Four months have already passed
since we moved into our new home.
We have bought new furniture and
settled in,
but we can never give a sigh of relief in this city, even after
buying a home.
Out of the frying pan into the
fire.
We still can’t find a new tenant
for the apartment our old apartment..
To break the lease, the
management office asked us to pay in advance
till the end of the contract, this
August, because we had just renewed
the lease last summer.
The management office said it
would look for a new tenant,
and if it could find one, they would pay us back.
So we reluctantly paid thousands
of dollars.
When I look back now, it was a
crucial moment of failure
for this too-obedient Japanese couple.
We didn’t have a lot of hope of
finding a new tenant easily
during the holidays.
Even so, the building is so new,
with luxury amenities and
a convenient location, and residential turnover is so
high
that we thought it wouldn’t take long to find a new tenant.
However…..
we waited and waited, but there
was no news.
Even if we contacted the
management repeatedly, they kept saying
“ We’re still looking.”
My husband’s face turned
impatient.
We were spending as much on the
apartment where nobody lives
as on our mortgage.
It’s money down the drain.
This situation was unbearable.
If nobody will take over the
unit, can’t we get a penny?
The worst-case scenario crossed
my mind.
I must avoid this situation by
all means.
If we did nothing and relied on
the management office,
something bad would happen. I had a presentiment.
I started to contact real estate
brokers and learned
something unbelievable.
First, the management office
listed the unit at an incredible higher price,
raising the rent by $500 a
month.
“ When you have already paid, they never
search seriously,”
one broker said.
“They show other vacant units first. So I
suspect that your unit
has not been shown by anybody in these few months.”
What?! That’s impossible!
Were they pretending to search for
a new tenant after getting our money?
If it’s true, that is a dirty
trick.
Once again I have culture shock
when I hear the broker’s words:
“This is New York City. This is the way of
business here.”
We ask the office what is going
on, but they just answer:
“ We are adjusting the price according to the
market trend.”
Is an increase of more than 10%
the market trend?
Who believes that?
I was so frustrated.
Another broker advised us to
consult lawyers,
and it made me so nervous.
At the same time, another agent
said:
“ When you rent a place, we Japanese brokers
usually negotiate
with a management office regarding breaking the lease,
so you
can leave easily even during the contract term for a little money.”
Oh, come on!!
Who was the broker who introduced
the unit to my husband?
Please work hard…
I’m crying out inside.
The broker
was not Japanese, but a local agent my husband’s company hired.
If the brokers
aren’t Japanese, it’s natural that they don’t know how to
negotiate breaking
the lease.
The broker continued,
“At least you should have negotiated with
someone in the management
before you accepted all their terms and paid.”
Sigh… We could not take the
advantage of the opportunity.
That broker couldn’t do anything for us after
the lease was signed and paid.
On the other hand, a different
broker said,
“ In March, many Japanese business people come
to New York,
and that building is very popular among them.
You will find
someone soon!”
They were very easygoing and had
the opposite opinion.
Different brokers say
differently.
I’m confused about what I should
believe.
How many times I’ve experienced
this feeing since I came here…
Anyway, we keep contacting the
management office persistently.
We thought that if we annoyed
them, they might lower the price
to the proper market rate.
We’ll never know until we try!
So, this was the beginning.
Once the price became reasonable,
we had to start searching
for a new tenant ourselves using our own networks.
And yet, I was surprised to hear
that unit prices in New York City
increase about 5% per year on average.
In Manhattan, for a 1BR
condominium rental, we have to accept
a few hundred dollars’ increment when we
renew the lease every one or two years.
From the first, that was why my
husband wanted to buy our own apartment.
He thinks the real estate market
in New York City will continue to rise
and will never be in recession except in
rare cases.
If we didn’t buy our own
apartment as soon as we can,
the price would be beyond our budget in a few years.
We never thought we wanted to get
money to invest,
but the situation is very different from Japan.
I’ve never bought an apartment in
Japan, but it is said that in 30 years,
the value of the house will be zero. In Japan, houses are not built to
last
long and people usually prefer new houses.
However, in New York City,
how
much will our new apartment’s value go up?
Well, if we earn some money in 30
years,
I wonder if someday we will be
able to laugh about it, saying
“ That payment was our lesson fee.”
No, no. We will never laugh.
This lesson fee is too expensive.
Wanted: someone who needs a
turnkey 1BR!
