On the Rental Hunt, Feeling Like Chum in the Water

Garri Saganenko Thursday, April 4 2019 - 3:35pm

We got lucky. After posting on the Facebook group MV Long-Term Housing Rentals last fall, my roommate and I received an offer to rent a summer home for the winter.

We got lucky. After posting on the Facebook group MV Long-Term Housing Rentals last fall, my roommate and I received an offer to rent a summer home for the winter. A property that fetched $3,500 a week in July and August would be ours for $1,950 a month. And though the rental was only for the winter, that didn’t matter because the house had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen replete with marble countertops. My roommate and I both knew we wouldn’t find a better housing opportunity. So we signed the lease, paid one and a half month’s rent, and eagerly awaited move-in.

But now that winter has come to an end, the need to find another place to live looms large. Naturally, we returned to what had worked for us before, and crafted another post for MV Long-Term Housing Rentals nearly identical to the one we had written in the fall. We described ourselves as reliable tenants with impeccable Island references who live here year-round and have a clear need for housing. The post deployed all three tools of persuasion: ethos, logos and pathos. But it received a paltry response. Suddenly, the bi-annual search for housing that had proved so fortuitous for us several months ago was proving to be futile. Whereas in late August property owners were willing to negotiate and make concessions in order to fill their soon-to-be vacant summer homes, the well of charitable dealings and housing opportunities had run dry.

This came as no surprise, however. It is of course much easier to find housing on the Vineyard in the winter than in the summer. What did come as a surprise were the extremes to which landlords and tenants are willing to go in order to secure a rental property amid a backdrop of intense demand. Sometimes the tactics are not only unethical, but illegal.

For example, Massachusetts law prohibits a landlord from requiring a tenant or prospective tenant to pay more than first and last month’s rent, a security deposit (which cannot exceed first month’s rent), and the price for a new lock and key. The law applies to all rental agreements that exceed 100 days and all rental agreements for less than 100 days that are not for vacation or recreational purposes. Yet, it is openly disregarded by landlords who sometimes require enormous down payments to reserve their rental property, and also by prospective tenants who openly express a willingness to waive their rights in order to get a deal done before anyone else swoops in to secure the rental.

When it became clear to my roommate and me that we would have to search more diligently to find a place to live this summer, we immediately began to encounter these unsavory practices. One post we found on Facebook advertised a one-bedroom guest house on Chappy. The price was reasonable: $6,500 from May to October, or $1,300 per month. We contacted the owner the same day the post went up and asked if the property could accommodate two people. The answer was yes, but it currently only had a double bed, so we would have to bring a separate mattress ourselves. The owner made a final clarification before ending the call: the rent was $6,500 for the season. That meant we would have to pay five months rent up front before we moved in. While the $1,300 monthly rate was within our budget, we did not have the ability to pony up $6,500 ahead of time. Before we had the opportunity to see the house and attempt to negotiate, the property had been rented. Someone had agreed to front the entire $6,500 sum.

The above was not the only instance in which we were asked to pay well over the legally allowed amount in order to secure a rental. In an email exchanged between my roommate and a property owner, we learned about a required $15,000 down payment to rent a place from May 15 to Oct. 1, along with an electric utility/security deposit of $1,200 plus a departure cleaning fee of $240. The amounts were due in several payments, with final payment by April 17, a month before arrival. The total required to move-in came to $16,440, which was $8,000 over the legally allowed amount.

Thankfully, we have since found housing. But our experiences proved not only how difficult it is to navigate within the Vineyard rental market as a year-round resident, but how it is even more challenging to distinguish between difficulties that are simply inherent to a seasonal market, and difficulties that are outright illegal.

It appears there is no particular group — landlords or tenants — to blame. Landlords should stop requiring down payments that are outside the scope of the law. Tenants should stop treating their rights as a bargaining tool. Both are victims of a broken system.

Garri Saganenko lives in Vineyard Haven.

Comments

I've been in your situation.

BS Oak Bluffs

I've been in your situation. I was was actually homeless for several months here about 15 years ago. It had nothing to do with finances but lack of housing availability. I figured it out and now own a home. No one owes you a place to live. Figure it out and if you can't make it work move to a place your skills provide the income you need to survive.

The Vineyard needs to stop

Public Trust all island

The Vineyard needs to stop feeling guilty for not housing everyone that wants to live here. Employers need to secure housing for their own workers, not burden the Island with this issue. And it is foolish to move here now. Owning a home here is 100% or more higher than off Island, and wages are maybe 30% higher. If we try and house everyone, we will all suffer from over population.

I’m glad you found housing,

Chip Coblyn OB

I’m glad you found housing, and I hope you’ll be able to stay here—a place of your choosing. No one should ever be made to feel unwelcome on Martha’s Vineyard over money. We can and will do better through the work of IHT and possibly the nascent Housing Bank.

I’m confused, money or the

John Aldeborgh Edgartown, MA

I’m confused, money or the lack thereof, determines where we can live. It’s basic economic law. If I want to live on Martha’s Vineyard I need to be prepared to pay market rates or compromise my standard of living. I have zero right to live where I want, I have every right to try an earn a living that allows me to live where I want. That’s a big distinction. Martha’s Vineyard is not reality, the real estate prices are the proof. The island has willingly evolved into a luxury vacation destination, with everything that comes with that.

