Are you among the one third of Americans who rents? The market is smiling on you with the potential for some great monthly savings.

Rents are undergoing the steepest year-to-year decline since 1995. That's because vacancies are fast approaching the highest level since stats started being kept.

If you're a renter, start shopping for a better deal two months before your current lease ends.

What you don't want to do is become a victim of your own inertia. Humans tend to be creatures of habit and that too often translates into wanting to stay put where you already are. But that kind of attitude will prevent you from taking advantage of the deals out in the marketplace.

Apartment owners are hurting. They have to compete with the shadow market, which is composed of those who speculatively bought condos and now are stuck renting them because they can't sell.

finally, this is also the moment that if you plan to stay put, you should negotiate the longest-term lease you can. Look beyond the standard one-year leases and lock in for two or three years at today's low rents if you're not planning on moving.

CLARKONOMICS: New data on rental apartments shows that the number of vacancies is the highest its been in a generation. You'd have to go back to the mid-1980s to find a similar glut of empty rentals in the marketplace.

This is the complete opposite of what economists expected. Technically, the rash of foreclosures should have created more renters. But there were several factors running interference here.

For example, a large shadow market of condo owners who can't sell have become involuntary landlords. That creates competition for the traditional apartment complexes. Second, many people in their 20s are getting out of school and going straight back home to live with their families, or else they're boomeranging back home after living on their own once they face a job loss.

This means opportunity for you as a renter if you choose to seize it.

If you're looking to negotiate a lower rent, Clark recommends you start doing a thorough search of traditional apartments about 2 months before your current lease is up. You should also check out condos, which may be newer and may rent for less per square foot than an apartment.

Take the info you've collected and lay it out for your landlord or property manager. By showing them what's available in the marketplace, you have some ammunition to try asking for a better deal on rent. You may be surprised at the offer your landlord comes back with to keep you.

Remember, you have all the power if you choose to use it. The ultimate power is to be willing to pick up and move if your landlord won't offer you a better deal.

If you vacate an apartment, be sure to leave it spotless and make any necessary repairs. Hire a cleaner to get it in order if you must. Just be certain to take pictures or video of the condition so the landlord has no reason to withhold your security deposit.

A new development out of the "People's Republic of California" has Clark all bent out of shape.

The Los Angeles Times reports that San Francisco has passed a law that prevents landlords from raising rent above 33% of a tenant's income.

Landlords, of course, are up in arms and may have to "stall building repairs and cut amenities for renters" in the words of the article.

It's a replay of the classic rent control scenario that you see in places like New York City. Everyone complains that their landlord won't fix anything or make any improvements to the facilities. But they never realize it's because rent control interferes with the free market and takes away any incentive for progress.

The consumer champ would rather let the free market set rents.

Clark has been on the air since 1987 and never can he recall a time when Washington D.C. has been so pivotal in the life of American capitalism.

Here's yet another example of this continuing trend. There's a new federal housing law on the books that provides protection for tenants who are current on their rent while their landlords are facing foreclosure.

The law permits you as a paying tenant to stay for the remainder of your lease, plus an additional 90 days. The foreclosing bank essentially becomes your landlord and tells you where to mail your check. This is a sea change. Where we previously had scattered state laws, now we have one national code.

And if you're renting without a lease, you'll get a 90-day notice of eviction.

Clark is steering clear of addressing this as yet another instance of federal intervention in the free market. Yet he maintains that the system we had in place was not adequate. Paying renters previously could find themselves on the street in as little as 5 days after their landlord was served with a foreclosure notice.

It's possible that some smaller lenders may not be aware of the new law as they're in the foreclosure process. If that's happening to you, you can file a written appeal and have your day in court to present the judge with information about the new law.

Meanwhile, do you suspect you might be paying too much for rent in your area? Now there's an online tool that lets you know if you're right. It's called RentoMeter.com. If it turns out you are overpaying, the website will even suggest alternate nearby locations that have lower rents! Of course, it won't be accurate 100% of the time.

The renter has become king of the real estate market because of a set of unusual conditions.

First, there's a huge shadow rental market composed of involuntary landlords who own property they can't sell and are instead renting it out. Second, people are opting to live with relatives or friends instead of renting when times get tough.

