The Good News: Rental prices do not really correspond to sales prices, and this was particularly the case in the go-go days from 2002 to 2005. This was because money was cheap and people could buy, and many who would have rented in the past chose to purchase a home instead. For example, a three bedroom home might be sold for $700,000 but only rent for $2500/month. This discrepancy arises from the fact that anyone who can afford to pay $3,500-$4,000/month to rent a home can probably but a home. It might only be a condo, but the person owns it and is earning long-term equity.

The Bad News: With the decline of subprime lending in Summer of 2007, this has forced many more people to continue to rent. In addition, some people that are in a position to buy have chosen to wait to see what happens in 2008. This increase in rental demand has cleared out the rental inventory and we have seen prices rise anywhere from 15-25% in the past year. As long as those with lesser credit must rent and buyer fear exists, you should expect prices to continue to rise in the rental market.

Margaret Hokkanen (760) 942-4242 Call Me!

Know What You Want
Take a look at what is available. Our long-term rental maps are an excellenet way to get command over the local market and what's available in your price range. We strongly encourage you to check out the maps so that you can see what you can get for your money.

Try to sort through whether you want to rent a house, a townhome, or a condo. If you have kids and schools matter, let that further reduce where you look. If commute time is important, then use that as a filter as well. The more that you can limit your search, the better you will be. If you don't find that the home you want is available, you can always loosen some of the criteria.

What to do and What NOT to do.

Here are some tips given to us from a former landlord who had really nice rental properties in an area with good schools. 1. When seeing the property, don't walk in and start criticizing it. You will make yourself look like a complainer, and landlords don't want to hear a bunch of complaints. The place is what it is, and if the landlord is asking too much for the home, then just be polite and say thanks for making it available for you to see. You never know...you may decide that it IS the best choice given price, schools, location, crime, etc., and if you have been unpleasant, you will not be offered the home. 2. If you think the price is too high, KEEP IT TO YOURSELF until the landlord has received your application, reviewed it, and offered to rent it to you. At that point, you have been vetted as a valuable renter. Then, and only then, should you say, "I like your home very much, and we would like to rent it, and if we could rent it for $x/month, then we would take it immediately." If you have been courteous, you WILL get a response, and maybe even a concession. At worst, he/she might reply, "I would love to have you as tenants, but I've received two other full-price offers to rent the home. If you would like to rent it at the price that it is offered, then the place is yours." 3. Have ALL of your paperwork pulled together. If you have copies of credit reports to submit with your application, do so. Put together a complete package, be candid, and address any shortcomings. If you do, then you will be viewed as a straight shooter and someone who can be trusted. If you do not, and your omissions are detected, you will not receive any consideration. 4. Be reasonable with any requests. If the landlord has just painted the inside of the home and you plan to change the paint, offer in advance to pay for the painting upon your departure to put it back to the same colors as it was when you rented it. If the paint job is completely worn and tired, then just ask if it is OK for you to paint the interior so that it has a fresh paint. If you are flexible on colors, then you can ask if he will have it painted, or, if you want some input on the color, offer to put in the labor if he will pay for all the supplies on mutually agreeable colors. Most landlords understand the desire of tenants to make the place their home, though they need to balance that desire with a need for what the market will accept when you leave.

Try to identify the general location as well. If you are a marine stationed at Camp Pendleton looking for off-base housing, then you probably won't want to go further south than Encinitas. If you are a high-tech worker in Sorrento Valley, you have a lot of choices because you can go North, South, or East. Anyway, you get the idea.

Be Prepared
Renting a home can be quite different from renting an apartment. Be prepared to have all your ducks in a row. You can expect to complete an application, tender an application fee so that your credit report can be run, and have references checked. People who own rental homes usually want solid tenants so that they don't have to worry about finding new tenants on a regular basis. If you have problems with your credit, look to find a co-signer or offer to pay 6 months of rent in advance. When the market is tight, you need to be attractive to landlords, so be prepared to take the steps necessary to win the offer of the rental.

Where to Look
You have three ways to find a rental: 1) a real estate agent (that's me); 2) a property management company (I can refer you to a couple of good ones if you want to go that direction); and 3) private owners who advertise in the newspaper and signs in the yard. The last one requires knowing the area well and it means that you will have to make a bunch of phone calls. Given the current market, you may need to be trying all three. Once you know an area

Please Be Considerate
I will be happy to help you look for a rental, and can send you listings via email for you to review. If some of the homes look really good, then I'll be happy to get you into them. And I'll be happy to refer you to a few solid proprety management companies that handle property in the area. Having said all of that, PLEASE keep in mind that if I show you a number of rentals, and you decide to rent one, I will be paid only a very modest fee for the assistance (likely to be just a few hundred dollars), and so please be considerate by focusing on what I can do to help your search.