About a third of people rent instead of own these days because renting has been a great deal lately in a lot of cities. Interest rates have gone up so much in the past year that people have decided to keep renting or start renting for a change. As a result, rents are going up between 10 to 30 percent. The Wall Street Journal evaluated 69 markets in the country, and 60 of them are experiencing rising rents. So, if you’re renting, your landlord could boost your rent. If you shop the market and are willing to leave for good, you still have a lot of power. Use the leverage of what other more vacant properties are offering and your landlord may not raise your rent. But you have to be willing to walk. Then, if a landlord isn’t willing to match a deal you’ve found, you can leave. The best deals going right now are from speculators who bought condos or homes solely to “flip” them. They haven’t been able to do that, so these “involuntary landlords” are not getting any money and are probably willing to make a deal. That kind of landlord won’t be the most responsive, but that’s something you may have to deal with to get the good deal on rent. So, check out speculative condos for the best deal!