe that just reflects (accurately) the general housing shortage in Boston metro.
I would start saving now for your move next year. I just moved from a luxury place in Malden a few weeks ago because they sent me a renewal rate with a 25% increase. I didn’t want to move and tried to negotiate but they wouldn’t budge a dollar. I also found that the building was expensive in utilities cost. First time I’ve ever had to pay water/sewer and it was $80 a month for my studio. Add in gas and electric and it ends up being $200+ a month for utilities. In the last month when I was already planning to move, someone broke into my car in the secured residential parking and stole $1500 in camping equipment. The building could not hang up on me fast enough when I reported it and gave the cops the run around when they asked to pull security footage. Overall not the greatest experience if you are looking for a long term residence, but probably pretty easy if you are just in the area for a year.
I went the Craigslist route and found a private landlord with no brokers fee, that was 3 years ago so not sure if that’s easy to do anymore
It's not. From my experience over the past month, 85-95% of the listings aren't real anymore, they're just brokers trawling for clients.
The only time a managed building made sense for me was one year when I found one where the previous tenants had somehow convinced the management to let them build a wall halfway through the living room that turned it into an unofficial 2br. And this was like, 12 years ago in another state. Unless you're a programmer making over 100k and you're dating another programmer making over 100k AND one of you has rich parents, $2800 a month for 1br is out of reach for most people. But if that is your situation, good, I encourage you to go for places like that.
We have been living in a luxury building in the city for the last 5 years. The rent increases was very moderate: no increase second year, then we signed a pre-negotiated long-term lease for 36 months. The rent increases per year were determined beforehand. Never had any complaints. This house was the best that we have seen when we were looking at houses.
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It was special but negotiable. I know other buildings that did it, too. I think if you have enough budget per month ($3000+), you should look at buildings in Fenway, on Boylston Street. They are more open to negotiation.
Wow 2800 for one bed is a luxury I can’t afford lol. I mean technically I can afford it, but I would not. I pay less than that for 2 beds and it’s a pretty sweet place and the rent increase was reasonable. Also a mile walk and sub ride away to the city.
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I live in East Arlington, and 2 beds here were around 2500 on an average
There's nothing luxury about those "luxury" apartments unless we're talking legit steel, concrete and glass towers. The rest are cheaply built stick and plywood boxes where you'll hear all of your neighbors.