Yes, I'm a Conservative, But SOME Rent Control IS Necesary

[sartre play]

Don't know anything about rent control. any one on here live where there is rent control like New York? learning is better than complaining.
We owned rentals for years, kept our rents low, one renter stayed for eleven years, no we did not make a lot of profit, but the renters paid off our property, an added to our income. a landlord is intiled to make a profit. today I think greed rules, raising rent based on property taxes,& other increases is fair. but when the love of money becomes more important than being fair in your dealings with others I make a moral judgment on your humanity.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

You say the building recently changed owners. Do you know what the new owners paid for the building? Maybe the selling price was based on market rents, and not the actual revenue of the building. If that is the case, maybe the new owner has to raise the rents in order to pay the mortgage. What are other comparable buildings in the same area charging for comparable rental units?

Regardless, the rents will shortly stabilize at rates that are consistent with market conditions. If "nobody" is willing to pay the new, higher rent rates, then the building will go empty, right? But the landlord will necessarily make an adjustment to fill up the building.

A renter has no vested interest beyond the term of his lease. This unfortunate fact of life drives people to take extraordinary measures to buy a residence (condo, house, RV, whatever), so that they can complain about increases in taxes, rather than rents.

Other comparable buildings in the same area are charging,

for comparable rental units, w​

hat our rents have been before the new owners came in,

If the new owner had to raise rents 60% to pay the mortgage, then he shouldn't have paid that high a mortgage. I'm getting very uncomfortable with how many posters here are talking about landlords and mortgages, and not a word about people and their lives.

Because you're only looking at things from your own perspective. You have to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and look at the entire picture.

I can only speak for myself of course, but I don't rent apartments to help anybody out. It's a business deal like any other. The market dictates what my price range is. Don't get me wrong, if one of my tenants is having a hard time because they missed work due to illness, their only vehicle broke down and it cost them a lot of money, a sick child or something, I could work with them, but I wouldn't offer somebody an apartment who came with such problems.

I have to keep the water running. I have to pay the mortgages so I don't get foreclosed on. I have to pay the insurance so the banks don't rescind the loan and demand full payment. Property taxes are an arm and a leg here because they built new schools several years ago (which I voted down). I have bills to pay. When those costs go up, I have to find the money to keep up with those bills.

Just one instance: I bought this place 25 years ago. Since that time, property taxes went up 120%. How do you keep up with that without increasing rents?

 

[protectionist]

Tampa? Well, that helps explain it. They also have an affordable housing committee. Interesting...

Municode Library

Explains what ?

 

[protectionist]

gawd, and here i thought we'd have a lovely philisophical debate w/o going down partisan boulevard .....

~S~

That won't ever happen in USMB (or most any computer forum)

 

[protectionist]

While that was once part of what made conservatives conservative, that is no longer a valid definition.

In some ways it still is a correct definition of conservatism. especially with regard to conserving American culture, while liberals push multiculturalism (ex. foreign languages on voting ballots)

Another is international music played at public events, instead of American music (Blues, jazz, bluegrass, soul, country, rock'n roll)

 

[playtime]

that's why universal healthcare is the way to go.

No, that's why government should stay out of the private market. That's the way to go.

certain things should not be privatized.

"Only a fool would expect the entity that created the problem to find a solution to it."
Author unknown.

“Give people what they need: food, medicine, clean air, pure water, trees and grass, pleasant [enough] homes to live in, some hours of work, more hours of leisure. Don't ask who deserves it. Every human being deserves it.”
― Howard Zinn

I don't know who Howard Zinn is, but if he really believes that, he needs to move to Cuba or a similar place.

cuba has many problems, but healthcare ain't one of them. nor is illiteracy.

 

[protectionist]

Apartments and rental units are a commodity today. Nobody wants to own, especially the Millennial generation. They rent everything from their apartment to television set.

So it's really a supply and demand issue. If everybody demands rental units instead of houses, the price goes up, and I don't see it going down anytime soon as more people line up to get apartments.

But prices go up only as far as people can pay them, and landlords can rent units. Hopefully, maybe these prices where I am, will start falling, as this place is emptying out a lot faster than it's filling up.

One other thing about renting vs owning. Maintenance is done by the landlord in rentals. In home ownership, maintainance can be expensive.

 

[protectionist]

Many people who choose rent do not do so because it's their only choice. They simply don't want all the problems of home ownership. This is particularly true of women. Once the kids are out of the house, if the woman is alone, she has no need for a house and all the care and money it takes to keep it up-kept.

