BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Taylor Eaton was not expecting it to be so difficult to find a rental property in Buffalo. She thought she would have plenty of options. "Yeah, I moved here for a job, and I had two weeks to move. Coming here I really just thought I had everything figured out. Newsflash I got here I didn't not," Eaton explains.
She looked for weeks but could not find anything and when she finally found the one she had to beat out several other renters to get it. She explains, "It was hard. You had to be creative to come up with ways to put you ahead." Taylor says she offered a little more and, "negotiated a little bit and then I was like, okay, like I've been saving."
Real Estate Agent Britt Konczyk with MJ Peterson says a lot of people are being priced out by others coming from larger cities. She says, "A lot of people are maybe originally from here and have gone to larger cities and have their professional jobs there and they're realizing just with covid that they want to be back near by their family. They can work from home and your money goes a lot further here whether you are renting or you are buying. I did a 28-hundred dollar rental for people who grew up here and moved back from New York City. For the most part it's pretty tight and pretty competitive for renters."
Landlords say prices are also going up because of the rising cost of just about everything. According to Zillow, the median rent in Buffalo is $1,275, $820 less than the national median. Britt says if you are having a hard time finding a place, you might have better luck soon. She expects the market to cool along with the weather and says, "definitely the fall and the winter we kind of slow down." If you are considering moving from a rental and buying...she says the fall and winter might be the best time for that, too. Britt explains, "There's less on the market but there are also less people looking."
Sarah Blankenship, CEO of Wealth Protection Specialist and financial planner with Wilcox Financial says if you are looking to buy there are options for mortgages that do not require a down payment, "for people who are veterans, people who are firefighters, people who are nurses or other health care workers or teachers that can provide some assistance with that depending on the mortgage broker you're looking at."
If your goal is to buy Sarah recommends saving up as much as you can by cutting back on unnecessary expenses, "I think the easiest place that it is to spend without paying attention is usually on food, especially on the go. We all know that it's much cheaper to make food at home, make coffee at home." If you do choose to buy, don't forget to factor in unexpected additional expenses. "What if something breaks? What if I need to replace a furnace or the foundation is bad? You need to be prepared," Sarah says.
Taylor is thankful she was prepared to pay more and get more than she expected. She says, "I love it here. But overall, the process in the beginning, panicky and nervous."
