Yes, it’s par for the course in this area, especially lease renewals in the summer. I try to sign or renew my leases in the late fall or winter when I time it out.
Apparently, everyone in this building is getting renewal letters 5 months in advance. They speculate that it’s paying for the remodeled lobby- but that hasn’t even begun yet.
Remind them that they are in a lawsuit for colluding with other management companies in DC and Alexandria to overinflated rent. The let them know that lawyers and the media would love to hear about a 12.5% hike. Also, rent increases at other Bozzutto properties in Alexandria aren’t nearly that high right now.
Yeah. Worked for me too. It’s amazing how many people don’t even try to negotiate. It’s a contract you both have to sign. Until those signatures are submitted, everything is negotiable.
They include stupid things in there too. One was supposed to be a clause saying that if they took pictures around the building that they were allowed to post them to social media or use them for marketing. But the clause actually read that they full out owned your likeness in perpetuity, not restricted to pictures taken by them or even while you lived there. They just own your image fully and forever. It likely wouldn’t stand up in court, but I redlined the hell out of that contract. And they had to get it approved by higher ups, but didn’t fight me on a single thing.
This year my rent went up less than 4%.
First, I announced my intentions by telling them that I was very interested in renewing my lease, but had a few concerns that I would like to address before signed the documents.
Then I laid out some concerns I had about the building. It’s usually easy to find a couple of small areas where the building is letting things slip through the cracks.
Then I went line by line through the issues I had with the contract.
Then I said I’d like to discuss the financials before finalizing the agreement.
Then I went through what average prices were in the specific neighborhood for nearly identical properties. They countered with having to do whatever the software says. I mentioned the fact that they’re currently being sued in DC for using that software to inflate prices. Then I said that to reestablish trust, I would appreciate if they act in good faith and give me their best number. They had to “discuss this with their boss” and came back with something much lower than what they had offered and I accepted.
Just because the software they use is being investigated by the government doesn’t mean that they are guilty. Yieldstar is one of a few companies that provide yield management for property owners.
Simping for apartment management companies? Thats certainly a take. I know of multiple Bozzuto properties that are at least 20% over market value. And if you ask them about it, they say their hands are tied because of the software.
Either way, public opinion is not with them. And screwing residents over with unfair price hikes while being investigated for collusion around inflating prices is not a good look. They don’t want the bad press. Thats a strong negotiating chip for OP, regardless of whether they get found guilty or just pay a settlement with a provision that they don’t need to admit to their guilt.
It’s not about simping, it’s about reality. How old are you? Do you really think apartment owners exist to provide shelter at the least cost or the most profit? As for public opinion, people in the United States have never lived better and still they complain. Go visit China, Venezuela or Saudi Arabia and see how good you have it here.
Probably older than you. And having written contracts for a living, I know the tricks of the trade.
But to answer your question; yes, apartment owners are business owners and their sole purpose is to maximize profits. While small time property owners might be benevolent, large apartment buildings exist only for generating profit. If they could do that without residents, they would. And since you don’t seem to understand this market, allow me to explain it to you. There is the company that builds and owns the building. Then there is the company hired to manage the building. Both are businesses whose only goal is profit. Bozzuto is a property management firm. They run the day to day operations and deal directly with tenants. They don’t own the building, they’re just offering a service to the owners. But they are the ones who set up rent prices and all of the associated fees. Because they get a juicy cut of that money as they process it and send the remains to the building’s owner. Any way they can squeeze more money out of tenants directly lines their pockets. My garage isn’t full. But they upped the price to park there by $50 per month last year. There was no need for that, but they realized they could force resident to pay that and pocket the money.
Public opinion is a tool that those who have little can leverage against those that have a lot. Thats why companies freak out over online reviews. As the individual going against a massive corporation intent on taking your every last cent, it is not inappropriate to use this tool. They certainly use every tool at their disposal.
As for other countries, why does this matter? We are specifically talking about negotiating a contract with a local management company. “Think about the starving kids in Africa” might be a parental favorite to get kids to eat broccoli, but it has literally no bearing on this topic.
100% all of this. Property companies are fucking swindlers and the only way to get fair prices is to play hardball with them.
And yeah the strawmen are out in legion today haha
I get that and all, but that’s not Bozzuto being raided by the feds, let alone sued. It’s a defendant in a civil class action, but that’s not the feds either.
I just learned that TicketMaster actually negotiates a split on their fees with the artists. Artists can then look blameless when charging lower ticket prices picking up the difference on the fees.
>Ticketmaster is being pursued by the DOJ. Have those fees gone down?
I have slight hope that Ticketmaster is actually going to face real justice this time. Therefore, I think Ticketmaster is going "Welp, if I'm going down for this, I might as well try and grab all the money I can before I do."
I rented at a buzzuto apartment that was bought out by Elme. Oddly enough, im looking to move to Alexandria and considered the Asher until i heard about all the fire alarm nonsense. Thanks for keeping me away from them.
