4 ms·

This is one of the strangest things I have ever heard anyone say. Landlords buy something, and then charge someone else more than it is worth to use it- becaus

by tjr225 5y ago

This is one of the strangest things I have ever heard anyone say. Landlords buy something, and then charge someone else more than it is worth to use it- because it is necessary. They are essentially home scalpers. Don’t feel bad for them.

rrrazdan 5y ago
You just described commerce as scalping. A grocer is a scalper according to you. So is a meat distributor.
- ihsw 5y ago
  Communists look at any fruit of labor as inherently exploitative.
- tjr225 5y ago
  I happily pay to buy directly from local sources. Also; people don’t need meat, they do need housing. You’re missing the point of what I am saying entirely though. If you treat housing as an investment and the investment goes sideways for whatever reason, why should anyone feel bad for you? It sucks, but that’s how investing works! You don’t think other legislation/govt intervention impacts non-housing financial investments? Thems the breaks. They took the risk, let them own it. That’s literally the entire freaking point!
- JAlexoid 5y ago
  Except that retail is a service you pay for. Modern landlords are mostly government subsidized (tax abetements, low financing rates for "business", etc). There are definitely landlords that provide a valuable service, but there's a reason why profiteering landlords are almost universally disliked. PS: Remember where we get the term "landlord" - the feudal lord that collected tax(aka rent) while providing a very specific service to the peasants on the land plot that was grated to him by the superior nobleman. It's nothing like that today... Even the losses in their income get socialized - how do you think Donald paid only $750 in federal taxes? The whole system is setup to protect "landlords".
- unethical_ban 5y ago
  Land is unique among resources (as is labor). I don't necessarily have issue with someone renting out their second property, but I am starting to think the societal problems with large scale rental operations and the disappearance of land ownership as an achievable goal for so many, outweighs the right of large scale landlords to exist.
jliptzin 5y ago
Not everyone wants to be a homeowner. A lot of people enjoy the flexibility of being able to just pay the monthly rent and not worry about anything else, and being free to move on a whim when they need to. You expect the owner of the property to do the upkeep work for free in that scenario?
- tjr225 5y ago
  I think renting is great. I’ve done it many a time. I’ve also been screwed over once or twice. That’s not really the issue. The people who are landlords agree to the risk of owning a property and renting it out to someone. Why should I feel bad when the risk comes to fruition? Why should anyone? Should you be able to just profit endlessly on housing risk free for no dang reason other than you had money before someone else? I don’t know. I don’t really care. I have a feeling these landlords will be just fine.
  - lettergram 5y ago
    > Why should I feel bad when the risk comes to fruition? Why should anyone? The landlord didn't assume the risk that they couldn't remove the resident AND the resident wouldn't have to pay. This was effectively the state seizing property, forcing the landlord to maintain the property and providing it to someone else. You also probably don't know who most landlords are, but in way of example, say I rent out a room. Should I be subjected to someone living in my house, then lose my house because they aren't paying and I cannot afford to not rent out that room? This is a common scenario.
    - tjr225 5y ago
      > The landlord didn't assume the risk that they couldn't remove the resident AND the resident wouldn't have to pay. That’s not how risk works. > You also probably don't know who most landlords are, but in way of example, say I rent out a room. Should I be subjected to someone living in my house, then lose my house because they aren't paying and I cannot afford to not rent out that room? My parents are landlords, god bless their souls. But they know what they got into. I chose to distance myself from their business because I find it morally revolting. Also; don’t gamble your house away if you can’t afford to lose! That is how this works! PS: my parents are making fucking bank as landlords right now! Don’t feel bad for any of them! They literally just made an offer on a third lake house.
ibeckermayer 5y ago
Have you ever ran the numbers for a rental property? I have — after interest on the mortgage, taxes, repairs, insurance, HOA fees (if applicable), management costs, etc., margins wear thin to non-existent in most areas. Plus you’re taking on risk in the case of being unable to find renters / rent / home depreciation. Running rental properties is largely a commodity business like any other, which means competition drives down margins (all else equal, I understand there are local idiosyncrasies that might make this not the case). For sure it can be lucrative if you’re smart, and prudent, and lucky, and manage to keep your head above water on a 30 year loan or few, and I imagine there are big players that can command lower interest rates and those sorts of thing; but there’s plenty of Joe Schmoe landlords who are running small businesses, and they’ve been forced arbitrarily to take the brunt of the economic downturn on the chin in order to protect their tenants. Why should they be forced to disproportionately pay for this?
- tjr225 5y ago
  They(the landlord) has agreed to take on a risk to profit on someone else’s need. I’m not going to _ever_ feel bad if that risk played out unfavorably for them. That’s insane.
  - ibeckermayer 5y ago
    In an important sense, taking on risk to profit on someone else’s need is how the entire economy works… You can argue that much of what we produce nowadays isn’t a fundamental “need” like shelter, but that’s really beside the point, and a function of our relative prosperity as compared to previous eras. How do you propose housing be managed if not by voluntary exchanges?
    - tjr225 5y ago
      I think public housing should be provided to those that need it and private housing should be available to those that can afford it. Same with food, same with water, same with healthcare, same with education.
  - 5y ago

by tjr225 5y ago

rrrazdan 5y ago

You just described commerce as scalping. A grocer is a scalper according to you. So is a meat distributor.

