Landlord Back in Control

Did you actually read the article? I guess not.

"Marc Lewis, the president of Century 21 NY Metro, said that landlords to whom he had spoken in recent weeks were not terribly sanguine. “The general feeling is that things are not good because the summer season was much shorter than in the past and there were fewer transactions,” he said. Many landlords, he added, “think we’re in for a tough winter and they’re not very optimistic about the next six months.” "

Did you read this part? I guess not.

A friend recently called him for help because his landlord had demanded a rent increase of $1,400 a month. He had helped place the friend in the $3,400-a-month two-bedroom apartment in 2009 when the landlord was eager to fill the space.

Mr. Malin and his unhappy friend looked at comparable apartments, “and unfortunately for him,” Mr. Malin said, “what we concluded was he got an amazing deal last year where he was basically paying a one-bedroom price for a two-bedroom.”

Mr. Malin broke the news as gently as he could. “While it was a big dollar amount to swallow,” he said, “it is what those apartments are renting for now.”

The friend signed the new lease.