Also, id love to just find a private landlord and an older building. Fuck amenity fees, waiting for some guy to grab my package from a mail room, massive yearly increases, etc. im too simple a man for all this. The apartments at carlyle seem more of the same. Lord of Alexandria real estate, help a fella out
If you’d like a private landlord in an older building, I would recommend getting a realtor to connect you to one. I have a recommendation for one in the NoVa area if you’re interested.
My lease is up in October but im happy to start making a list of realtors to hit up later in the summer. Feel free to send over your recommendation's info, very interested
I used to live in one of the Paradigm properties in the Carlyle area. I actually negotiated my rent every year, even after they started giving me the algorithm nonsense. You absolutely will see your same floor plan listed for a cheaper rent and they will tell you they can’t match that price, but I never found the rent increase to be ridiculous. Not sure how the last few years have gone as I moved into a Bozzuto property in Alexandria. They don’t own it, only manage it. My rent increase last year was only about 2% but a little nervous about this year…
That's insanity. Very scary, I worry the day can come we won't be able to afford rent ... I tell husband at least we have 2 cars so it'll be like a 2 bedroom when we live in them.
The Dalton (Equity) raised ours 26% a few years back. We laughed at them and moved to a townhome down the street. It’s sadly not that uncommon out here.
They raised ours 10% in The Asher (we opted into renewal early so it saved us a little). Didn’t feel like leaving this year, but not planning to renew next year because of this.
I was just talking to my brother about this. During covid we rented a 2br in East Falls church for 2200 and got a month or two of free rent. The same complex is charging 2200 for a 1br.
Edit.
It’s also a bozzuto property
Falls Green? I too lived there. I got in a few years ago when rent wasn’t that bad. But I had a second kid and was told we had to upgrade to a 2BR (completely understand) but we opted to buy a home. Rather pay 3K mortgage than for rent.
Haha I was a maintenance guy there so I took advantage of the rent discount and even when I left the company I stayed there. The community was awesome and we didn’t want to leave, but again 3K mortgage > 3K rent.
If they would do a proper upzoning of the single family neighborhoods right next to Crystal City and allowed the lots to remain small we would be able to build *condos* instead of just apartments.
We lived at Meridian Braddock in a 2br for three years. We moved out in 2019. Including parking and pet rent, our total monthly cost was below $2,500. Our mortgage is cheaper than our rent was.
I can not imagine paying almost $500 more per month to live in that appointment. Though they apparently renovated it when we left.
Edit: just looked it up. $2237 was the last rent amount we paid for a two bedroom with parking and pet rent back in 2019.
I live in a Bozzuto apartment in Fairfax. They increased our rent by 10% last year. I tried talking to them on the phone and went to their office to get it reduced but they refused to negotiate. This is getting out of hand!
How did you get to a regional manager? I’ve tried calling their corporate number and all I got was my property manager to call me when I had issue with my neighbors above me.
Two years ago, across rent and fees they raised my rent nearly $500. It was about a 15 percent increase. Me and my partner were so taken back but hadn't made any plans to move under the notice we would have had to give. It fucking sucked.
Corporate landlords play game of chicken with their tenants at lease renewal. They’ll claim it’s a “market-based” adjustment but they know moving is expensive and a pain in the ass so they will use that to squeeze every last penny out of you.
That said, most of them are willing to negotiate (even the ones who claim they’re powerless and the rates are set by the system), you just have to play their game. It’s all about alternative analysis. If you can find a comparable unit in the same building being rented for cheaper (similar bedroom count, sq ft, floor, etc.) that is the best proof point, but finding one in a comparable building in the same neighborhood will work too. You just have to demonstrate to them that you have other options, for cheaper, and that they’ve overplayed their hand and you will move unless they come back with a more reasonable renewal offer. Good movers cost $500-1,000. So if you can find a comparable alternative that is at least $80/month cheaper your movers have paid for themselves, and anything more is money in your pocket.
For whatever it's worth, Bennett Park in Rosslyn raised my rent a good $150 and i pointed out they had an identical unit for $300 less than what i was currently paying. I was told im more than welcomed to move into that unit, and that they wont negotiate rent on my current one.
Go figure.
This is why I paid 5k to break my lease and buy in West Virginia. I paid 5k to break the lease but I saved 10k over that just by moving early from a HCOL area.
But you’re stuck commuting. It’s not an ugly drive for sure, but traffic around here is unbearable and only seems to get worse. Nothing in this area is worth the value you pay.
True - it’s about an hour each way. Gorgeous scenery for sure. I am an avid audio book consumer so I don’t mind the drive :) I just saw 1400 sq foot town homes for 800k in Fairfax. Insane!
I always loved the name Bozzuto, it’s just perfectly evil rent-controlling mafioso conglomerate sounding
Ayy pay your rent or Bozzuto properties might hear about it ayy
I’m so glad they’re as evil as they sounded in my head
We negotiated with Bozzuto. They offered like a 10% increase and ultimately we got a 3% increase and they replaced our windows as part of the deal too.
I emailed them and spoke with their manager multiple times. We basically sent them our payment record to show in 3 years we’ve never had a late payment. Additionally, we sent our documented complaints (we had leaky windows that we’ve put in multiple complaints about and we have a really terrible neighbor who we’ve put in multiple formal complaints about). We also showed our prior increases and said this increase was disproportionate to our previous increases. With that, they determined that they would do a 3% increase.