ihsw 5y ago
Communists look at any fruit of labor as inherently exploitative.
tjr225 5y ago
I happily pay to buy directly from local sources. Also; people don’t need meat, they do need housing. You’re missing the point of what I am saying entirely though. If you treat housing as an investment and the investment goes sideways for whatever reason, why should anyone feel bad for you? It sucks, but that’s how investing works! You don’t think other legislation/govt intervention impacts non-housing financial investments? Thems the breaks. They took the risk, let them own it. That’s literally the entire freaking point!
JAlexoid 5y ago
Except that retail is a service you pay for. Modern landlords are mostly government subsidized (tax abetements, low financing rates for "business", etc). There are definitely landlords that provide a valuable service, but there's a reason why profiteering landlords are almost universally disliked. PS: Remember where we get the term "landlord" - the feudal lord that collected tax(aka rent) while providing a very specific service to the peasants on the land plot that was grated to him by the superior nobleman. It's nothing like that today... Even the losses in their income get socialized - how do you think Donald paid only $750 in federal taxes? The whole system is setup to protect "landlords".
unethical_ban 5y ago
Land is unique among resources (as is labor). I don't necessarily have issue with someone renting out their second property, but I am starting to think the societal problems with large scale rental operations and the disappearance of land ownership as an achievable goal for so many, outweighs the right of large scale landlords to exist.

jliptzin 5y ago

Not everyone wants to be a homeowner. A lot of people enjoy the flexibility of being able to just pay the monthly rent and not worry about anything else, and being free to move on a whim when they need to. You expect the owner of the property to do the upkeep work for free in that scenario?

tjr225 5y ago
I think renting is great. I’ve done it many a time. I’ve also been screwed over once or twice. That’s not really the issue. The people who are landlords agree to the risk of owning a property and renting it out to someone. Why should I feel bad when the risk comes to fruition? Why should anyone? Should you be able to just profit endlessly on housing risk free for no dang reason other than you had money before someone else? I don’t know. I don’t really care. I have a feeling these landlords will be just fine.
- lettergram 5y ago
  > Why should I feel bad when the risk comes to fruition? Why should anyone? The landlord didn't assume the risk that they couldn't remove the resident AND the resident wouldn't have to pay. This was effectively the state seizing property, forcing the landlord to maintain the property and providing it to someone else. You also probably don't know who most landlords are, but in way of example, say I rent out a room. Should I be subjected to someone living in my house, then lose my house because they aren't paying and I cannot afford to not rent out that room? This is a common scenario.
  - tjr225 5y ago
    > The landlord didn't assume the risk that they couldn't remove the resident AND the resident wouldn't have to pay. That’s not how risk works. > You also probably don't know who most landlords are, but in way of example, say I rent out a room. Should I be subjected to someone living in my house, then lose my house because they aren't paying and I cannot afford to not rent out that room? My parents are landlords, god bless their souls. But they know what they got into. I chose to distance myself from their business because I find it morally revolting. Also; don’t gamble your house away if you can’t afford to lose! That is how this works! PS: my parents are making fucking bank as landlords right now! Don’t feel bad for any of them! They literally just made an offer on a third lake house.

ibeckermayer 5y ago

Have you ever ran the numbers for a rental property? I have — after interest on the mortgage, taxes, repairs, insurance, HOA fees (if applicable), management costs, etc., margins wear thin to non-existent in most areas. Plus you’re taking on risk in the case of being unable to find renters / rent / home depreciation. Running rental properties is largely a commodity business like any other, which means competition drives down margins (all else equal, I understand there are local idiosyncrasies that might make this not the case). For sure it can be lucrative if you’re smart, and prudent, and lucky, and manage to keep your head above water on a 30 year loan or few, and I imagine there are big players that can command lower interest rates and those sorts of thing; but there’s plenty of Joe Schmoe landlords who are running small businesses, and they’ve been forced arbitrarily to take the brunt of the economic downturn on the chin in order to protect their tenants. Why should they be forced to disproportionately pay for this?

tjr225 5y ago
They(the landlord) has agreed to take on a risk to profit on someone else’s need. I’m not going to _ever_ feel bad if that risk played out unfavorably for them. That’s insane.
- ibeckermayer 5y ago
  In an important sense, taking on risk to profit on someone else’s need is how the entire economy works… You can argue that much of what we produce nowadays isn’t a fundamental “need” like shelter, but that’s really beside the point, and a function of our relative prosperity as compared to previous eras. How do you propose housing be managed if not by voluntary exchanges?
  - tjr225 5y ago
    I think public housing should be provided to those that need it and private housing should be available to those that can afford it. Same with food, same with water, same with healthcare, same with education.
- 5y ago