It's a classic case of too much supply and too little demand. Recent stats suggest that the number of vacant properties in the United States is the greatest it's ever been.

In addition, the rash of foreclosures has not created much additional demand for substitute housing. Why? So many of those foreclosures were never owner-occupied to be with! It was mostly speculative buying.

So the great news for renters is that they're calling the shots. Occupancy has fallen for 3 consecutive quarters. So look around for the signs on the side of the road advertising great rental deals.

Just know that you can't simply ask your landlord for a better deal and expect it to materialize. You've got to shop the market to see what other deals are out there. And then you've have got to be willing to walk if your landlord will not meet the offer you find somewhere else.

Keep in mind that you'll usually find the best rental deals from a desperate owner of an individual property. Beware, however, that an involuntarily landlord may not be quick to reply to concerns you have if something breaks.

CLARKONOMICS: There's frightful news about housing everywhere you turn. Existing home sales have dropped to a 12-year low. Meanwhile, almost half of all homes sold across America in January were foreclosures. That's a startling statistic.

The home construction market is also in disarray. Housing starts are down 60% from just a year ago. Then there are the drops in the Case-Shiller home price index. Las Vegas is down 33%, Miami 29% and San Francisco 31%. The least-affected cities include Denver and Dallas, which are both only down 4% year over year.

Out of this ugly scenario comes the possibility of real opportunity. During the worst excesses of the housing bubble, the relative cost per month to rent was just a tiny fraction of what it cost on a monthly basis to buy. Yet now The Wall Street Journal reports the relative affordability of renting vs. the cost of buying is once again coming into synch.

That makes this a great time to buy a house, according to Clark.

Remember, the only important long haul factor for housing is supply and demand. Builders have stopped building, and that sets the stage for the excess in the market to be soaked up. Opportunists will be a necessary part of the correction. They start the healing by coming in and establishing a pricing floor that creates the stage for recovery.

Of course, "inertia bias" dictates that psychologically we feel home values will always be in decline -- because that's the way things are now. But that's not the case. Most of the bad news (and the decline) has already happened -- though it may not be over yet in every market.

Tenants in good standing are often unintended victims when a landlord faces foreclosure. You can pay your rent month after month, but what good does it do if the landlord isn't paying the mortgage? You may come home and find you're supposed to be out on the street in weeks or even days.

Banks have been very stubborn and fought with tenant rights group over this issue. But there are smart business reasons to treat tenants with respect. After all, the banks are notoriously bad at being property managers of foreclosed homes. So why not let the tenant temporarily do the job for you?

Fannie Mae will now permit tenants in good standing to continue paying rent directly to the lender until the end of the lease. Clark thinks it's a smart move all around; it helps the neighborhood, it helps the tenant and it helps the lender.

In related news, the Federal Reserve's latest rate cut is aimed to reinvigorate lending in the housing and car markets. The cost of getting funds to lend is now the lowest it's been since the '60s, however, banks aren't capitalizing on it. As a result, the average consumer probably won't feel the benefit of the Fed's move.

Yet others will benefit from it. For example, Christa has a mortgage that is tied to the prime rate. The amount of interest she pays every month should drop because of the Fed's decision. She'll now be able to hit more of her principal if she continues paying the same amount she's been paying all along.

RIP-OFF ALERT: If you're among the roughly 1 in 3 Americans who is a renter, you need to be aware of a new scam in the housing market.

The Washington Post reports that criminals are going to foreclosed properties and changing the locks at the houses. They post ads about a house for rent online or in newspaper classifieds, and then play landlord when you go to look at the property. Then they'll collect a deposit -- and sometimes the first month of rent -- before giving you the keys and telling you to move in.

You may live there for days or even months before the bank wises up and evicts you as a trespasser or a squatter. It's perfectly within the bank's right to do so -- even though the whole scenario only took place because of their incompetence in managing REO (real-estate owned) property.

What telltale signs can you look for to avoid getting ripped off? You definitely want to know where the supposed landlord or real estate agent showing you the house has his or her office. In some cases, you may even want to jot down their license plate number. Just be sure to have some verifiable information about who they are and where they do business.

In non-judicial foreclosure states, there is no paperwork documenting the real owner of the property. That creates a legal loophole big enough for Mack truck, as Clark says, and it can easily be exploited by crooks engaged in this scam.

