So my girlfriend and I have decided to move in together, and as a result have been looking for houses for rent. The area I live in is a pretty up-and-coming city, and despite the fact that both my GF and I earn quite well for our age bracket, we are completely priced out of a home that would be even remotely fit what we are looking for (ironically this wouldn't be the case even around 2017).
While that's frustrating in and of itself, on top of that – as we've been looking for rentals – there are an absolute plethora of options available in this city. I mean, in some neighborhoods it seems almost every other house on the block is for rent or will be available in the next few months. It's so painful to see some of these properties listed for around $4,000/month to rent, when they sold just a few years ago for around half their “Zillow Estimated Price” or “Zestimate” or whatever the fuck it's called… Then you see the projected mortgage cost of like… $2,500/month max.. it's really just a sick sight that all of these properties have been bought up by individuals/entities just to line their pockets on people who simply didn't have the money when the market was thinner.
And if that wasn't all, the cherry on top of this shit sandwich (to quote Jim Lahey), the application process for these rentals is simply absurd. In order to just be considered for a rental, they now want:
– Full access to view your bank account and transaction history
– You to link your payroll provider account so that they have visibility into all of your payroll details
– ID Verification where you literally need to sit through a face scan to pass
– Still need a credit check, too! (Aware this is standard but it seems gratuitous with all the other information I was forced to provide).
I mean, at this point I feel like I'm applying for a fucking mortgage with the amount of information these leasing companies require you to provide just to put a god damn roof over your head. Even though I know that my gf and I will be approved, this whole process feels completely insidious. My dad told me when he was renting back in the 80's, the “application” process for a rental was essentially nothing more than a verbal agreement with the landlord that you could probably pay rent.
You know that old adage – “You'll own nothing and be happy” – yeah no. It's more like, “you'll own nothing, and if you think you're happy, we'll find more and more ways to make your life a continuous living hell”.