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Unusual-Okra9251 t1_ja8rl64 wrote

Reply to comment by nathanaz in Who here owns residential and rents it out? thinking of buying a two-family in Rahway as it is getting very cute there. by [deleted]

It's not like the house would languish on the market unless a landlord came along to buy it and rent it out. Inventory is super low, and sellers are going to naturally take the easiest buyer with the most money, so you get cash buyers unaffected by interest rates. Meanwhile, families who saved for years are losing buying power because of rising interest, thus having to save longer and missing out on a home.

Landlords are not heroes or victims.

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nathanaz t1_ja8w2fr wrote

I 100% agree that there are people out there getting edged out of the market to buy a house, and that sucks. I’m old enough to have seen a few cycles where the real estate market ebbs and flows, and right now is one of those shitty times for buyers. Has to be completely frustrating.

It seems like there’s a significant and important role for landlords though. Many people (young people, people who move around for jobs, growing families, older folks etc) want to rent and not buy, and I was just curious what the vitriolic ‘landlords are evil’ people thought in terms of that piece of the market should be handled.

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Unusual-Okra9251 t1_ja8xc66 wrote

I have no issue with apartments that are meant to be apartments. I understand that there will always be a segment of the population that benefits more from renting. The issue I have is when so called average people think that they can hoard property and use it for "passive" income. Those landlords do nothing of benefit for anyone.

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nathanaz t1_ja910sj wrote

You’re saying only places built specifically as apartments should be rented?

In a scenario where average people can’t buy houses and rent it out for passive income/ equity, who owns the homes that get rented out? Assuming not everyone who wants to rent wants to rent an apartment - some people (like me before I bought) want to rent a house.

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Unusual-Okra9251 t1_ja91spp wrote

At this point it's obvious that whatever argument I make, you're going to advocate for landlords. We can just agree to disagree. I'm tired of seeing communities turned into all rental neighborhoods by individual landlords and investment groups. I hate that airbnb and other short term rental companies have prevented families from putting down roots in towns that are quickly being priced out of reach. I don't know how to solve the issue without massive government oversight or a guillotine, but I know which method is more satisfying.

I'm just lucky that I was able to buy last year before rates shot way up, in a town I've long loved. There are a lot of small time landlords in my town, renting homes to people for considerably more than what my mortgage costs. It's not great.

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nathanaz t1_ja92zg4 wrote

I just think landlords have a role in the overall market, as not everyone wants to rent a small apt or buy. It’s not really ‘advocating’ as much as it is just accepting the reality of the housing market and that people have preferences. Unethical landlords that try to screw people out of every dime possible are not what I’m talking about - fuck those people. But renting, in general, doesn’t need to be evil. Maybe limits on rent increases, like they do in some cities, would be in order throughout the country.

As far as airbnb and the like, I feel like short term rentals in residential areas are destroying neighborhoods by creating blocks of houses with transient occupants. I don’t have all the answers, in terms of what to do about it, but those types of arrangements should be addressed, IMO.

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