For people just starting out in life, it's becoming more difficult to afford a place to live. Bunking up with several roommates is becoming more common around the country. It's tough. Clark talked to flight attendant who had two children recently. When her home flight base was closed, she had to transfer to to another one in a different city, her only recourse was to share an apartment with 15 other attendants. She said that everyone had their own bunk bed, taking up all the rooms in the apartment. But this was the only way to make it affordable.

An architect in San Francisco came up with a design for a 250 sq. ft. condo -- roughly one-tenth the size of a typical house in America. That's smaller than a typical bedroom in a modern house. But by using intelligent design, it may not be roomy, but it's functional. But here's the kicker. How much do you think these condos sell for? $279,000 - $330,000. Most places in America, you can buy a whole house for that kind of money. But still, if you think about affordable options, this is a good start. The Habitat for Humanity homes Clark helps build use computer aided design to utilize every inch of available space. This allows them to build 4 bedroom, 2 bath homes with only 1000 square feet. The upshot is, if we can live with less, we can make places for people that are decent and affordable.

Should apartment complexes be allowed to completely ban smoking -- from the entire property, not just the apartments? That's a hot trend in California, Texas and elsewhere, according to The Dallas Morning News. There are now 300 apartment complexes scattered around the country that have this policy.

Tenants love it for the obvious safety reasons. Landlords like it because they don't have to lay out money to clean a place after a smoking tenant leaves. Clark sees the trend toward non-smoking apartment complexes as a business decision. After all, landlords may be able to command slightly higher rents.

Vote in Clark's poll and let him know what you think!

It's interesting how the perception of smoking has changed over time. About 30 years, a Texan entrepreneur started the first no-smoking hotel. Today, the hotels Clark stays in are routinely no smoking.

Ditto for the airline industry. Years ago, the non-smoking sections on flights were just a few rows of seats. Then they started getting progressively larger over the years. Today, we're no smoking on all flights in the United States.

Google has launched an interesting service that could be a real boon to house hunters and celebrity star gazers. Their "street view" function (be sure to click the street view tab) allows you to type in a street address and see high-quality pictures of houses and whole neighborhoods. You can even "walk" or "drive" up a street by using the mouse to scroll around!

Talk about a testimony to Google's immense wealth. They're sending photographers all over the country to take digital photos of every house, and then they're marrying it to the existing Google maps technology.

Not every street is mapped as of yet. Once you type in an address, you know it is mapped if a thumbnail image of the property pops up.

Think about the value of this service in the real estate world: You can get the inside scoop on a house and see real pictures -- not the staged ones you may see at an agent's site.

Remember when people would buy a map of the stars' homes in Los Angeles and spend the day driving around looking at their residences? Now you don't have to go to L.A. to gawk at the homes of the famous and near-famous. You can do it from the comfort of your living room using ZabaSearch.com to determine street addresses and this new Google Maps function to actually see them!

There are now 51,000 storage units throughout the country. Unfortunately, a lot of people are now living in their storage units because of economic hardship in the housing market. This is a dangerous and usually illegal practice.

In related news, Clark recently saw a very sad eviction in progress. Someone's possessions were piled up on a side street, and people just came up and took what they wanted. Could you imagine coming home to discover that you're homeless and bereft of your belongings?

Meanwhile, what happens when you stop paying your monthly storage bill? Clark read a New York Times report about a cottage industry springing up around the auction of property that's been seized from negligent accounts.

One storage company near Clark's house prominently posts signs -- illegally, on telephone poles -- when they're getting ready for an auction.

If you do have to put something in storage, know that you must get insurance on your belongings. In his TV work, Clark has done stories about how some people found their belongings damaged by flood or vermin and had no recourse. In fact, a rat jumped out at the camera while they were filming the story!

CLARKONOMICS: New foreclosure data shows that the 4 states with the worst situations are Nevada (where 1 in every 54 homes is a foreclosure), California, Arizona and Florida. Rounding out that list is Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Meanwhile, the nation is facing a record high number of vacancies with 3 out of every 100 houses going empty. Unfortunately, REO properties (real-estate owned) are notoriously unkempt and invite crime of all kinds.

