For renters facing a renewal
A renewal increase arrives with a figure and a deadline, and nothing explaining either. Here is how to find out whether it follows the market or just follows the calendar.
It names a number and a date. It does not name a reason. Most renewal increases are set by a policy, a spreadsheet, or simply last year plus a percentage, and none of those have looked at your unit.
Moving costs real money. A new deposit, a truck, time off work, application fees you will not get back, and a week of your life. The increase is often priced against your cost of leaving rather than against the market.
Inktrue prices your unit against leases actually signed nearby in recent months, then adjusts for your specific attributes. Not the building average, not the neighborhood average. The unit you live in.
Either the increase tracks the market and you sign without the doubt, or it does not and you have something to send back that is not an opinion. The report reads the same whoever ran it, which is exactly why it travels.
We look at where rents in your area have gone over the past year, how quickly vacant units are being taken, and whether the number of available units is growing or shrinking. A softening market and a tightening one justify very different letters. All of it is printed in the report, in plain language, with no jargon to decode.
You learn whether the increase is in line with the market and what the difference is per month, so the conversation is about dollars instead of feelings.
There is a particular helplessness in a letter that sets your largest monthly expense with no explanation. Having the document ends it.
Section four of the report reads the rent trend, how fast units are leasing, and how much supply is available.
The report is free and it belongs to you, so you can send it on or keep it to yourself.