As rent prices rise in Nashville — up 19% since 2020 — the cost is putting pressure on renters across the region.

More: View a WPLN News guide to affordable housing.

In Franklin, Ellen Mahurin has been hunting for a new place. She’s a receptionist at a veterinary clinic and picks up a few cases as an animal behaviorist. Prior to the pandemic, she was a full-time behaviorist.  WPLN News first interviewed her in September, when she asked a housing question to our Nash In The Know project. Then she learned that her out-of-state landlord would be increasing her monthly rent by over $500.

To provide insights into the rental market, Mahurin has been documenting her hunt for housing and answering questions on audio recordings. The experiences she shares here have been edited for clarity and length.

“I expected an increase.”

My previous base rent was $1,281 and the new is $1,813. I expected an increase, but I did not expect that much.

I expected I would have to move out of Williamson County, at some point, making less than $40,000 a year. But I did not think it would have to be this year. I didn’t think I’d have to do it super fast. I did not get even 30 days notice.

When I got the lease renewal notice on my door on Jan. 10, I was sick on the couch with COVID. So I read it over. I saw the huge monthly rent increase. And didn’t really comprehend much of the rest of it, just being sick and having brain fog.

“That’s not what I’m about.”

I have two teenagers. Ideally, I would like to be in a three-bedroom place so that I could have my own bedroom. I currently sleep in the living room on the couch.

We also have pets. The biggest problem is a lot of places don’t accept big dogs, anything over 35 or 40 pounds. And my dog is 60 pounds. She’s very docile. She’s very friendly. She’s very calm. She likes to sleep. She’s a great apartment dog. She’s very quiet — hardly ever barks. But she is over 40 pounds.

I guess more places would open up to me if I got rid of my dog. That’s unthinkable for me. I’m an animal behaviorist. I work with animal rescues. I’ve never given up an animal because of housing.

That’s not what I’m about.

“I have never really stopped looking for places.”

Throughout my time in my current apartment, the rent was still difficult for me, so I have never really stopped looking for places. I moved in to my current apartment in February of 2020. And when the pandemic hit, it changed my work and my income, and so I pretty much started looking for a new place in March of 2020.

So when I knew I was going to have to move, I went ahead and looked at those.

At first glance, it seems like there are a lot of potential good fits as a place to live, especially on Craigslist. There are several houses listed. Two or three bedrooms in the Nashville and surrounding areas for less than $1,000.

Then I did some research on how to tell if any of those listings are scams. And one of the ways is to do a reverse image search with Google Lens and see if that house is listed anywhere else. And most of them I eliminated with that reverse image search.

They were houses that were listed on another website like Zillow or Trulia for sale. Some of them were in a different state. So those were obviously not legitimate ads.

What I was reading is that the goal of the scammer is to have you pay a deposit without having seen the place because it’s not actually available. And then you just never hear from them again.

There have been a few three-bedroom rentals that were less than $1,000, but by the time I called about them, they were gone. So I’ll probably have to go with a two-bedroom apartment again.

“Do I look into homeless shelters?”

What is the option for me? Who cares about that in our government? If I can’t find a place or I can’t get approved, do I try to look for a smaller place? Do I look into homeless shelters? I mean, I can’t believe I’m even thinking about that. I’ve never in my life not been able to afford a two-bedroom apartment on a modest salary.

And with the stress of all this, that would be another reason to have some counselors, some guides to just help me through the process and say, “Hey, you’ve got options, here they are.”

But right now, I’m not sure what my options are.

“I would be thrilled just to be able to afford my rent.”

Be able to buy whatever groceries I want and to be out of debt — I would be happy, happy, happy with just that. Having a lower rent would be a huge step in that direction.

I would have to earn more in order to add anything on top of that, like trying to buy my teenager a used car or sometimes she asks for music lessons or something.

“I just have to do what is going to be best for me and the kids.”

I am just planning to stay in this apartment until I get approved and can move in to another apartment.

And if I don’t pay the whole rent, I’ll pay them back eventually, and it’ll be OK. You should pay what the owner of the apartment wants you to pay. I’m not about trying to scam somebody else.

But if I can’t pay it all at once, but I make an effort and I pay what I was paying, then it’ll be OK. I will pay them eventually.

I don’t know. I just have to worry about the legal or credit score consequences later. I just have to do what is going to be best for me and the kids, and it would be a lot less stressful if we don’t have to move out in a hurry.

“I’m starting to get kind of excited about moving in over here (Swiss View Apartments).”

I made it past the online portion of the application. I had to pay a, like, $50 application fee. They asked for a $300 deposit. If I didn’t get accepted, they would give it back.

I submitted financial documents because this is an income-restricted apartment. They said I got past that part and now they want me to come in for an in-person application.

You used to be able to say, “Hey, I want to come see your apartments,” and they would at least show you a model. Two years ago, I looked at several models. But this year, every application I’m filling out, it’s like you have fill it out, pass the background check, pay the application fee before you can even see inside one of their apartments.

I like the area.

It’s very convenient to work. It’s really only about 10 minutes drive. I’m starting to get kind of excited about moving in over here.

Ellen’s next steps

After sharing moments from her apartment hunt for almost a month, Ellen Mahurin’s application for the income-restricted apartments was denied. She and her employer reviewed the paperwork and found mistakes. Now she’ll have to wait six months before she can apply again. 

Meanwhile, her lease has ended for her current apartment, and Mahurin hasn’t heard from her landlord. She plans to stay there despite not having a legal agreement. She says she will continue paying her old lease price as she continues her search for her next place.