In related news, Dow Jones recently reported that the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area has 3 years of backlog inventory to burn through. That's if another house never went on the market again! Only 3 markets are doing well by any standards. Seattle, Houston and Dallas each only have a 6-month supply of housing for sale.

So here's the good news: This is a great time for buyers (especially first-time homebuyers) and renters. Affordability is coming back to the market after going AWOL for years.

About 10% of rentals are vacant, which means that you can steal a deal as a renter. Try to shop around about 4 months before the end of your current lease. The greatest hazard and opportunity alike is in renting from an involuntary landlord who can't sell. They usually just need the money and don't know much about maintaining a property. But you'll get cheaper rent than in a traditional rental complex. The danger comes if they stop paying the mortgage and go into foreclosure. Then you'll be out on the street too.

California has a ballot initiative that will allow voters to decide whether or not to continue rent control. Rent control is, according to Clark, an enemy of people finding affordable, decent housing and of capitalism itself. When Clark was in college during the early '70s, he paid $249/month for a rent-controlled apartment. Despite rising inflation, his rent only reset from $249 to $257 at that time. Being 19 years old, Clark loved it and thought he hit the jackpot. But if something broke in the apartment, nothing ever got fixed because the owner didn't have enough money. When you interfere with the free market by dictating rents, owners have no incentive to invest or otherwise fix the property up. As a young person, Clark didn't understand the cause-and-effect relationship between rent control and poor living conditions. But now he does. New York is a case study in the drawbacks of rent control. Whenever you try to fix the price -- even though you think you're doing something nice for people -- you're really just asking for trouble.

Renters are about to enjoy the benefits of more competition for their cable business. The FCC plans to announce that landlords can no longer rip-off tenants by dictating which TV/cable/Internet providers they can use. Landlords previously could receive huge kickbacks from little private cable companies by signing exclusive deals for their buildings. When it comes to cable service, we don't have a lot of choice in this arena to begin with thanks to monopolies. The FCC's upcoming move will afford renters a little more wiggle room. Very rarely has a landlord dictating who you can go with for cable been a positive thing. In one unusual case, Clark's executive producer Christa once lived in an apartment where the management company offered her cable service at below-market price. Right now there's no telling how soon renters will feel the benefit of the upcoming FCC decision. On a related note, renters already have the right to go the satellite route. Under the Satellite Home Viewers Act, you can get satellite if you have a clear shot of the southern sky.

The troubles in the mortgage market are having an unexpected side-effect on renters. It all starts when people who own homes and condos that they can't sell become involuntary landlords. Those folks rent out their places while waiting for the market to recover so they can sell down the road for a profit. But what happens when an investor who buys multiple properties on spec gets into this situation? Even if those investors have tenants in their properties, they usually can't recoup all their costs when multiple mortgages come due every month. So they sometimes stop paying the mortgage on one of their properties while continuing to make payments on their others. You're going to find an eviction notice on your door if you're unlucky enough to rent at a property that's facing foreclosure. Tenants in this situation have fewer rights than if they didn't pay their rent for months.

Clark was in this situation at age 22 when he rented a condo with an option to purchase from a divorcing couple. One day he came home after playing tennis and found a notice on his door ordering him to vacate in just seven days. His landlords were taking his rent every month and not paying their mortgage. So Clark called the mortgage company's lawyer and asked for more time than seven days to vacate. He was denied extra time, but wound up working out a deal to purchase the townhouse for $36,000 with a five percent down-payment. He also got great loan terms because the bank didn't want to deal with a foreclosure. His mortgage payment actually wound up being lower than what he'd paid in rent! So out of adversity there can be opportunity. Clark still owns this property, which has been long since paid off. He's been renting it out for 25 years and it's been a cash cow for him.

It's a great time to vacation at the beach -- not just because it's summertime, but because it's really a renter's market right now. Many owners are stuck with second homes on the water they can't use. So they're trying to rent them in the summer market at deep discounts. The Boston Globe recently reported that Cape Cod is now a great renter's market. For years the Cape has been a notoriously hard place to find a decently priced rental. But now due to the lack of people willing to rent, owners are offering their places at discounts of up to 20 percent. Just be aware if you're going to do a summer rental up north that the beach season there is shorter than it is elsewhere.