All of us have been through

here we go again edg

All of us have been through your scenario. Many of us saved, worked 3 jobs, and eventually bought a place. In order to make the mortgage, we rented rooms to strangers during the summer to help pay the mortgage. I don't like sharing a bathroom, let alone with a stranger, but it paid the mortgage. The reason landlords ask for money up front is due to their past experiences with bad tenants, and they are not willing to repeat it if they don't have to. And due to market conditions they don't have to. The last thing you need to do if you expect to get a place on your terms and conditions is to recite the law to a prospective landlord. You will be viewed as a potential problem tenant, and it wont be made available for you to rent. Its like telling a cop on the side of the road 'I know my rights'. That may be the case, but you'll still get a citation. Landlords who have been stiffed for late rent and repairs in the past are the reason you are not being welcomed with open arms.

I grew up in a Town where my

Get a grip Vineyard Haven

I grew up in a Town where my family was the third generation to live there. The three prior generations had worked in the schools, police department, Town Hall, and had volunteered to help out in many endeavors to better the town. They did this because they had pride in the place that they called home. Never did they expect, or had they received, free housing or a burdensome tax to provide free housing for others. It baffles me to think that people believe they should be given a home on Martha's Vineyard simply because they want to live there?

Thank you for your comments,

John Aldeborgh Edgartown, MA

Thank you for your comments, from another 3rd generation island family.

As a point of clarification,

Island Citizen West Tisbury

As a point of clarification, affordable housing on Martha’s Vineyard is NOT offered for free. Recipients must qualify for mortgages or be able to demonstrate their ability to pay rent. Many “affordable homes” still cost upwards of $250,000 to purchase. Funding for affordable housing brings secure year-round housing within the financial reach for all sorts of regular people who already live here and make our community whole.

I wish I could live in a

Elizabeth Rosen NYC

I wish I could live in a place of my choosing then have subsidies secure for me the things I need.
No offense to MV but I might like Aspen - think someone there will give me house?

Actually, you could! If you

P.A Edgartown

Actually, you could! If you qualified! Aspen has a robust housing authority created for the purpose of housing workers and families who otherwise couldn't afford to live there. As their mission states they work to "Provide affordable rental and ownership housing opportunities to qualified workers in Aspen and Pitkin County who contribute to the success of our local community and economy." Feel free to check out the website https://www.apcha.org/180/APCHA I know several families there who have housing through that organization, without the subsidies they couldn't live there, as nurses, teachers and chefs. Many other cities and communities that are looking for ways to keep the workers adequately housed in "vacation" areas are looking to the Aspen model for examples.

On the Vineyard, apparently,

Wayne Berkshires

On the Vineyard, apparently, nastiness is a shared consequence of both home ownership and homelessness. An obviously careful writer who was not asking for free housing, Garri was making a particular point of law that warrants a thoughtful response, but which none of the above comments addressed. Instead, they made do with I've-got-mine selfishness and a touch of sarcasm. Almost makes me doubt the value of these newspaper comment boards.

I think some of the

Al Reis Tisbury

I think some of the frustration in the responses is because some of the biggest troublemakers on the tenant side have also been some of the loudest noise makers on the demanding side and some people are fed up. It doesn’t mean there aren’t good people caught in the mix, but unfortunately the deadbeats and property destroyers have really made a mess of things here and newbtenants are presumed guilty until proven innocent

Gee Wayne, I hate being

Chip Coblyn OB

Gee Wayne, I hate being lumped in with the unkindly—but other than my previous comment, nastiness was ruling the day.

THANK YOU. The comments on

Edenwillow Brooklyn, NY

THANK YOU. The comments on this post are baffling.

Here!Here!Well said.

Heather Ibey Enfield, NH

Here! Here! Well said.

Geez....not a very friendly

Deborah

Geez....not a very friendly bunch commenting today. Nowhere in this piece did I see that the author was looking for a free house to live in or someone to give them anything. Landlords are breaking the law and should be reported. It's morally bankrupt to essentially blackmail year-round residents in order for them to have a place to live. It's a vicious circle and not a very nice one. People fall in love with the Vineyard and want to live there, they can't afford the hugely inflated prices to buy a home so they work on the Vineyard and rent a cheap (ha!) place to live and try to save up for a house.The Island economy depends on summer rentals and then scalp tourists on rentals. The businesses on Island need people to work in their shops so said tourists will continue to come and enjoy the Island. The more people come the more shops there are and the fewer places for people who work in those shops to live in. Pretty soon you're going to just be an island of filthy rich people who don't care a fig if anyone else ever comes there again. I've been coming to the Island for 46 years and I don't think that most of the changes are good ones. Limit the number of people who come over. When the slots are full the slots are full. Make it a lottery so everyone, rich and not so rich have the same chances to come over for a summer vacation. It used to be that when the last ferry left with the last load of cars that was it for the day. Get rents back to a reasonable rate, cut down on the traffic, the noise, the waiting in lines for every damn thing you want to do. Make it be simple again. Preserve the paradise.

Wow, central planning has not

Mark Edgartown

Wow, central planning has not worked in any economy and doing so for the Vineyard would be a disaster. I would like to live at Central Park South, but can't afford a $20mm condo. Should NYC accommodate my desire to live there...this sense of entitlement is dangerous.

Speaking as a previous

gina Menemsha/nyc

Speaking as a previous Landlord renting to Winter tenants in the 80's for approx 10 winters, I can report from experience it was always risky .. Of course I had several repeat winter tenants but it was always a barely breakeven proposition the math didn't make sense accounting for all the property wear & tear.

I stopped renting to winter tenants in the in early 90's.. There will always be unscrupulous Landlord winter or Summer.. but they exist. Best to keep an avoid list & file a Complaint against any shake down of pre paying on your rent Good tenants are hard to find & I assume you have excellent references you should be fine. I wrote my good tenants referrals all the time..