If you're thinking about raising rent in Montgomery County, you better do it now!
If you own a rental property or investment property in Montgomery County, Maryland you need to start keeping an eye on this new law being brewed. Advocates for renters in the county are pushing for a law to put rent-control on landlords, and have them show "just cause" before terminating a lease.
For a county to take this extreme measure is going to cause major havoc on owners of these dwellings. For instance, owners who are facing hard times and went years without raising their tenants rent, just have to do it to catch up with the market value. Now there is going to be a rent control for them?
The article is very vague on whether the rent-control will be anything like that of Takoma Park, Maryland or like Washington DC's. For those of us who live here in Montgomery County, know first hand that owning a rental in Takoma Park is not the most ideal situation for a return on your investment. In Washington DC, owners who own more then a certain amount of units are rent capped, but those that own one or two condos are exempt.
It is in my personal opinion that if this law is passed, it is going to create a blizzard of foreclosures and short sales, even more so then the county is experiencing. The article states that about 25% of residents in Montgomery County rent, which equates to a lot more potential for defaults by owners.
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