So what's the best way to take advantage of this soft market for rentals? Clark recommends a website called Vacation Rentals by Owner. As the name suggests, it helps you rent directly from owners -- whether it's a home, condo, cabin, villa or apartment! For extra value, be sure to look at "fill in the gap" deals where you rent accommodations that are available in between other renters. But be wary of pictures supplied by the owner. Photography can cover up a lot of sins, as Clark says. He recalls when he was in the travel business and someone showed him a brochure with a picture of a hotel next to a picture of a beach that was nowhere near the hotel! Meanwhile, if you're renting an older property, look to see that it's been renovated within the last three years. And don't be shy about asking for more pictures from the owner. What you get initially may be misleading, so watch out!

The rental market is not going where people thought it was going. Owners of apartment complexes thought they’d be sitting pretty, with apartment construction slowing down and conversions to condominiums. But vacancies are actually rising, and landlords have found that incentives may be needed again. Why? According to the National Association of Realtors, the inventory of condominiums is up 38 percent in one year. That’s how many condos people are trying to sell and can’t. People who own condos are stuck in a tough bind right now. So, many condominium owners have become reluctant landlords. Some of these are converted apartments, while others are brand new high-rise type condos. So, if you’re a renter, you should consider renting a condo. Just remember that the landlord probably didn’t want to become a landlord. And reluctant landlords don’t care about the property. They also may have trouble paying the mortgage, so you could be evicted in a hurry if that happens. But you can make lemonade out of these lemons. Maybe suggest that you’ll keep the home in great shape and pay for maintenance issues if you get a cut in rent. Work it to your advantage.

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!

Clark has defended Wal-Mart for years, despite the fact that the company continues to enrage people. He’s always believed that by making things more affordable for everyone, Wal-Mart has kept inflation from increasing more and has helped the economy. But Clark is not very happy with Wal-Mart today. The company wants to build a new distribution center in Florida, according to the Orlando Sentinel. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing, but the company is trying to get families to sell off their land so the state can build roads leading to the center. The Sentinel reports that Wal-Mart has been out threatening people to sell their land for the money they are offering or suffer the consequences. If people refuse, Wal-Mart plans to use its government power to make move them anyway and give them a tiny fraction of what they would have gotten. If the story is true, there is no reason for one of the largest companies to behave like a bully. Clark is appalled at this and hopes Wal-Mart realizes it is in the wrong.

The Wall Street Journal published a recent report about the areas of the country with the greatest risk in terms of the housing market. There are three main areas. One stretches from San Francisco south to southern California and west to Arizona; the second encompasses nearly all of Florida; and the third includes the mid-Atlantic states from New York down through Virginia. Why is it happening? Part of the reason is that speculators have pushed prices up by buying up homes they never intended to live in. They bought them thinking they could flip them someday and make money. Well, now these people are under water and they can’t get rid of them. So, what can you do if you have to move and need to sell your home? Well, first of all if you plan to sell, you’re not doing yourself any favors if you are listing your place for the same amount as others are. Becoming a landlord may be an option for you. If you don’t want to take the loss, put the place up for sale and wait it out. Be realistic about what the marketplace will afford you. You’re holding a bad hand right now, but you can work through it.

Are you a landlord? Or are you considering becoming a landlord? Clark has long believed that real estate is a key component in building long term wealth. He’s owned rental properties for about 23 years now, and has earned wealth slowly with those properties. But many think being a landlord is a way to get rich quick. Those people quickly become disillusioned or burnt out, especially if the tenants are less than desirable. What people need to know is in the first three years, you’ll have what’s called “negative cash flow.” The cost of acquiring and fixing up the property will cost more than the money coming in. So, you need to be prepared for that. Running a background check is also important in the screening process. Just add the cost of that check into the application fee you charge people. Being a landlord also requires a certain personality and temperament. If you have tenants calling all the time about fixing things or questions about the place, you have to be able to let that roll off your back. You also have to consider whether you want to own an individual home or condominium. Most professional real estate investors prefer single family homes, but there are some maintenance plusses to owning a condo.