This is the way! Didn't have leaky windows, but also showed was a good tenant, tons of empty units for rent currently losing them money every month where I was willing to pay money (on time) every month. No kids or pets, we don't smoke, no complaints towards us, etc to show we are good tenants. And also showed last increase was BS, and lawsuit. They changed their mind quickly, but also the office people don't do shit. I escalated to a manager, but kept my cool, was just persistent.
Got down to 6% from 12%
How can I show the increase is a lawsuit? Did you get in touch with the property manager? When I negotiated the last time, it was one of the office staff and they were the ones saying the max they could do was $5.
The office people, probably like my complex, switch out like 4 times a year, there is always some one I've never seen every time I go in there, so yeah they just get told what to say, tell them, can you make any changes? No, okay well I'm not happy and would like to talk to someone who can, whose above you? Let's get them involved. Just be nice about it, don't go screaming let me talk to a manager! Lol
You can just bring up the lawsuit and how they are doing unfair practices..
You can ask them how much they have raised rent year after year in that complex. They know. Also they will say it's inflation and the market blah blah BS, you can ask them okay, well during COVID when the whole world was under and negative, did you still raise your rates that year? It's yes. All units did. They didn't give a shit. And you can explain that obviously goes against them saying it's market dependant.calling out their BS.
You can ask them how they even got to this price in the first place? They will say it's market price, your answer should be, if you control the market as per this lawsuit, how is it market price? Seems like it's your price from an Algorithm.
Look up your complex now and see how many units are currently for rent. Explain your a good tenant that pays online and hopefully has no complaints against you. And that it makes more sense for you to stay in your place at your current rate than them lose money by you moving out. Also your apartment could sit for months(if you have units sitting now also)
And then explain, I get it, prices go up, blah blah, and give them an office. I told them I was willing to meet somewhere in the middle but this amount was insane.
Stay calm, ask them straight up, can you make anymore adjustments to this pricing? No, let me talk to someone who can then. From experience, people love to pass the buck. Specially low paid employees like they are. I know someone with another rental company in DC and they say bozzuto sucks as a employer also, give them like a 10% discount on units. So the employees also hate bozzuto from what I've seen.
I’ve been in the same situation as you with the neighbors. I’m on the ground floor and our neighbors above have been a nightmare. Management has been involved and their only solution was to offer one of us to move. Thankfully things have calmed down for a while, but because they’ve been above us for 10+ years they won’t do anything. Our previous renewal was 3% and that’s when they only took off the $5. They’re also pissed with me that I got my 2 cats register as ESA’s and had to refund me my pet deposits. Now they can’t charge me the extra $100/month for them. We’ve always payed our rent on time as well. Thank you, I will try emailing the property manager.
I don’t think you’ll get much lower than a 3% increase. The manager told us she has discretion over increases but policy mandates a minimum of a 3% increase.
We were at the Instrata in Pentagon City for almost three years and loved it…until they raised the rent by 20%. We found someone to takeover and bought a condo. I miss the admin team all the time, they were like family with us, but we just couldn’t justify it anymore. Plus, they kindly warned us that our 2/2 would be around 3,300 by the time we renewed again in October ‘24. Keep in mind, it had already been raised from 2,250 to 2,750/month. That was our final straw.
The real pisser is that if you move out, someone will come right in and pay the high price. Supply and demand, and get it while you can. But, the demand will always be high in the DMV.
My old Bozzuto property had a policy to not negotiate. The leasing office said it was related to fair housing compliance (no risk of giving better deals to white people, men etc.) but that was pretty transparently bullshit.
We must have lived in the same building. I tried negotiating my first increase down and they said they didn't negotiate. The manager gave me that same FHA nonsense. I was an attorney. It was an insult to my intelligence.
I also think they go back and look at your income from your application to see what you can afford and base your increase on what they think you'll pay vs. having to move.
I got the apartment in Feb 2020 based on my 2019 income, which got more than halved in 2020, was 1/5 in 2021, and by 2022, was 1/7 of what I had been making in 2019. It also pissed me off because all the people who moved in after April 2020 were paying way less than I was through all of 2021, but I still got the same percentage increase.
Fuck them. Negotiate. I talked to 3 people in order to get escalated to the regional manager I was told. He never talked to me, just sent me a lower offer that I eventually accepted.
The people in the office can't and won't do shit but feed you corporate talking points. It's insane. Just say you don't accept those answers and wanna talk to someone who can actually make a change. If they can't, all good, I can wait and talk to your boss, and their boss, and their boss.. I got time.
Bozzuto gave me the same FHA bullshit when I tried to use my offer letter for income verification saying they couldn’t make an exception to the 2-3 months of paystubs rule and accept my offer letter because it would “violate the FHA.”
Bozzuto? Yes. Also just about every other major management company in the area. They are all setting prices together using the same software, so there's nowhere else to go. This is supposed to be illegal, but they are doing it. Even now that it's out in the open and has made national headlines, they haven't stopped.
