this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023
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I have a few rentals. Only one of them was purchased as a straight up investment. The others were just the places where I used to live. I also have a job. Theaye posts are honestly pretty childish. I rent my places out more or less at cost, and often take applicants who are seen as too risky by most landlords (I basically guarantee my own rentals, because I don't really need the cash flow). I see it more as community service than a revenue stream.
That's why I just think this shit is childish. Almost everyone I rent to is in no position to buy. I guess they'd just be homeless without landlords. I've had people who have literally been turned down 50 times, who were living in their car, and broke down crying when I told them I'd rent to them without a co-signer.
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
Shame they're in no position to buy, I wonder if they would be if people or corporations weren't allowed to own a "few" rentals. Or if reducing the pressure on the market brought by people or corporations who own a "few" rentals would at least make it easier for them to rent in the first place since other people who have to rent would be buying instead.
There would just be less housing. Construction workers are workers too, and as much as it sucks, they aren't going to put $50k of their own labor and materials at risk so that a person living paycheck to paycheck can own a home, regardless of how noble that pursuit might be.
I also support radical action to end housing shortages and homelessness, and believe secure housing is a fundamental human right. If the government wanted to buy my properties at cost, using my own tax dollars, and gift them to those in need, I would support that. If they wanted to turn my current home into high density housing, I would support that. I am doing many things on my own, both through advocacy and direct action to address the real moral problem of housing. Unfortunately, I have no interest in being a smug slacktivist, so it often seems like lemmy doesn't have any interest in my ideas.
Not everyone wants to own and it can even be profitable not to... It's like if the anti landlord movement wants to force ownership on everyone...
Obviously not. The "movement" wants to remove profit intensives from the whole process
So landlords should rent for the price of their mortgage only? What about when they're done paying their mortgage, they should rent for free and take a risk that the person "renting" the place will damage it and the landlord then has to pay for the damage? What's the incentive to rent then? Wouldn't that create more scarcity? What about if they're on a mortgage with variable rate, should the rent price vary every few months?
By "at cost" do you mean they're paying your mortgages and property taxes for you? If so, they could afford to buy if they had a down-payment. They probably don't have a down-payment because all their money goes to rent :)
I don't blame people for being capitalist when living in a capitalist system, but it still sucks. You could try something like a non-predatory form of rent-to-own where they gain equity over time (though these arrangements are usually predatory).
It's super fucked up how people basically are constantly essentially getting taxed more and more for the right to survive. No one should be profiting off basic needs
That being said, the system is fucked up, and if you're mainly using their rents to pay for equity, you're playing by the rules while doing more good than harm. It can still be a win-win, and I think it's ok to feel good about that
Homes shouldn't be an investment vehicle, but they are - you should seek to help fix the broken rules, but it's foolish to just ignore them. Most investments have a similar effect somewhere down the line anyways
But the real question is - are you actually a landlord? Technically yes, but in spirit? If you're not making much of a profit from rent, you're not what people mean when they say landlord. The upper middle class has been dabbling in rental properties for a while, but that's not who the term refers to - it's people who own enough that the rental income is the line item they're keeping track of.
The starting line is like 20-30 units, and it's mostly held by investment groups or families that inherited a town... They're who own most rental properties out there
If you rent out a few places and don't put much thought into adjusting the rent, you're not the problem here. You're not the one we're talking about when we talk about landlords
Oh, that is very generous of you! I've edited my comment
See. This is why I don't like landlords.
It's either I'm stuck with some transactional fake as fuck relationship or I'm homeless.
Very thoughtful and agreeable comment. Fuck any greedy landlords and corps for buying up properties and driving up housing costs, but landlords and rentals do need to exist for people who need temporary housing or aren’t in the position to buy.
In a capitalist society, sure.
I wonder why people are in no position to buy, when homes are treated as a source of revenue for corporations and some people. I wonder why people have to jump through hoops to be able to have a roof, if the property are bought as an investment.
Yeah, maybe you aren't lying and not making a profit out people's suffering, but even you should see that it's not the norm, otherwise your benevolence wouldn't be needed at all. The whole system is cruel, and everyone who participates contributes to it, some more than others.
Thank you for your service.
It's easy to demonize and dunk on people for being greedy and just removing houses from the market, but as you well have stated, some people are not in a position to buy. So rent becomes the only true and logical solution.
Sure, they could well be down on their luck. But I would also present the case of the immigrant, new to a country (and having moved with a job offer), having no opportunity to sign for a mortgage (no credit history, didn't gather enough work time in the country to provide payslips). And even if they had a suitcase of money just lying around, it takes a bit of time to decide if you want to settle. The best one can hope for is finding a landlord who's not an asshat.
And no, other solutions proposed in the comments probably would not help, since, for instance, communal rentals tend to have long waiting lists or require some sort of reputation (like knowing some of the community) before allowing you to move in.