|
|
Renters hit by
dwindling supply,
rising demand
Even reliable tenants end up on
the street as more landlords sell
their properties, driving up prices
After 18 years of faithfully paying the rent on their modest Kailua home, the eviction notice came as a jolt to David Cannell's family.
|
|
But even reliable renters are finding themselves out of luck in Oahu's soaring real estate market. Landlords are jacking up rents or cashing out entirely by selling properties at the top of the market, with low interest rates also tempting buyers.
The Cannells had to leave because their landlord decided to remodel his triplex property and raise the rent on their two-bedroom unit from $800 to whatever the market would bear.
"And the market will bear a lot," said Cannell. He and his wife, Evelyn, applied at 40 other rentals, ready to pay up to $1,000 out of their $1,800 monthly income, but faced only rejection.
"We'd be standing in line with 50 other people, just at the open house," he said. "We never got anywhere."
Two factors are working against renters these days, disrupting lives across the economic spectrum. The supply of rental homes is dwindling, and the cost of what's left has shot up.
Landlords ran an average of 176 Sunday classified ads for rental apartments or condos on Oahu last year, a tiny fraction of the 1,014 such ads placed monthly in 1998, according to Ricky Cassiday, president of Data@Work, which tracks such activity. Meanwhile, the average rent on those units climbed to $1,379 from $847 during the same period.
"The simple big picture is there hasn't been enough housing produced," Cassiday said. "At the top of the last real estate cycle, commonly known as the Japanese bubble, there was a tremendous number of units produced, much of it affordable, coerced by an affordable-housing policy. The builders had to comply to get zoning."
But little low-income housing -- and virtually no rental property -- has been built lately in Honolulu. Developers are opting for higher-profit projects. And the "mom and pop" operators that dominate the Hawaii rental market have instead been selling their houses and apartment buildings or demanding more rent.
"I think it's come to a point that everyone can agree that it's a problem and that we have to do something," said Laura Thielen, executive director of the Affordable Housing and Homeless Alliance. "This is the hot-button issue this year."
Gordon Lum had 35 applicants apply to rent his two-bedroom Kapahulu house that he recently put on the market for $1,450 a month. "I really felt sorry that the rental market was so difficult. Some people offered to pay $100 more a month just to get it."
"It was really sad," he said. "I really felt sorry that the rental market was so difficult. Some people offered to pay $100 more a month just to get it."
Half a dozen contestants would have been ideal tenants, he said, including a single professor whose parents came along to vouch for her neatness, a local family who wanted to stay in the neighborhood, and the sister of some close friends. The Lums wound up giving the home to a social worker and a university student, and their dog. They locked in the original $1,450 rent in a two-year lease.
"They're not making that much money, and we wanted to give them a break," Lum said. "Like everyone else, they were very enthusiastic about the place and were going to take care of it."
His attitude is not the norm in Hawaii's booming real estate market.
Allyson McAdams, whose family is losing the lease on their home in St. Louis Heights, responded quickly to a rental ad for a three-bedroom house in the neighborhood advertised at $1,750 a month. The landlady advised her the price had jumped to $1,950.
"A week later I saw it in the paper, and it was $2,200," McAdams said. "That's just pure greed. Lots of people came and wanted it."
In its latest report, the National Low Income Housing Coalition called Hawaii one of the least affordable states in the country, saying residents here need to make at least $17.60 an hour to afford a two-bedroom rental.
The University of Hawaii Center on the Family recently estimated that the state's homeless population was 13,000 last year, based on the number who used shelters or received outreach services. The waiting list for the City and County of Honolulu's Section 8 rent subsidy program has grown to 10,000 applicants.
With Bluebear at her side, Saint Louis Heights resident Allyson McAdams sorts through Christmas decorations, deciding what's worth shipping to Tucson, Ariz., where her family is moving because they can't afford Oahu's steep rental prices. "Until probably four months ago, I'd say, 'Don't talk to me about moving. Hawaii's my home,'" she said.
