I might hate these small time landlords more than I do the big real estate investment corps. Because I know the exact mentality they go in with. Borrow like 5% down from the bank to buy a few houses or a small multi family unit. For someone like a PA or another member of the labor aristocracy making like $125k-$175k a year, they can save that much in a couple years just by avoiding big vacations or something. Very little of their own money in. So they might end up paying $5k a month in mortgage payments but collect $7k in rent. Maybe they pay a management company some of that profit so they literally have to do nothing other than cash a check. And then they start patting themselves on the back for how smart they are. Oh and in 30 years they will own the building free and clear, but their renters don’t own shit.
Notice how the idea of risk never factors into it. I despise the bougie scum who say start a restaurant but at least I find those fucks tend to at least pay lip service to the idea that all this has some risk of not panning out.
Every person that isn’t paying their rent as a choice is becuase their Landlord is a pos. It’s pretty simple.
Tenants can ruin you. Something all these small landlords don’t seem to grasp. You treat your tenants well they will take care of the place. You pester them belittle them be passive aggressive you’ll end up getting one that will make you financially pay
Capitalists love to talk about how they deserve to be rewarded for taking risks until that risk turns into costs
Was working a service job once, had a nice conversation with an older, well-off couple who’d done well in business. They told me – verbatim – “The trick is to start with other people’s money; if you can’t get someone to give you money, you might not have that good of an idea, and if you fail you aren’t personally on the hook.”
Fantastic advice if you’re starting a business, but revealing in how even small-time capitalists know the “we take risks so we deserve rewards” line is bullshit. I wonder if those nice folks would turn around and tell that to someone attacking capitalism, or if they’d have the self-awareness to see it as fiction.
Thoughts and prayers.
