prototoast |
10-28-2021 03:05 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by echappist
(Post 3003186)
The (obvious) answer is that until there's something to indicate so otherwise, of course you aren't a jerk by the virtue of being a landlord.
I personally have benefited from renting from reasonable landlords: I was a tenant at one place for four straight years, and I will have lived at my current place for three straight years by the time we move out next spring. The rent increases at both were quite reasonable (to the tune of $25/month/year), and I basically ended up paying a few hundred less per months below market rate.
But as you can tell from this thread, not all landlords (even the small-time ones) do this, and some will be glad to squeeze out all they could get, even if that means units go vacant (thereby helping neither themselves nor potential renters).
Frankly, the post to which you responded paints the picture with such a broad brush, such that it is rhetorically defective. In no world should small-time landlords, big time landlords (say at least 50 units), slumlords (e.g. Kushner Jr.), 2nd property owners, and AirBnB operators be all included in the same category. Sure, they all hold equity in a residence that's not their primary residence, but the similarity ends there.
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Rentals are good. Second homes are fine. Landlords are a mixed bag. But more than anything else, housing affordability is driven by the quantity of housing units. If a location has nine housing units and 10 people, those 10 people Will bid aggressively to not be The one place to live. If you have 10 people and 11 has a unit, the landlords will price aggressively to not be the one who collects zero rent.
If you are able to turn your lot that is currently one housing unit into two housing units, you are doing a service for affordability for everyone, no matter what price you charge.
Too many housing policies focused on the price, but if you subsidize buyers while simultaneously restricting the quantity, of course those gains are going to go to landlords. Quantity is the name of the game. Landlords aren't jacking up the rent while units sit empty. And if you have more people who want to live in an area then housing units for them, there is no policy that can make housing broadly more affordable.
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