The toilet is leaking, water is coming into the basement, a window doesn't open, the lawn needs to be cut, the ceiling fan quit working are all things people don't want to deal with. When renters have a problem, they simply make a phone call and the problem is solved. It's up to the landlord to find a qualified HVAC person for a reasonable rate. It's up to the landlord to have the grass cut or the snow removed from the driveway. It's up to the landlord to find a garage door repairman to fix the garage door opener.

That's the way a lot of people want to live. It's the sign of the times.

Another consideration is the age of the renter (or buyer) If a 20 year old buys a house, and pays off a mortgage in 30 years, he'll be 50 when he gets the deed.

For me, in 30 years, I'll be 102.

 

[protectionist]

Yep. No need at all to raise the MW.

Most Americans, Republicans and Democrats both, support raising the MW. Can't imagine why they don't do it.

 

[protectionist]

Valid points. And in the long run, you pay more for those conveniences.

The OP wants the conveniences AND low prices. He wants the gov't to force someone to accept less money for the use of their property because he did not plan for his own retirement.

Less money than an exhorbitant amount, extreme increase, inconsistent with neighboring properties. And this is HUNDREDS of resident moving out, not just me.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Apartments and rental units are a commodity today. Nobody wants to own, especially the Millennial generation. They rent everything from their apartment to television set.

So it's really a supply and demand issue. If everybody demands rental units instead of houses, the price goes up, and I don't see it going down anytime soon as more people line up to get apartments.

But prices go up only as far as people can pay them, and landlords can rent units. Hopefully, maybe these prices where I am, will start falling, as this place is emptying out a lot faster than it's filling up.

One other thing about renting vs owning. Maintenance is done by the landlord in rentals. In home ownership, maintainance can be expensive.

Yes, correct. That's why more people are turning to rentals even though they could afford a house. Owning a home is just a hassle a lot of people don't want to get into.

My sister recently moved into a townhouse. She had a beautiful house here. In fact it was built to her design by my father. Everything in the home is quality material. But she works a lot of hours and didn't have time to maintain the property or things inside the home. It was built in the early 80's, and hiring people to fix stuff all the time was time consuming and expensive.

The house she bought is much newer and newly remodeled, so everything in the unit is new. She has to pay a maintenance fee for snow plowing and yard maintenance and she doesn't mind paying one bit.

As for your place, it sounds like the landlord is trying to get rid of people. For what reason, I couldn't tell you. Perhaps he is making them into high quality rentals where he can charge a much higher price. I would find the name of the company that bought it and see if there are any local stories on it. Or in most cases, you can find out what they paid for it and what their costs are. That may help explain some things.

 

[protectionist]

If it's your property, it's your business what you do with it.

As long as the property taxes are paid and the property is kept up to code, it's the owners decision on what to do with that property--not the governments.

Yes in Florida, it is entirely the owner's decision -which creates major hardships for hundreds of families, just to suit that ONE man. Not good.

SOME rent control is a good idea in a case like this. The QUANTITY of the increases are the issue. ANY increase is putting too much power in the hands of one person, and too little in the hands of hundreds of people.

We need to define what housing rental places really are. Like TV set that somebody owns, or something where hundreds of peoples LIVES are intertwined with that thing.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

Many people who choose rent do not do so because it's their only choice. They simply don't want all the problems of home ownership. This is particularly true of women. Once the kids are out of the house, if the woman is alone, she has no need for a house and all the care and money it takes to keep it up-kept.

The toilet is leaking, water is coming into the basement, a window doesn't open, the lawn needs to be cut, the ceiling fan quit working are all things people don't want to deal with. When renters have a problem, they simply make a phone call and the problem is solved. It's up to the landlord to find a qualified HVAC person for a reasonable rate. It's up to the landlord to have the grass cut or the snow removed from the driveway. It's up to the landlord to find a garage door repairman to fix the garage door opener.

That's the way a lot of people want to live. It's the sign of the times.

Another consideration is the age of the renter (or buyer) If a 20 year old buys a house, and pays off a mortgage in 30 years, he'll be 50 when he gets the deed.

For me, in 30 years, I'll be 102.

I think a lot of considerations are on the table when deciding to be a renter or owner. For instance, this neighborhood has been going downhill for a while. If I sell out, I'd be taking a pretty good loss. If you're a renter and concerned about the environment, you simply give your notice, pack your things and move somewhere else.

So as for myself, I'm trying to get as much money as I can so I don't lose out too badly. I keep my rents high enough to do this, but low enough to attract quality tenants at the same time. Provided I have good tenants (which I do now) I have a policy of not raising rents. I increase my rental prices when somebody new moves in. One of my tenants has been here eight years, and he's paying the same rental price today as when he first moved in.

 

[eagle1462010]

Housing Counseling: Florida | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Results | Income & Rent Limits | Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse

Gainsville area......

