7 ms·

Whether it's technically legal or not is immaterial, it's still unsavory opportunism in my book. They have added no value, they're not looking to add value.

mikeash 9y ago
Charging market rent for parking will result in more efficient use of the space.
- abrodersen 9y ago
  Charging market river toll will result in more efficient use of the Rhine. /s
  - mikeash 9y ago
    I mean, yes, if the Rhine suffers from insufficient capacity, charging money to use it will help ensure that the existing capacity is used as efficiently as possible. For modern examples along those lines, consider the Suez or Panama Canals.
mrkurt 9y ago
If they sell the spaces to people outside the block, they're adding value.
escherize 9y ago
If someone owns something and rents it out, could you explain how that not provide value?
- resu_nimda 9y ago
  I am using the term value in a more personal/human sense than a purely economic one. Most of the comments replying to mine seem to be defending this behavior based on these more technical economic arguments (understandable on HN). I'm talking about the value that is created by a person creating and doing things, rather than simply finding opportunities to arbitrage for a quick buck. It's subjective so we can agree to disagree if you find the type of behavior described in the article to be valuable.
Joeri 9y ago
Aren't they now responsible for road and sidewalk maintenance?
- sjg007 9y ago
  Yes.
jeffdavis 9y ago
Yes, they added value. The rich residents ignored their tax obligation for decades even though it was under-assessed. These people highlighted that fact, which will soon be corrected.
currymj 9y ago
now you're talking. follow this to its logical conclusion about all rentiers!
iliketosleep 9y ago
You could say the same about most forms of rent-seeking behavior.
npsimons 9y ago
> They have added no value, they're not looking to add value. Which is basically property ownership/landlordship in a nutshell. Not that I'm disagreeing with you, just pointing out it's something we accept all the time already.
- resu_nimda 9y ago
  Yes but not all landlords are the same. Some put time and effort into maintaining the property and making improvements. I would consider that adding value. Like everything else, there's a spectrum, and I find the couple described in the article to be on the extreme "slumlord" end, except even more obnoxious because they are masquerading as nice gentle good samaritans.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Why do you assume they won't be putting time and effort into maintaining the property and making improvements? In fact, they already did, by paying the debts of the property.
  - namlem 9y ago
    Owning land never adds value. Owning a building can add value if you maintain and improve it.
disconnected 9y ago
You are barking up the wrong tree here. The home owners aren't being screwed by some technicality. All of this was triggered by some super-mega-rich people not paying taxes for ~30 years, which after all this time amounted to a grand total of $900. After ample warning, the street was put up for auction and was bought by someone. This whole situation could've been headed off at the pass several times: by paying the owed taxes at any point or by outbidding everyone at the auction as a last resort. But they took the "do nothing" route - maybe because they thought they could get away with it? - and got punished for it. No sympathy from me. We all have obligations, and I get no shred of sympathy from my government when I fail to meet them (they slapped a €20 administrative fee on top of an unpaid €0,20 fine when they mailed the notification to me, just so you can get an idea... that 100x the cost of the fine in "administrative fees"). Why should they get anything more or less than what the average citizen gets?
- mikeash 9y ago
  It sounds like it wasn't intentional. The property was so badly managed that they failed to pay their taxes by accident. They missed the notices because they didn't keep their address up to date with the city. Still, I don't have much sympathy. You'd think someone at some point in the 30 years they weren't paying taxes would have said, hey, you know, we haven't paid property taxes for the street in quite a while, maybe we should see what's going on with that. If I had some problem stemming from failing to pay taxes for three decades, I doubt I'd be treated nicely either.
  - lsaferite 9y ago
    Sounds like a massive failure of the HOA to me.
    - cardiffspaceman 9y ago
      I blame the accountants. When the one handed over to the other it should have been handled by the "professionals" instead of being left to chance.

mikeash 9y ago

Charging market rent for parking will result in more efficient use of the space.

abrodersen 9y ago
Charging market river toll will result in more efficient use of the Rhine. /s
- mikeash 9y ago
  I mean, yes, if the Rhine suffers from insufficient capacity, charging money to use it will help ensure that the existing capacity is used as efficiently as possible. For modern examples along those lines, consider the Suez or Panama Canals.

mrkurt 9y ago

If they sell the spaces to people outside the block, they're adding value.

escherize 9y ago

If someone owns something and rents it out, could you explain how that not provide value?

resu_nimda 9y ago
I am using the term value in a more personal/human sense than a purely economic one. Most of the comments replying to mine seem to be defending this behavior based on these more technical economic arguments (understandable on HN). I'm talking about the value that is created by a person creating and doing things, rather than simply finding opportunities to arbitrage for a quick buck. It's subjective so we can agree to disagree if you find the type of behavior described in the article to be valuable.

Joeri 9y ago

Aren't they now responsible for road and sidewalk maintenance?

sjg007 9y ago
Yes.

jeffdavis 9y ago

Yes, they added value. The rich residents ignored their tax obligation for decades even though it was under-assessed. These people highlighted that fact, which will soon be corrected.

currymj 9y ago

now you're talking. follow this to its logical conclusion about all rentiers!

iliketosleep 9y ago

You could say the same about most forms of rent-seeking behavior.

npsimons 9y ago

> They have added no value, they're not looking to add value. Which is basically property ownership/landlordship in a nutshell. Not that I'm disagreeing with you, just pointing out it's something we accept all the time already.

resu_nimda 9y ago
Yes but not all landlords are the same. Some put time and effort into maintaining the property and making improvements. I would consider that adding value. Like everything else, there's a spectrum, and I find the couple described in the article to be on the extreme "slumlord" end, except even more obnoxious because they are masquerading as nice gentle good samaritans.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Why do you assume they won't be putting time and effort into maintaining the property and making improvements? In fact, they already did, by paying the debts of the property.
- namlem 9y ago
  Owning land never adds value. Owning a building can add value if you maintain and improve it.

disconnected 9y ago

You are barking up the wrong tree here. The home owners aren't being screwed by some technicality. All of this was triggered by some super-mega-rich people not paying taxes for ~30 years, which after all this time amounted to a grand total of $900. After ample warning, the street was put up for auction and was bought by someone. This whole situation could've been headed off at the pass several times: by paying the owed taxes at any point or by outbidding everyone at the auction as a last resort. But they took the "do nothing" route - maybe because they thought they could get away with it? - and got punished for it. No sympathy from me. We all have obligations, and I get no shred of sympathy from my government when I fail to meet them (they slapped a €20 administrative fee on top of an unpaid €0,20 fine when they mailed the notification to me, just so you can get an idea... that 100x the cost of the fine in "administrative fees"). Why should they get anything more or less than what the average citizen gets?

mikeash 9y ago
It sounds like it wasn't intentional. The property was so badly managed that they failed to pay their taxes by accident. They missed the notices because they didn't keep their address up to date with the city. Still, I don't have much sympathy. You'd think someone at some point in the 30 years they weren't paying taxes would have said, hey, you know, we haven't paid property taxes for the street in quite a while, maybe we should see what's going on with that. If I had some problem stemming from failing to pay taxes for three decades, I doubt I'd be treated nicely either.
- lsaferite 9y ago
  Sounds like a massive failure of the HOA to me.
  - cardiffspaceman 9y ago
    I blame the accountants. When the one handed over to the other it should have been handled by the "professionals" instead of being left to chance.