Home no more: Dickinson couple, whose rent more than doubled, leaving town after 11 years
June 15, 2012 at 3:27 am in Grand Forks Herald
A sign that reads, “Raised rent from $750 to $2,000″ on one side, and “Greed one of the seven deadly sins” staked in front of a small house on Second Avenue East caught the attention of many passersby Thursday. Continue Reading
Rental hikes this extreme should be illegal, and they are in many states and jurisdictions throughout the country. Or there should be regulations such as a minimal notice of 6 months of any rental hike of more than 20 percent. The landlord is a jerk – 30 days notice? What a bunch of crap. I wish the family well that has to deal with this.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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That is what we need more government regulations.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Tough deal. The rent was raised on friends of mine in Grand Forks. It forced them to move, only to find out that the landlord’s kid moved in after they left.
Landlords have lots of dirty tricks. But, the rights of tenants and property owners need to be weighed carefully. The rights of the tenant need to be spelled out in their lease, and if the protections are insufficient, they should negotiate or look elsewhere. If I NEEDED to sell an unprotected property, I would not be to happy about having to wait 6 months. In fact, I know many landlords just get creative when faced with waiting periods or even leases that are in force. A few other dirty tricks, and the tenants are essentially forced to leave or sue the landlord. Lawsuits are prohibitively expensive. Those are the landlords that are jerks, and we have some right here in River City.
I doubt this was an easy decision for a 75 year old who has known these renters for 11 years, and I bet there is more to the story than just greed.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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No there isn’t.
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As a landlord let me just list of those dirty trick tenants have done. Let me just list some, cat urine in carpet in a no pet housing, had to replace it all, people booking owing 3 months back rent with a house full of furniture that I am required to hold in storage for 1 month. Abandoned cars, holes punched in walls, police calls in the middle of night, copper ripped out by tenants before leaving. Countless of people skipping out the last month rent. So landlords are always the villains. Tenants are perfect
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Yes…I’d never want to own rental property for many of those same reasons. On the other hand there’s plenty of people who could tick off a list of nasty things some landlords have done too. This isn’t really about any of that. It’s about any boom town out pricing those who were there prior to the booms.
I’m not really sure what the solution is because on one hand I can see where landlords should be able to get what trhe current market will bare, but on the other hand those who aren’t involved in the boom who have roots in the town shouldn’t just get driven out either. The last boom did have some help in that city keeping some housing down because FMHA built a lot of houses that went for a fair market price at the time. So the housing crunch wan’t quite as bad back then and rent didn’t get anywhere near as crazy either. Depending where you lived maybe one or two hundred dollar increase at the time. I worked for the city and was able to afford rent with no real hassle. I’m guessing such wage levels today would have a real difficult time.
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Even the renters said that they weren’t blaming the landlord. He’s just trying to cash in on the oil boom while he can. In a few years landlords in oil patch will have trouble even finding tenants.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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“What goes around comes around”.
When the boom goes bust, people will remember this kind of treatment.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Thank you God for giving this headache to Western ND and not Eastern ND. They can have their oil and all the troubles that come with it.
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God has nothing to do with it! Like the eastern part of the state doesn’t have its own share of headaches! So your comment is a little narrow minded!
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And when the oil boom goes bust just think of all the people who will head to Grand Forks to partake in its welfare programs.
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No cap….Just like last time…When the boom busts everyone heads back to where they’re from because once the oil is shut off there’s really nothing much left for jobs out there. And just like last time all those landlords, and all those store owners who lose customers to people running to the capital for supplies because it’s cheaper to pay to run 100 miles then to shop locally…….Will be pleading with the original residents to shop in their town, and to rent from them……..It made me sick to hear these horses arses whine about having a hard time after literally gouging the locals who weren’t involved with the oil the last time.
Cap…You’ve brought up a time or two about how AK shares the wealth when it comes to the oil…..If anyone whould get a share of that wealth out there it’s those who were residents before the boom who weren’t involved with the oil companies prior to the boom and are not during the boom. The cost of living even without higher rent goes up and up during the boom. Long time residents should get some type of cost of living stipend just so they can make it whe prices are raised for the higher wages that everyone outside of the oil field isn’t sharing. But I suppose you’d consider that welfare….I’d consider it acting fair for those who get surrounded by the whirlpool of an oil boom and might get sucked under without a bit of help.
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