I would say we have a low price for the area, thankfully. It was the only possible one that didn’t break the bank. I had stories about bozzuto.. so I was just waiting. So far so good.. but then I thought hmm.. there’s GOING TO BE a catch- which I assume, will be an outrageous rent hike when lease is up.
I’ve heard my friends say that to somewhat avoid this, they just move down the hall / into another building in the same complex. Honestly so sad but we may have to follow with that
I did exactly that. But also it was to a 100sq smaller apartment.
Was at 18, raised it to 2k. I moved into a smaller one for 18, they now raised the smaller one I'm still in to 2k..
I always use ask them, what's the goal with pricing? To make people homeless? And also, they had 29 empty apartments in my complex. Obviously supply and demand isn't working here. Pricing is insane and they are losing money with all these empty units.
I was able to negotiate with my Bozzuto area - and they only raised it about $157. still high but they sometimes will agree to negotiating. Only took me one email
That Bozzuto is a profit maximizer should be no surprise, thinking otherwise is immature. Personally I think there is a lot of new product coming on line in the next 2-4 years, a lot of new apartments and they are probably trying to lock in good returns until competition slows down the ability to raise rents. I think Bozzuto occupies a very niche market. Wealthy professionals, short term 2-3 year occupancy and a smattering of wealthy retirees. The professionals probably move for a new job or when they get married and buy a house. I’d be surprised if they have renters for more than 4 years. They want the turnover, the young, attractive and frivolous with their wealth is their target market.
I rent from a private landlord in alexandria. After 15 years, he raised our rent to market price of $2250 (from $1950). I was expecting much higher. It’s nothing fancy but it’s also not from the the 80s with stained carpeting. I’ve checked out other rentals and I’m extremely lucky.
Chat gpt had this to add: hope this helps someone else
I understand your concern about the fairness of the rent increase. Here are a few steps you can take to address this situation:
1. Research Market Rates: Use resources like RentCafe and Zumper to gather detailed information about current rent trends in your area. You can find data on average rent increases and current rental prices to support your case.
2. Negotiate with Your Landlord: Present your findings to your landlord or property manager. Highlight that the proposed increase is above the average increase in Old Town Alexandria, which is around 10%.
3. Consider Long-term Leases: If you plan to stay for an extended period, negotiating a longer lease term at a slightly lower rate might be beneficial for both you and the landlord.
4. Seek Legal Advice: If the increase seems unreasonable, you might consider consulting with a tenant rights organization or a legal advisor to understand your rights and options.
5. Early Bird Discount: While the early bird discount still represents a 10% increase, it is in line with the average market increase and may be a better option if the landlord is not willing to negotiate further.
Here are some additional sources you might find helpful:
• Zumper’s Rent Report
• RentCafe’s Alexandria Rent Trends
Taking these steps can help you make a more informed decision and potentially negotiate a fairer rent increase.
Yes, it’s par for the course in this area, especially lease renewals in the summer. I try to sign or renew my leases in the late fall or winter when I time it out.
Apparently, everyone in this building is getting renewal letters 5 months in advance. They speculate that it’s paying for the remodeled lobby- but that hasn’t even begun yet.
Those mega luxury lobbies are such a waste of money. No one hangs out there.
My mega luxury lobby is too full of dog piss and shit for us to hang out there. But they're still raising the rent
and i love when their websites show tons of pictures of it, like I’d be spending most of my time there 🙄
and i love when their websites show tons of pictures of it, like I’d be spending most of my time there 🙄
Remind them that they are in a lawsuit for colluding with other management companies in DC and Alexandria to overinflated rent. The let them know that lawyers and the media would love to hear about a 12.5% hike. Also, rent increases at other Bozzutto properties in Alexandria aren’t nearly that high right now.
I did this and also in a bozzuto property. Dropped it to a 6% increase. I took it.
Yeah. Worked for me too. It’s amazing how many people don’t even try to negotiate. It’s a contract you both have to sign. Until those signatures are submitted, everything is negotiable. They include stupid things in there too. One was supposed to be a clause saying that if they took pictures around the building that they were allowed to post them to social media or use them for marketing. But the clause actually read that they full out owned your likeness in perpetuity, not restricted to pictures taken by them or even while you lived there. They just own your image fully and forever. It likely wouldn’t stand up in court, but I redlined the hell out of that contract. And they had to get it approved by higher ups, but didn’t fight me on a single thing. This year my rent went up less than 4%.
Hell yeah! Love to hear it, fuck bozzuto.
How did you go forward with starting the negotiation?
First, I announced my intentions by telling them that I was very interested in renewing my lease, but had a few concerns that I would like to address before signed the documents. Then I laid out some concerns I had about the building. It’s usually easy to find a couple of small areas where the building is letting things slip through the cracks. Then I went line by line through the issues I had with the contract. Then I said I’d like to discuss the financials before finalizing the agreement. Then I went through what average prices were in the specific neighborhood for nearly identical properties. They countered with having to do whatever the software says. I mentioned the fact that they’re currently being sued in DC for using that software to inflate prices. Then I said that to reestablish trust, I would appreciate if they act in good faith and give me their best number. They had to “discuss this with their boss” and came back with something much lower than what they had offered and I accepted.