Fair Housing in Florida | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

 

[protectionist]

It is easier to buy than to rent in Califormia. The home that I own right now, was a foreclosure that originally sold for 750,000, and got it for 210,000 back in 2011 and got a very good mortgage rate Comparable properties are selling for about 600,000 now.

Just down the street from my home there are some loft apartments that just grand opened and they are asking 3500 a month for an 1100 sq. ft. 2 bd 2ba.

Unbelievable.

I lived in California for 12 years. It never did make any sense.

 

[protectionist]

At times people ask me if I have a job? They just count the rental units and start adding up rents in their heads.

The truth is I get an income tax refund every year between my full-time job and being a landlord. With all the money it costs to run this place, I write it off and get a refund, so there is no profit most years. Last year was the first time I showed a profit in ten years only because I had no empty units the previous year.

What people don't do is ask what I have to pay to keep the place going. That's when the real story is learned. What I pay for water and sewer every month, what I pay for mortgage, what I pay in property taxes, what I pay for insurance. After all that is paid, then I have the money to do all the repairs and maintenance here.

For whatever reason, people think that just because you have rental property, you must be wealthy. The truth is small time landlords like myself don't see any profit, and at times have to take a loan out for big repairs like a furnace replacement, new roof, or new windows.

If a landlord can't afford to buy an apartment complex, without raising rents 60%, he shouldn't be buying that place. Plenty of others on the market.

 

[protectionist]

You can roll your eyes all you want, doesn't change the truth of what I said.

What you said was NOT the truth, and I refuted it.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

If it's your property, it's your business what you do with it.

As long as the property taxes are paid and the property is kept up to code, it's the owners decision on what to do with that property--not the governments.

Yes in Florida, it is entirely the owner's decision -which creates major hardships for hundreds of families, just to suit that ONE man. Not good.

SOME rent control is a good idea in a case like this. The QUANTITY of the increases are the issue. ANY increase is putting too much power in the hands of one person, and too little in the hands of hundreds of people.

We need to define what housing rental places really are. Like TV set that somebody owns, or something where hundreds of peoples LIVES are intertwined with that thing.

But then you create more problems than you solve.

When money is available, I try to update my places when possible. If somebody limits what I can charge for rent, I can't make any updates. What you have today is what you'll always have.

In the last ten years, I had to install three new roofs. The total cost for all three was $21,000. Now how do I recoup that money if I'm restricted on what I can charge for rent? Our property taxes went up 60% in some places. Who is going to limit that? Mine went up about half of that.

It's easy to look on the outside and add all those rents up, but unless you know what happens to that money you collect, then nobody has the right to tell me what I can or cannot charge. Even though I am not required, I tell my tenants what things cost here so they don't get the impression I'm saving up for my yacht. When I tell them what needs to be paid around here, most are shocked. They had no idea. Probably thought I was stuffing all the rent money under the mattress.

As I mentioned earlier, all rent restrictions would do is discourage people from buying rental property. That means less units to go around. Depleting supply will never help the market out.

 

[protectionist]

This is not the first time paying rent has been a struggle for some people. This was very frequent many years ago. What people did was get family, friends, and sometimes even strangers to share an apartment or house with. That's how they used to solve the problem. Granted, I would never want anybody living with me, but it's better than being homeless.

So is just staying where you are, and paying a normal (by community standards) rental rate.

 

[Ray From Cleveland]

At times people ask me if I have a job? They just count the rental units and start adding up rents in their heads.

The truth is I get an income tax refund every year between my full-time job and being a landlord. With all the money it costs to run this place, I write it off and get a refund, so there is no profit most years. Last year was the first time I showed a profit in ten years only because I had no empty units the previous year.

What people don't do is ask what I have to pay to keep the place going. That's when the real story is learned. What I pay for water and sewer every month, what I pay for mortgage, what I pay in property taxes, what I pay for insurance. After all that is paid, then I have the money to do all the repairs and maintenance here.

For whatever reason, people think that just because you have rental property, you must be wealthy. The truth is small time landlords like myself don't see any profit, and at times have to take a loan out for big repairs like a furnace replacement, new roof, or new windows.

If a landlord can't afford to buy an apartment complex, without raising rents 60%, he shouldn't be buying that place. Plenty of others on the market.

That's really up to him and nobody else what he does with it. If that's what he wants to do, he owns it. He can do as he pleases. If his plans end up being a failure, then it's on him or his company. Saying he shouldn't be allowed to buy those apartments if he is going to raise rents so high is like saying you shouldn't be allowed to buy that new car unless you have it washed once a week. It's not your dealerships concern what you do with that car after you bought it.