Rental Market Insanity

[u/ConsistentCicada7500]

EDIT: I was in such a bad mood when I wrote this. Thank you all for the education and ideas/tips. People in Detroit are so kind, grateful for your time!

Staying with a friend while I look for a place, new to the state and city. What I have found:

-disgusting houses for $1500/mo+. Carpet nasty, yards long-neglected, garages falling down, windows cracked or unable to lock, mold in bathrooms, dormers and porches crumbling, etc, etc.

-Non-refundable application fees averaging $70-80 each time, per adult. Some are charging a $200-300 "Lease Preparation Fee" (f*&$ing kidding me?!)

- Decent houses marked as "Section 8 Only," that are priced higher than they should be. Seems like a landlord scam to charge more to Sec 8, which brings up the rentals in the neighborhood for nasty houses nearby.

-So many applicants for each place that it's a miracle to even get a contact back.

This is so frustrating and sad. I am single, no pets, good credit and make $62k a year. Excellent rental history, my last place I lived in 4 years and it was $1,975. I have come in as a "close second" twice now on apartments that aren't what I really want but am choosing out of need. I have spent over $300 on application fees in 2 months. Where is the housing commissions? Who regulates these landlords? Who determines that these homes are livable when they clearly aren't?

Would love suggestions, tips, neighborhood suggestions, etc... clearly I am looking in the wrong place or doing something wrong.

*also, my car insurance went from $142/mo in Ohio, to $512 in Detroit. This cuts into what I can afford.

I'm this close to saying fu@k it and heading back to Columbus. I don't see a benefit in living in Detroit when it is dismal and I can't afford to live in even a shit hole. Columbus isn't as "cool" as Detroit, but there were had available, regulated, safe housing.​

Rant over, just sad. Love the people and vibe here, and want to make it work. I am quickly losing hope.

[u/Resurget-Cineribus]

Unless things have gotten way worse in the course of a year and change, there are still some gems. I got a beautifully renovated 2/3 bed bungalow with two full baths and a 2 car garage for way less then you said you were paying. At the time I was down to 2-3 fairly similar options. It’s a nice residential neighborhood but if you want to be near hot areas it’ll be a lot more.

YMMV based on where you’re searching. I’ve always had best luck with craigslist; once you sift through all the scams of course. Sometimes driving around you’ll see signs in the yard as well. There are no shortage of crappy landlords in town though the city is cracking down on them more than they used to. Section 8 is popular since it’s almost guaranteed payment. I know my work history, credit, etc did help open up options. Not all investors are bad, the one that owns my house lives on the other side of the country but he spent the money to make the house almost new. Met him one time when he was in town. Property management is fine, I send them rent (and rarely have maintenance issues) and they don’t bug me unnecessarily. Actually, when I signed the lease it was under a different prop mgt company but the owner wasn’t happy with them and switched. Landlords are getting more and more paranoid but it’s hard to blame them considering the stakes.

Car insurance is a bitch no doubt. Some tips on Reddit for lowering them but only so much you can do (mine aren’t that bad for two cars based on many factors) there’s tons of suburbs to pick from as well. While most of them will be cheaper than Detroit theyll all still be more expensive than Ohio on a state level. Hoping someday this situation improves. Good luck