Thank you so much. This is great
Just because the software they use is being investigated by the government doesn’t mean that they are guilty. Yieldstar is one of a few companies that provide yield management for property owners.
Simping for apartment management companies? Thats certainly a take. I know of multiple Bozzuto properties that are at least 20% over market value. And if you ask them about it, they say their hands are tied because of the software. Either way, public opinion is not with them. And screwing residents over with unfair price hikes while being investigated for collusion around inflating prices is not a good look. They don’t want the bad press. Thats a strong negotiating chip for OP, regardless of whether they get found guilty or just pay a settlement with a provision that they don’t need to admit to their guilt.
It’s not about simping, it’s about reality. How old are you? Do you really think apartment owners exist to provide shelter at the least cost or the most profit? As for public opinion, people in the United States have never lived better and still they complain. Go visit China, Venezuela or Saudi Arabia and see how good you have it here.
Probably older than you. And having written contracts for a living, I know the tricks of the trade. But to answer your question; yes, apartment owners are business owners and their sole purpose is to maximize profits. While small time property owners might be benevolent, large apartment buildings exist only for generating profit. If they could do that without residents, they would. And since you don’t seem to understand this market, allow me to explain it to you. There is the company that builds and owns the building. Then there is the company hired to manage the building. Both are businesses whose only goal is profit. Bozzuto is a property management firm. They run the day to day operations and deal directly with tenants. They don’t own the building, they’re just offering a service to the owners. But they are the ones who set up rent prices and all of the associated fees. Because they get a juicy cut of that money as they process it and send the remains to the building’s owner. Any way they can squeeze more money out of tenants directly lines their pockets. My garage isn’t full. But they upped the price to park there by $50 per month last year. There was no need for that, but they realized they could force resident to pay that and pocket the money. Public opinion is a tool that those who have little can leverage against those that have a lot. Thats why companies freak out over online reviews. As the individual going against a massive corporation intent on taking your every last cent, it is not inappropriate to use this tool. They certainly use every tool at their disposal. As for other countries, why does this matter? We are specifically talking about negotiating a contract with a local management company. “Think about the starving kids in Africa” might be a parental favorite to get kids to eat broccoli, but it has literally no bearing on this topic.
100% all of this. Property companies are fucking swindlers and the only way to get fair prices is to play hardball with them. And yeah the strawmen are out in legion today haha
It’s not the lobby it’s this https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yardi-rent-setting-software-illegally-223000337.html
Scout on the circle in Fairfax raised ours by 14%! We moved lol
I couldn’t get out of my Scout apartment fast enough. Screw them.
This sucks. I think I made a big mistake being born as a Millennial. Can't afford to buy a home and pretty soon can't afford to rent! 😭
They are being sued by the federal government. Just look it up
Are they being sued by the federal government or by the DC government? Because I only see the latter.
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-fbi-raids-big-corporate
I get that and all, but that’s not Bozzuto being raided by the feds, let alone sued. It’s a defendant in a civil class action, but that’s not the feds either.
That means absolutely nothing for their rent hike. Ticketmaster is being pursued by the DOJ. Have those fees gone down?
I just learned that TicketMaster actually negotiates a split on their fees with the artists. Artists can then look blameless when charging lower ticket prices picking up the difference on the fees.
Damnit Taylor. How many jets does she need?
>Ticketmaster is being pursued by the DOJ. Have those fees gone down? I have slight hope that Ticketmaster is actually going to face real justice this time. Therefore, I think Ticketmaster is going "Welp, if I'm going down for this, I might as well try and grab all the money I can before I do."
I rented at a buzzuto apartment that was bought out by Elme. Oddly enough, im looking to move to Alexandria and considered the Asher until i heard about all the fire alarm nonsense. Thanks for keeping me away from them. Also, id love to just find a private landlord and an older building. Fuck amenity fees, waiting for some guy to grab my package from a mail room, massive yearly increases, etc. im too simple a man for all this. The apartments at carlyle seem more of the same. Lord of Alexandria real estate, help a fella out
If you’d like a private landlord in an older building, I would recommend getting a realtor to connect you to one. I have a recommendation for one in the NoVa area if you’re interested.
Seriously. I rented a 2br row house in old town for less than these 1br ‘luxury’ apartments rent for here Get a realtor
I definitely will. Please let me know if youre able to pass along the info of the realtor you worked with.
My lease is up in October but im happy to start making a list of realtors to hit up later in the summer. Feel free to send over your recommendation's info, very interested
I’ll DM you!
OP here, please pass along to me also! Thanks🙏🏻
I used to live in one of the Paradigm properties in the Carlyle area. I actually negotiated my rent every year, even after they started giving me the algorithm nonsense. You absolutely will see your same floor plan listed for a cheaper rent and they will tell you they can’t match that price, but I never found the rent increase to be ridiculous. Not sure how the last few years have gone as I moved into a Bozzuto property in Alexandria. They don’t own it, only manage it. My rent increase last year was only about 2% but a little nervous about this year…
Google "RealPage" and "Bozzuto". Prepare to get very angry.
