Our lease is ending on our apartment and we had every intention on renewing until we received this notice in our door about a raise in rent. Please enjoy it thoroughly and then enjoy my response.
It's that time of year again to renew your lease with us. We would like to give you the opportunity to renew your lease. We have enjoyed having you as one of our residents and would love for you to stay with us for another lease term! Keep in mind that we would need a 60 day notice if you intend to leave. Here is your new rate if you are interested in renewing:Current rent: $940 New rent: $965-$985 depending on length of lease
Why move when you can renew?Did you know the high cost of moving in today's world? We have assembled some important information on moving costs, apartment fees and other monies you might accrue during your move. Here is a break down of what we found.
Cost to rent a moving truck..........$175 average for 4 hours!
Cost of gas for the moving truck.....$65
Cost to transfer utilities...........$150
Cost to buy supplies (boxes, tape, bubble wrap)......$200
Deposit for another apartment...........$230-$430
Administration fees.............$225-$300
Application fees..........$50-$65
Pet fees..................$200Not to mention the hassle of changing your address, schools, additional toll monies for transportation, additional gas money, changing forms for work and school, deposits for utilities and most importantly taking time off of work or school to make the move!
So why move when you can save hundreds of dollars, maybe even thousands by staying right here in your home!
We look forward to preparing your new lease ASAP!
And now, my response to them...
Management,You have recently informed us that you would like us to renew our lease at a raised rate. Though we were planning on renewing our lease, we do not feel that an increase in our rent is justified. The $940 that we are currently paying, that our rent was raised to the last time we renewed, is the highest one bedroom rent we've seen in the area.
In the past few months we have referred two different people to your complex who toured the grounds but decided the apartments were overpriced.
Yet there are three units in our corridor that have been and still are vacant. The one directly below us has been empty for two months now, around an $1800 loss for the complex. The apartment across from us has been empty for ten days, for about the cost that you would like to raise our rent through the duration of a twelve month lease.
As loyal tenants to the tune of $27,000 in rent paid, we took your "renewal offer" letter as a slap in the face. It began with how much our rent will be raised and then spent the entire rest of the page detailing how much more expensive it would be for us to move out. To imply that you are saving us money by charging us more is not only incorrect but downright rude. You do not have us trapped here, paying whatever you wish us to pay, just because of the expenses incurred in a move.
However, your breakdown of moving costs intrigued us, so we went looking for a new apartment and crunched the actual expenses of a move. What we found was a two bedroom apartment with 140 more square feet within three miles of here for $910 a month, first month free.
Security deposit: $200
Pet deposit: $150
Utility deposits: $0 (good credit)
U-Haul Rental: $39.99
Gas: $10 - $30
Moving Boxes and Tape $10 (boxes are free in many places, you know)With the free month's rent we will save more than $500 the day we move in and an additional $660 in twelve months, compared to the rate that you've proposed.
We are not trying to rub these numbers in your face, but merely satirizing the letter that you gave us. We are quite happy living here, but do know our options and looking at the numbers above, over $1000 saved doesn't sound so bad for three or four days work.
If you keep our rent at the current rate of $940, we'll consider a 7 month renewal. If you give us the first month of our new lease free we'll sign a 12 month renewal at your new rate of $965 tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Christian and Elise Stella
