That’s not true at all. Not only is it expressly outlined in our lease agreement, there’s plenty of laws regarding landlord obligations and renters’ rights. If I don’t uphold my end of the lease, my tenant absolutely has legal recourse. He can sue for rent and I could get fined for each day the home doesn’t meet requirements.
You’re smart, I like you. Can we be friends lol
Or I could make it an Airbnb! Screw my tenant and my neighbors, too!
Do you know what a mortgage is? It’s a 30 year, essentially rent-to-own contract. Neither of us are planning on living here that long. My tenant isn’t planning on living that long. And even if I owned it outright, I’d be paying property tax and insurance.
Sure, I could come out on top financially. I’m definitely not going to turn a profit but it might be cheaper than renting an apartment in the long run. And in the meantime, I take on all the risk and responsibility until I move and sell the house.
Not everything is a capitalist grift. I’m just trying to get by.
So you think I should split the mortgage 50/50 and be responsible for 100% of maintenance?
Home ownership is so, so much more than a mortgage. In the past five years, I’ve replaced a sump pump, a water heater, both furnaces, garage door, chimney flue, garbage disposal, several windows, along with remodeling my tenants entire kitchen while mine looks like ass.
If my tenant’s HVAC breaks, should I replace it, or tell him that’s his responsibility now? Should I tell him he has to mow the lawn and shovel?
My tenant is in his 60s. He wants to live in a nice house with a yard. He doesn’t want to be responsible for upkeep, so he pays me to do it instead.
But I guess I’m no better than a private equity firm that buys entire neighborhoods just to raise rent and increase shareholder value.
Can y’all see some nuance here? The problem isn’t the landlords. It’s the system.
I believe housing is a human right. Housing shouldn’t be a for-profit business. But for better or worse, it’s one of the best investments possible. And the system makes it incredibly difficult to buy a home in certain circumstances, especially on short notice.
My parents helped me buy my first home because I have shit credit. I’m single, I don’t need a ton of space, but there aren’t many small houses with decent yards (I have dogs) on the market.
We decided to go with a duplex so I could have another source of income to pay for twice the house I need. And yeah, I charge my tenant well over half the mortgage.
I also do yardwork, snow removal, maintenance, and I pay out of my ass when anything breaks because I have an obligation to provide for my tenant and I take that seriously.
So do you think I’m a piece of shit for being a landlord?
Edit: apparently none of you know how a mortgage works. When you start paying it off, it’s nearly all interest. If I sell in five years, I will have paid about $80k in interest for maybe $30k in equity. Factor in the $70k+ I’ve already spent on renovations and maintenance, that’s over $120k that I have to try to recoup just to break even. And the way the market looks, I’ll be lucky to get $50k over the purchase price.
In the end, I’m basically leasing from the bank. They’re making all the profit, I’m just trying to offset my living costs. Yes, that means my tenant pays and gets no equity. He also takes on no risk or responsibility.
Corn is wind-pollinated. You can’t just grow one stalk, you need dozens at minimum so they can pollinate each other.
Squash plants need tons of space on the ground. The stems/vines will actually send out roots wherever they touch moist soil.
The bramble types do. They’ll spread out a few feet every year and new plants will pop up everywhere. They’re hard to prune because of the nasty thorns, and as long as there’s roots, they’ll grow back.
You can get a thornless variety that’s much easier to contain. I have one in my front yard that hasn’t spread at all.
A similar thing happens with fennel and dill. The result is something that tastes like a weaker mix of both and the fennel doesn’t grow a bulb.
I also forgot to take it after posting that comment and your comment reminded me.
If I was a woman I would get pregnant all the time.
Fuck. Now I don’t remember if I took my meds today.
I’m in a midsized city in the Midwest. Literally in the middle of it. There’s a herd of deer that lives in a ravine and a golf course nearby. The city stopped relocating or disposing of them a while ago.
They’re at least smart enough to avoid cars for the most part but they will fuck up your gardens.
City deer can be stupidly fearless. I’ve had deer eat out of my bird feeders while my dogs barked at them through the open window six feet away. They don’t even run when approached, just lazily trot away.
I vote to ban “slams” in headlines unless somebody is getting literally body slammed.
God isn’t real. Morality comes from empathy, not a higher power.
It’s four white stripes on black.
Your grandma and professor were wrong. Try to find a source that uses the term photoshop before 1992. You won’t, because it doesn’t exist.
It’s okay to be wrong sometimes.
It’s not true. It was called photo manipulation before Photoshop.
Adobe has actually complained about the term photoshopping because it can lead to genericization and loss of their trademark.
That’s absolutely not true.
Edit: Okay, eat shit downvoters. Please provide a source that confirms the term photoshop was used before 1992.
It’s absolutely relevant if you know how a mortgage works. Payments are ~75% interest in the first decade. I’m not going to have enough equity at that time to make a profit after all the money I put into the house. I’m looking at a $50k loss if the market stays steady. Still cheaper than renting, though.
Yes, my tenant subsidizes my living costs. That’s the point of a duplex. I set the rent at what I thought was fair, given my expected losses and the work I put in.
There’s no shortage of housing here. If my tenant wanted to, he could buy a house right now. He’s waiting until he retires, specifically because he doesn’t want the responsibilities of home ownership while he’s still working.