"I feel very fortunate because we have shelter, we have a van," he said. "A lot of people don't have anything, they have a backpack. It's become such a horrendous problem. People can't ignore it anymore."
While those at the bottom of the income scale are the most vulnerable, the tight rental market is pinching most everyone.
In Hawaii Kai, Michael and Marion Harken would love to stay in the four-bedroom, two-bath house they have been renting for nearly $2,000 a month, but their landlord wants to sell it.
They are dismayed by the rents on comparable places, and have been rebuffed by landlords who can be choosy nowadays.
"It's nuts, it really is," Harken said. "I'm a police officer and I have a canine, a working dog, and that's just making it next to impossible. The competition is so heavy. If you have the smallest little glitch in your credit record, they'll take someone else. It's causing an incredible amount of stress on my family."
They'd like their sons, Bryce and Sean, to finish out their schooling at Kaiser High, but they have had to look farther and farther away -- and at smaller homes -- in hopes of landing something.
Other house hunters have decided the sacrifices required to live in Hawaii just aren't worth it anymore.
St. Louis Heights resident McAdams and her husband, Alan, both 43, are taking their two children to Tucson, Ariz., to start a new phase of their life, she said, because they feel "backed up against the wall."
"Until probably four months ago, I'd say, 'Don't talk to me about moving. Hawaii's my home,'" she said. But they have discovered that Alan's full-time job and her two part-time jobs are no longer enough in today's housing market. So they are saying goodbye to the ocean they love.
"If we stay in Hawaii, we're going to be working our buns off," she said. "We want to have a lifestyle where we're working that we also enjoy. We could afford to live out in Ewa, but we don't want to live out there. We'd be spending at least two hours a day in traffic. It started not to make sense."
Tips for rentersThe search:» Tell everyone you know that you are looking.» Check listings early every day in newspapers, the Internet and rental magazines. » When leaving phone messages, speak clearly and repeat your phone number. » Make appointments for home showings and be prompt. » Be well groomed -- first impressions count. Landlords want responsible tenants. » At open houses, come a little early to scope out the neighborhood and be first in line. Be prepared:» Be ready to put down a deposit to hold the apartment or house.» Before visiting a unit, complete a standard rental application so you'll have the information handy. » Application forms are available on the Internet and require details on current and previous landlords and employers, as well as bank accounts, credit cards and loans. » Call your references to alert them and ensure their contact numbers are current. » Have backup documentation for information on your application, such as a copy of a recent pay stub. » Be prepared to pay a $10 to $25 application fee to management companies. » Don't forget to sign and date the application. Improving your chances:» Credit reports often contain errors. Make sure yours is accurate.» Federal law allows you to obtain a free annual copy of your credit report from Equifax, Experian or Transunion, the national credit reporting companies. » Clear up any credit problems. One small unpaid bill can doom your application. » If your application is turned down due to insufficient or poor credit, you are entitled to a copy of that report from the credit reporting company. » If your credit history is flawed, you might be able to improve your chances by offering to pay a higher security deposit or asking a relative or friend with good credit to co-sign the rental agreement. » Having pets limits your options since many Hawaii landlords prohibit them. Consider how important pets are to you.
Renters squeezedThe average rent for apartments on Oahu has climbed in the last several years while the number of units available for rent has plummeted.Average number of Sunday classified ads for Oahu rental apartments/condos:
Source: Ricky Cassiday, president, Data@Work
|
Tonight on KITV 4 News at 10 ...
 |
... Paul Udell introduces you to a man who never dreamed he'd be homeless in Hawaii. A man who is working two jobs to cover the rent. A man who went back to school to better himself -- only to find himself with a landlord who wanted his apartment back -- and who then found himself out on the street. We'll walk the street with him tonight, getting to know what it does to you when you find yourself where you never dreamed you would be. In the end, we will tell a story less about a down-and-outer than about an impressive display of optimism and determination.
|
 |
[News] [Business] [Features] [Sports] [Editorial] [Do It Electric!]
[Classified Ads] [Search] [Subscribe] [Info] [Letter to Editor]
[Feedback]