Clark has long believed that real estate is a key to building long term wealth. He’d like it to be about a quarter of your assets but no more than a third. But in recent years people have started investing a lot more in real estate. Some people are betting the entire farm on real estate, and “get rich” seminars are popping up all over the country on how to make money by owning property. Sometimes that works but it’s rare. In fact, Money Magazine has a new article out entitled “Reality Check,” which is about how difficult it is to be a landlord. If you’re planning to be a landlord, be honest with yourself and be prepared for a challenge. Screening tenants is your first priority, and you should charge the potential tenant for that check. If you don’t think you’ll be a good landlord but you’d like to own property, have someone manage the property for you. You’re also better off owning individual homes as opposed to condominiums. It’s a better bet, even though you don’t have lawn maintenance and other property issues with a condo.

The run up in real estate has been a very hit or miss kind of thing. Values on both coasts, parts of Florida and a couple other places have gone up much faster than people’s incomes. So, it’s hard to know whether to buy or sell if you’re moving. Clark has some good news for you on that front. If you’re moving to an area that has “bubbleized,” the New York Times has found that renting could cost you about half the cost of owning. A typical dwelling in San Francisco, for example, costs $5,000 a month to own. The same home would cost $2,500 a month to rent. The same is true in Boston, LA, New York and Miami. In the Mid-West, however, the cost of renting costs more than the total package of a mortgage, taxes and insurance. Dallas and Atlanta are also good places to own. So, if you’re going to be in a home for 10 years or more, go ahead and buy, no matter where it is. If it’s less than that in a bubble market, you’re better off renting.

People have been able to get really good deals on apartments over the past few years. But that is about to change. In the past six months, the market has shifted from the tenant having the advantage to the landlord having the advantage. The vacancy rate in apartments is 6 percent, which means 94 percent of apartments are filled right now. That rate is slowly going to decrease, though. One in three condominiums is being rented out, as well. You might not think of renting a condo, but you could find a great deal. There are advantages and disadvantages to doing this. You have no maintenance company, for example. So, getting things fixed will take longer. But there is a sense of community in a condominium complex because it is mostly owner occupied and people there care about their community. So, when one door opens another closes.

You've probably moved into a new place and had to set up electrical, phone and TV service, among other things. These days many more people are choosing satellite TV for their paid television service. But what if you set up your satellite service and, in addition to the satellite bill, you received a cable bill? Sound strange? Well, it’s happening in certain areas of the country and, even worse, it’s completely legal. Hundreds of people have unknowingly agreed to pay for cable TV when they sign their rental contracts, according to the New York Times. The cable companies are having trouble getting new subscribers because nearly everyone who wants pay television already has it. So, cable companies are negotiating deals with apartment managers who then attach a “pass through" cable charge in tenants' leases. The Times called what’s happening “Pay Twice TV.” So, you need to check your lease to find out what you're paying for. About 85 percent of American households pay for either satellite or cable. That means 15 percent of people have “rabbit ears” or no television at all. It’s also happening in condominium complexes, which could be a potentially good thing for homeowners. Bulk deals can save owners a great deal of money. But if you're a renter, you must read your lease!

Clark often gets questions from people about whether to rent or buy a home. His answer is usually pretty linear: You should only buy if you’re going to stay in a home for five or more years. But there is a clear exception to the rule going on right now according to the Wall Street Journal. In many areas of the country, there it’s an even better idea to rent rather than buy. The reasons for this include the fact that prices in certain markets have risen significantly in recent years and because “speculators” are buying homes and renting them out. So, there is an oversupply of affordable rentals in many areas of the country while home prices in these areas have gone up. The major markets where this is true include Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, San Diego, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco, Tampa and Washington D.C. In San Diego, for example, it will cost you 40 cents to rent for every $1 it costs you to buy. That means if you pay $1,000 a month for a mortgage, it will cost you only $400 to rent. On the other side of the spectrum, buying sometimes makes much more sense. They are few and far between, but they exist. Indianapolis, Dallas and Atlanta are areas where it would make more sense to own rather than rent. The cost to rent in these areas is roughly equivalent to the cost of owning. You should still abide by Clark’s rule even if you are moving to an area where it’s smart to buy, and that is to rent for about six months before you buy. That way you can weigh in traffic, schools, and other factors.

