The following question was posted by “Newbie” in yesterday’s thread:
I have been reading here for the past couple of months, my purpose being to understand if it is worth buying a house/townhome in seattle.
Now, landlord just increased my rent by 15%. This is pushing me towards seriously considering buying. What do you suggest?
A 15% increase sounds pretty excessive (unless the previous rent was extremely low), but I suppose it would be possible if the landlord believed for some reason that they could actually get that price. Leaving aside judgments about the veracity of the question, I’m sure there is a lot of advice out there for Newbie on how to find a good deal on a rental, and plenty of opinions about buying a townhome.
It is worth pointing out that if Newbie is a resident of Seattle proper, the law requires that your landlord provide a 60 day written notice of any rent increases larger than 10% (p. 3). For more information about renter’s legal rights with respect to rent increases in Washington State, refer to Tenants Union of Washington State.
What kind of constructive input would you have for someone in Newbie’s situation?