That's insanity. Very scary, I worry the day can come we won't be able to afford rent ... I tell husband at least we have 2 cars so it'll be like a 2 bedroom when we live in them.
If you sell one of your cars you'd probably have more money for rent
The Dalton (Equity) raised ours 26% a few years back. We laughed at them and moved to a townhome down the street. It’s sadly not that uncommon out here.
"The Chutzpah" thank you for reminding me of this classic Yiddish phrase and sorry about the rent increase
They raised ours 10% in The Asher (we opted into renewal early so it saved us a little). Didn’t feel like leaving this year, but not planning to renew next year because of this.
Yes, “early bird” is 10% but with an 18 month lease. Meanwhile Meridian Braddock 2brs are 2950, and they have actual amenities, like a pool!
3k for a fucking two bedroom. And somehow financial analysts are confused as to why people aren't buying homes.
I was just talking to my brother about this. During covid we rented a 2br in East Falls church for 2200 and got a month or two of free rent. The same complex is charging 2200 for a 1br. Edit. It’s also a bozzuto property
Falls Green? I too lived there. I got in a few years ago when rent wasn’t that bad. But I had a second kid and was told we had to upgrade to a 2BR (completely understand) but we opted to buy a home. Rather pay 3K mortgage than for rent.
Yep, It was Falls Green!
Haha I was a maintenance guy there so I took advantage of the rent discount and even when I left the company I stayed there. The community was awesome and we didn’t want to leave, but again 3K mortgage > 3K rent.
Just saw this sorry. Somehow we got in at less than 2100 for the biggest 1BR. Scared about the hike because we love it
Is it falls green?
If they would do a proper upzoning of the single family neighborhoods right next to Crystal City and allowed the lots to remain small we would be able to build *condos* instead of just apartments.
We lived at Meridian Braddock in a 2br for three years. We moved out in 2019. Including parking and pet rent, our total monthly cost was below $2,500. Our mortgage is cheaper than our rent was. I can not imagine paying almost $500 more per month to live in that appointment. Though they apparently renovated it when we left. Edit: just looked it up. $2237 was the last rent amount we paid for a two bedroom with parking and pet rent back in 2019.
Meridian Braddock spiked my rent about 15%, so you’re not safe over there either
What the?! That's higher than my mortgage for a 3b 2.5b townhouse at 6.5% interest.....
I live in a Bozzuto apartment in Fairfax. They increased our rent by 10% last year. I tried talking to them on the phone and went to their office to get it reduced but they refused to negotiate. This is getting out of hand!
Same here! When I tried to negotiate, they only took $5 off!
Bitched all the way up and outta the office people and got a "regional manager" they reduced mine to 6% from 12%+
How did you get to a regional manager? I’ve tried calling their corporate number and all I got was my property manager to call me when I had issue with my neighbors above me.
Can you even make changes to my rent? If they say no, okay let me talk to someone who can.
May I message you?
Sure
My rent got raised 5% and my landlords are a godsend
I live at one of their Manassas locations, Masons Keepe. They raised our rent 7% this renewal, it’s insane.
Two years ago, across rent and fees they raised my rent nearly $500. It was about a 15 percent increase. Me and my partner were so taken back but hadn't made any plans to move under the notice we would have had to give. It fucking sucked.
What was the previous rent vs new rent? What kind of rental?
Corporate landlords play game of chicken with their tenants at lease renewal. They’ll claim it’s a “market-based” adjustment but they know moving is expensive and a pain in the ass so they will use that to squeeze every last penny out of you. That said, most of them are willing to negotiate (even the ones who claim they’re powerless and the rates are set by the system), you just have to play their game. It’s all about alternative analysis. If you can find a comparable unit in the same building being rented for cheaper (similar bedroom count, sq ft, floor, etc.) that is the best proof point, but finding one in a comparable building in the same neighborhood will work too. You just have to demonstrate to them that you have other options, for cheaper, and that they’ve overplayed their hand and you will move unless they come back with a more reasonable renewal offer. Good movers cost $500-1,000. So if you can find a comparable alternative that is at least $80/month cheaper your movers have paid for themselves, and anything more is money in your pocket.
For whatever it's worth, Bennett Park in Rosslyn raised my rent a good $150 and i pointed out they had an identical unit for $300 less than what i was currently paying. I was told im more than welcomed to move into that unit, and that they wont negotiate rent on my current one. Go figure.
This is why I paid 5k to break my lease and buy in West Virginia. I paid 5k to break the lease but I saved 10k over that just by moving early from a HCOL area.
But you’re stuck commuting. It’s not an ugly drive for sure, but traffic around here is unbearable and only seems to get worse. Nothing in this area is worth the value you pay.
True - it’s about an hour each way. Gorgeous scenery for sure. I am an avid audio book consumer so I don’t mind the drive :) I just saw 1400 sq foot town homes for 800k in Fairfax. Insane!
Yes. SOP. Time to move back to NJ.