How would you like to spend less on your rent? Apartment vacancies have remained high over the past few years. In part, that’s because many people bought homes or condos when mortgage rates dropped so low several years ago. That soaked up part of the rental market and demand for apartments. The latest data shows that landlords are having just as much trouble renting places as they did a year ago. So, it’s clearly a renter’s market. If your lease is about to end and you’re planning to get a better deal somewhere, make sure you know how far in advance you have to notify the landlord that you are vacating. And do it in writing. Use that time before your lease is up to go out and shop the competition. Ask your friends what they’re paying and where they live. The key to getting a good deal on a rental is to be ready to walk. Get offers from several places and, if the landlord doesn’t budge, walk out. You have the power to decide, within reason, what you pay for rent. These deals will eventually end because the supply will dwindle and contractors won’t keep building the apartment complexes that they have been. Not to mention the fact that mortgage rates will likely rise and more people will go back to renting. So, get a deal now and think about signing a two-year lease. You may get a much better deal.

We’ve been through a period of terrible dishonesty and amoral behavior among banks, brokerage houses and other financial institutions. It has caused a lot of distrust and frustration among the American people, who now seem to distrust corporate America in general. Apparently, it’s continuing. The nation’s largest apartment company owner, Equity Residential Properties, is the target of a huge lawsuit in Florida for duping tenants out of rent money they didn’t know. The company owns apartment complexes in 33 states and it has just lost a case for improperly collecting money from former tenants. Let’s say a tenant had to terminate a lease early for some reason. The company would tell the tenant that he or she would be responsible for the remainder of the lease until and unless someone else moved into the apartment. But Executive Residential and several management companies were holding people liable for rent on an apartment that had been re-rented. So, essentially, the company was collecting “double rent” on apartments, which is against the law. Even worse, the company didn’t tell former tenants that they owed the money. So, when that person goes to buy a home, there are unpaid debts on that person’s credit report. So, the apartment complex was using that fact to force former tenants to pay money they don’t owe. Apparently, this is just the tip of the iceberg in the apartment industry. So, what can you do? Make sure you go by the apartment or home to see if it’s been rented, or ask your friends to watch out. Then, take a picture of the place – with people or furniture inside – to show it’s been re-rented. If possible, an automatic date will be imprinted on the picture as proof.

Many people have bought vacation homes in the past few years and – even with increase in travel and improvement in the economy – renters are getting fantastic deals. When you buy a place at the beach or the mountains, real estate agents always talk about “rental income potential.” People who buy want to think of these homes or condos as an investment. They want to rent out their place often and possibly make money on these places. Revenue projections say you will make a decent amount. But right now supply and demand are completely out of whack. It’s the fourth year in a row that renting is sluggish at resort properties. Prices are down about 20 percent when renting a home or condo at the beach or in the mountains. So, you can get great deals if you look around.

Clark gets calls from landlords who are having terrible problems with tenants who don’t pay rent or trash the properties. He often sends them to landlord.com. But now there is something even more helpful for landlords and possibly hurtful for tenants. There is now a database listing questionable tenants called the “Tenant Black List.” Landlords can search the database for your name and refuse to rent you an apartment because you are on it. But there are potential red flags with this system. The UD registry, as it’s officially called, has had some mistakes. A name can appear on the list by mistake or out of spite by a former landlord, and that person may be completely in the clear. There is also no appeals process, which bothers Clark. So, some states are fighting back. Minnesota has implemented a law saying you can have your record purged from this list if it’s found that you were not at fault. Computer technology has become so affordable and sophisticated that data mining companies are able to develop customized reports for various industries. So, take action if you are blacklisted.

Clark has talked in the past about the opportunity available to the one in three people who rent homes today. The opportunity now is the best it’s been in decades. New data from the Census Bureau shows that the vacancy rate in apartments is the highest it’s been since the bureau started collecting the information five decades ago. It’s not true of all areas of the country. But, in many, you can be shopping the marketplace and finding a great deal. You also need to remember that many leases have “automatic renewal” clauses. So, if you don’t give enough notice, you could be stuck in the same place. Tell your landlord that you’re giving notice because there are great deals. Make a list of the offers you get and then go back to your landlord and negotiate. Some landlords are giving DVD players, televisions and some are giving free rent. There are drawings and contests all the time for a year of free rent. That’s fantastic. Rents are also down in many places as much as 25 percent. So, get out there and work a deal. It's a win-win for everyone because landlords don't want empty properties.