Time to vent for a bit.
An interesting phenomenon has occurred in just the past couple of years….the number of people nationwide who are renting their homes has dropped off a cliff. It used to be possible to pick a community where you might want to relocate, log onto Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia or Hotpads…put in parameters (unfurnished, pets accepted, recently remodeled, etc.) and find a really good, or at least decent, selection of rental properties from which to choose. No longer. Game over….at least as far as sun belt/retirement communities are concerned.
Two years ago in Grass Valley, CA….we had literally three homes to check out. In the nicer areas of Scottsdale/Fountain Hills, we maybe had six. And no….I’m not exaggerating. In each case, we grabbed the only property that met our check list and felt extremely lucky to have cleared the very restrictive application process (another story for another time). Now that we are back in Florida….it’s Deja Vu all over again (what a great quote from Yogi Berra). In New Smyrna Beach, there are four homes to choose from…and only one is in what we would consider above average condition in an above average neighborhood…and it’s $4,500/month. Nope, that won’t happen.
We are now working practically 24/7 to find a long term rental in Fernandina Beach. There is a grand total of three homes to choose from. THREE! When we call the property managers (and if you are really lucky they might actually answer or return your call), you find out that within hours of a listing going online, the home has already been rented and as a backup….they have up to 20 other offers “just in case”. Translation….they are currently sifting through all the offers looking for the perfect renters….those with no kids, no dogs, no schedule, no “stuff’ to store, one car, etc. This is the reality of it…and you have absolutely nothing to say about it, unless you can prove some form of racial discrimination. Good luck with that.
is VRBO to blame? Is Airbnb to blame? Are renters who trash homes to blame? Perhaps new tax laws that reduce the write offs typically associated with owning rental properties are to blame? Who knows….it’s perhaps all of the above. I suspect even changing demographics….many of the homeowners who used to rent their properties are now too old and have had to sell them….is also a factor. One thing is for sure…if you’re looking at a community where you might want to live and you want to rent a home before you buy (as in our case)….you’re in for a very frustrating search. I would offer a hearty “Good luck”…but you’re going to need a lot more than luck.
As I write this, Claudia and I are waiting to hear back from a property manager in Fernandina Beach. I don’t hold out much hope. After all…we have a dog (and I wouldn’t trade him for a thousand properties). And so, once again, we are looking farther up the coast at the Charleston/Mt Pleasant area, simply because it is a vibrant, growing area with many new apartments and condominium developments being built to house the young families moving to the area to join Boeing, BMW, Bosch, Mercedes, Verizon, etc. Many of these new communities offer reasonable rents, great contemporary styles, flexible floor plans, built-in gyms, multiple pools, community rooms, covered parking, are dog-friendly and close to lots of amenities….spoiler alert….the very things that most normal people want in a home/area. Genius! Growing communities can afford to build these, but older communities that don’t have the influx of new employers and new workers simply cannot and are being left behind (Melbourne, for example).
That’s it for now. Stay tuned….and wish us luck. We need it.
Cheers,
Wayne, Claudia and Tuck