I always loved the name Bozzuto, it’s just perfectly evil rent-controlling mafioso conglomerate sounding Ayy pay your rent or Bozzuto properties might hear about it ayy I’m so glad they’re as evil as they sounded in my head
We negotiated with Bozzuto. They offered like a 10% increase and ultimately we got a 3% increase and they replaced our windows as part of the deal too.
How were you able to get them to negotiate? Our last renewal, they only took $5 off the rent and wouldn’t go any lower.
I emailed them and spoke with their manager multiple times. We basically sent them our payment record to show in 3 years we’ve never had a late payment. Additionally, we sent our documented complaints (we had leaky windows that we’ve put in multiple complaints about and we have a really terrible neighbor who we’ve put in multiple formal complaints about). We also showed our prior increases and said this increase was disproportionate to our previous increases. With that, they determined that they would do a 3% increase.
This is the way! Didn't have leaky windows, but also showed was a good tenant, tons of empty units for rent currently losing them money every month where I was willing to pay money (on time) every month. No kids or pets, we don't smoke, no complaints towards us, etc to show we are good tenants. And also showed last increase was BS, and lawsuit. They changed their mind quickly, but also the office people don't do shit. I escalated to a manager, but kept my cool, was just persistent. Got down to 6% from 12%
How can I show the increase is a lawsuit? Did you get in touch with the property manager? When I negotiated the last time, it was one of the office staff and they were the ones saying the max they could do was $5.
The office people, probably like my complex, switch out like 4 times a year, there is always some one I've never seen every time I go in there, so yeah they just get told what to say, tell them, can you make any changes? No, okay well I'm not happy and would like to talk to someone who can, whose above you? Let's get them involved. Just be nice about it, don't go screaming let me talk to a manager! Lol You can just bring up the lawsuit and how they are doing unfair practices.. You can ask them how much they have raised rent year after year in that complex. They know. Also they will say it's inflation and the market blah blah BS, you can ask them okay, well during COVID when the whole world was under and negative, did you still raise your rates that year? It's yes. All units did. They didn't give a shit. And you can explain that obviously goes against them saying it's market dependant.calling out their BS. You can ask them how they even got to this price in the first place? They will say it's market price, your answer should be, if you control the market as per this lawsuit, how is it market price? Seems like it's your price from an Algorithm. Look up your complex now and see how many units are currently for rent. Explain your a good tenant that pays online and hopefully has no complaints against you. And that it makes more sense for you to stay in your place at your current rate than them lose money by you moving out. Also your apartment could sit for months(if you have units sitting now also) And then explain, I get it, prices go up, blah blah, and give them an office. I told them I was willing to meet somewhere in the middle but this amount was insane. Stay calm, ask them straight up, can you make anymore adjustments to this pricing? No, let me talk to someone who can then. From experience, people love to pass the buck. Specially low paid employees like they are. I know someone with another rental company in DC and they say bozzuto sucks as a employer also, give them like a 10% discount on units. So the employees also hate bozzuto from what I've seen.
Just checked online and our exact unit price isn’t even listed, one smaller by 50 feet is going over $2100.
Every complex will be different. Just what I used.
I’ve been in the same situation as you with the neighbors. I’m on the ground floor and our neighbors above have been a nightmare. Management has been involved and their only solution was to offer one of us to move. Thankfully things have calmed down for a while, but because they’ve been above us for 10+ years they won’t do anything. Our previous renewal was 3% and that’s when they only took off the $5. They’re also pissed with me that I got my 2 cats register as ESA’s and had to refund me my pet deposits. Now they can’t charge me the extra $100/month for them. We’ve always payed our rent on time as well. Thank you, I will try emailing the property manager.
I don’t think you’ll get much lower than a 3% increase. The manager told us she has discretion over increases but policy mandates a minimum of a 3% increase.
I’d be perfectly fine with 3%, the last least renewal was 6% and this renewal is now 7%
They are all price fixing
Is Bozzuto just Nozzuto's dad?
This is such a stupid joke I didn't laugh at but now will think about the rest of my life lol.
Nah that's backwards, you're thinking about Mozzuto.
We were at the Instrata in Pentagon City for almost three years and loved it…until they raised the rent by 20%. We found someone to takeover and bought a condo. I miss the admin team all the time, they were like family with us, but we just couldn’t justify it anymore. Plus, they kindly warned us that our 2/2 would be around 3,300 by the time we renewed again in October ‘24. Keep in mind, it had already been raised from 2,250 to 2,750/month. That was our final straw.
The real pisser is that if you move out, someone will come right in and pay the high price. Supply and demand, and get it while you can. But, the demand will always be high in the DMV.
I had my rent go up 35% in May... I searched to see if this is legal but nothing as of yet says I cam do anything about it.
Buzzuto sucks
First time?
This kinda BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWS!!!
Call the office or respond to the email asking to negotiate the rate. You will likely get another offer with a lower rate.
My old Bozzuto property had a policy to not negotiate. The leasing office said it was related to fair housing compliance (no risk of giving better deals to white people, men etc.) but that was pretty transparently bullshit.
I think that’s bullshit. I requested the leasing agent check for a lower rate and was given a lower rate. This was a couple of years ago.
We must have lived in the same building. I tried negotiating my first increase down and they said they didn't negotiate. The manager gave me that same FHA nonsense. I was an attorney. It was an insult to my intelligence. I also think they go back and look at your income from your application to see what you can afford and base your increase on what they think you'll pay vs. having to move. I got the apartment in Feb 2020 based on my 2019 income, which got more than halved in 2020, was 1/5 in 2021, and by 2022, was 1/7 of what I had been making in 2019. It also pissed me off because all the people who moved in after April 2020 were paying way less than I was through all of 2021, but I still got the same percentage increase.
Fuck them. Negotiate. I talked to 3 people in order to get escalated to the regional manager I was told. He never talked to me, just sent me a lower offer that I eventually accepted. The people in the office can't and won't do shit but feed you corporate talking points. It's insane. Just say you don't accept those answers and wanna talk to someone who can actually make a change. If they can't, all good, I can wait and talk to your boss, and their boss, and their boss.. I got time.
Bozzuto gave me the same FHA bullshit when I tried to use my offer letter for income verification saying they couldn’t make an exception to the 2-3 months of paystubs rule and accept my offer letter because it would “violate the FHA.”
15% raise at an Avalon in March, noped out of there!
Love my place now.. no complaints.. are they really about to do this
Bozzuto? Yes. Also just about every other major management company in the area. They are all setting prices together using the same software, so there's nowhere else to go. This is supposed to be illegal, but they are doing it. Even now that it's out in the open and has made national headlines, they haven't stopped.
Absolutely. Should have argued a low price at the start cause I guarantee it's overpriced right now, fuck bozzuto. You'll see.
I would say we have a low price for the area, thankfully. It was the only possible one that didn’t break the bank. I had stories about bozzuto.. so I was just waiting. So far so good.. but then I thought hmm.. there’s GOING TO BE a catch- which I assume, will be an outrageous rent hike when lease is up.
Yeah, that's what it was for us. They will randomly add "luxury" to your apartment website listings and charge you a 12% increase. It's a joke
I’ve heard my friends say that to somewhat avoid this, they just move down the hall / into another building in the same complex. Honestly so sad but we may have to follow with that
I did exactly that. But also it was to a 100sq smaller apartment. Was at 18, raised it to 2k. I moved into a smaller one for 18, they now raised the smaller one I'm still in to 2k.. I always use ask them, what's the goal with pricing? To make people homeless? And also, they had 29 empty apartments in my complex. Obviously supply and demand isn't working here. Pricing is insane and they are losing money with all these empty units.
I was able to negotiate with my Bozzuto area - and they only raised it about $157. still high but they sometimes will agree to negotiating. Only took me one email
they figure you are less likely to move so they charge more for renewals than if you move.
Yes, the only solution is to find a landlord in a condominium and rent directly from them.
At least your elevators work
That's wild. Ours went up a whole $50 or about 2%. Our renewal was in June and we are in an Avalon complex in Arlington.
That Bozzuto is a profit maximizer should be no surprise, thinking otherwise is immature. Personally I think there is a lot of new product coming on line in the next 2-4 years, a lot of new apartments and they are probably trying to lock in good returns until competition slows down the ability to raise rents. I think Bozzuto occupies a very niche market. Wealthy professionals, short term 2-3 year occupancy and a smattering of wealthy retirees. The professionals probably move for a new job or when they get married and buy a house. I’d be surprised if they have renters for more than 4 years. They want the turnover, the young, attractive and frivolous with their wealth is their target market.
Rent and home prices are still going up like crazy. Supply just can't keep up.
Only 12? They raised it 25% in my first apartment in Herndon 20 years ago.
If it's not market price, then move out and find a place that is market price. They won't be able to rent for above market price and they will suffer.
The problem is RealPage is used to artificially set the market price. Because of this the market price is not the economic equilibrium.
I rent from a private landlord in alexandria. After 15 years, he raised our rent to market price of $2250 (from $1950). I was expecting much higher. It’s nothing fancy but it’s also not from the the 80s with stained carpeting. I’ve checked out other rentals and I’m extremely lucky.
Chat gpt had this to add: hope this helps someone else I understand your concern about the fairness of the rent increase. Here are a few steps you can take to address this situation: 1. Research Market Rates: Use resources like RentCafe and Zumper to gather detailed information about current rent trends in your area. You can find data on average rent increases and current rental prices to support your case. 2. Negotiate with Your Landlord: Present your findings to your landlord or property manager. Highlight that the proposed increase is above the average increase in Old Town Alexandria, which is around 10%. 3. Consider Long-term Leases: If you plan to stay for an extended period, negotiating a longer lease term at a slightly lower rate might be beneficial for both you and the landlord. 4. Seek Legal Advice: If the increase seems unreasonable, you might consider consulting with a tenant rights organization or a legal advisor to understand your rights and options. 5. Early Bird Discount: While the early bird discount still represents a 10% increase, it is in line with the average market increase and may be a better option if the landlord is not willing to negotiate further. Here are some additional sources you might find helpful: • Zumper’s Rent Report • RentCafe’s Alexandria Rent Trends Taking these steps can help you make a more informed decision and potentially negotiate a fairer rent increase.