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a single individual woman in California who inherited her family rental units business in Southern California declared on her IRS returns seventy thousand dolla

a single individual woman in California who inherited her family rental units business in Southern California declared on her IRS returns seventy thousand dollars a month personal income, for the year of 2019. The number of apartment complexes is about a dozen, of varying sizes. It is not clear that she has any real duties on a given week, living far away from the location with no contact details.

pavel_lishin 2y ago
Is that from the article? > living far away from the location with no contact details. To be fair, if I was renting apartments, I would 100% never give tenants my contact information, and have them deal with some sort of management company. I'd rather pay someone else to receive the "oh shit, the pipes burst" phone call at 3am.
- __loam 2y ago
  The joyous nature of rent seeking. Best to completely alienate yourself from the people who enable your carefree lifestyle.
  - 13_9_7_7_5_18 2y ago
    [dead]
  - thatguy0900 2y ago
    You wouldn't want to feel any sort of guilt or regret when you raise rent prices on a struggling family you've actually met, of course.
  - pavel_lishin 2y ago
    Business owners don't typically post their home address and cellphone number for customers to contact them directly, either. (With some exceptions, to be fair. My plumber gave me his direct cell number, though that may be a separate work phone.)
- tetromino_ 2y ago
  I have never understood that attitude. Isn't the ability to deal with broken pipes literally part of your job as a landlord? It's like buying a restaurant when you don't like to cook and don't like to process orders - why would you do that? If you don't like your business's business and want to outsource your core competencies, maybe invest in an index fund instead...
  - pavel_lishin 2y ago
    > It's like buying a restaurant when you don't like to cook and don't like to process orders - why would you do that? It may surprise you to learn that restaurant owners often hire cooks & wait staff.
  - krapp 2y ago
    >Isn't the ability to deal with broken pipes literally part of your job as a landlord? It's like buying a restaurant when you don't like to cook and don't like to process orders - why would you do that? Because you want to make money. You hire someone to do that shit for you, and you sit back and cash checks. Most people who own restaurants don't like to cook or process orders, either.
    - lesuorac 2y ago
      Turns out, a lot of Americans aren't actually the fans of capitalism they think they are.
  - taurath 2y ago
    That it’s economical to hire somebody else to manage it while you both make an increasing profit as rents rise and have your assets appreciate alongside it really goes to show how extractive the process is and how much the cost of rent is inflated in order to protect investment return.
  - thunky 2y ago
    Why would you assume a business owner gets personal satisfaction from their business? They do it because they believe the effort and risk provides a decent reward compared to other available alternatives.
- swagasaurus-rex 2y ago
  What value do you provide then? If you can outsource all of the effort to other businesses, but you still make a profit, then you're essentially just a tax on top of the service.
  - pavel_lishin 2y ago
    For what it's worth, I would rather beg on the streets and eat out of a dumpster than take on the hassle of being a landlord, but to answer your question in good faith: In this hypothetical scenario, what I'm providing is the actual physical place that's being rented out, having put up the money for a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, taxes, etc.
    - swagasaurus-rex 2y ago
      That's nice of you, but you owning the place means that somebody else cannot.
      - pavel_lishin 2y ago
        That's very true.
      - csa 2y ago
        > That's nice of you, but you owning the place means that somebody else cannot. If this “somebody else” has the capital, then they should build or buy. Obviously there is an issue of lack of purchasable land/units in certain desirable areas, but that’s a zoning issue. That’s not the problem and shouldn’t be the problem of someone who had the foresight to invest their capital many years/decades prior.
        swagasaurus-rex 2y ago
        Yeah I should have bought a house when I was 12 years old in middle school. Still kicking myself for that
  - ineptech 2y ago
gruez 2y ago
>It is not clear that she has any real duties on a given week, living far away from the location with no contact details. That's... how investing works? The average S&P 500 investor is probably making even more money than that lady (in percentage terms), with even less work. If you're a landlord you have to deal the hassle of finding renters and fixing stuff, or hiring a management company who take a significant cut. If you're an S&P 500 investor on the other hand you pay vanguard 0.03% and they handle everything for you.
- charlie90 2y ago
  The stock market investor makes money off of other stock market investors playing the game. Landlords are making money off of real working people.
  - gruez 2y ago
    It's hard to take the "stock market is just a game" claim seriously when it's been reliably delivering returns for the past 5 decades. Moreover the stock market pays for the retirement of working people after they've retired, and funds working parents' college fund for their kids.

pavel_lishin 2y ago

Is that from the article? > living far away from the location with no contact details. To be fair, if I was renting apartments, I would 100% never give tenants my contact information, and have them deal with some sort of management company. I'd rather pay someone else to receive the "oh shit, the pipes burst" phone call at 3am.

__loam 2y ago
The joyous nature of rent seeking. Best to completely alienate yourself from the people who enable your carefree lifestyle.
- 13_9_7_7_5_18 2y ago
  [dead]
- thatguy0900 2y ago
  You wouldn't want to feel any sort of guilt or regret when you raise rent prices on a struggling family you've actually met, of course.
- pavel_lishin 2y ago
  Business owners don't typically post their home address and cellphone number for customers to contact them directly, either. (With some exceptions, to be fair. My plumber gave me his direct cell number, though that may be a separate work phone.)
tetromino_ 2y ago
I have never understood that attitude. Isn't the ability to deal with broken pipes literally part of your job as a landlord? It's like buying a restaurant when you don't like to cook and don't like to process orders - why would you do that? If you don't like your business's business and want to outsource your core competencies, maybe invest in an index fund instead...
- pavel_lishin 2y ago
  > It's like buying a restaurant when you don't like to cook and don't like to process orders - why would you do that? It may surprise you to learn that restaurant owners often hire cooks & wait staff.
- krapp 2y ago
  >Isn't the ability to deal with broken pipes literally part of your job as a landlord? It's like buying a restaurant when you don't like to cook and don't like to process orders - why would you do that? Because you want to make money. You hire someone to do that shit for you, and you sit back and cash checks. Most people who own restaurants don't like to cook or process orders, either.
  - lesuorac 2y ago
    Turns out, a lot of Americans aren't actually the fans of capitalism they think they are.
- taurath 2y ago
  That it’s economical to hire somebody else to manage it while you both make an increasing profit as rents rise and have your assets appreciate alongside it really goes to show how extractive the process is and how much the cost of rent is inflated in order to protect investment return.
- thunky 2y ago
  Why would you assume a business owner gets personal satisfaction from their business? They do it because they believe the effort and risk provides a decent reward compared to other available alternatives.
swagasaurus-rex 2y ago
What value do you provide then? If you can outsource all of the effort to other businesses, but you still make a profit, then you're essentially just a tax on top of the service.
- pavel_lishin 2y ago
  For what it's worth, I would rather beg on the streets and eat out of a dumpster than take on the hassle of being a landlord, but to answer your question in good faith: In this hypothetical scenario, what I'm providing is the actual physical place that's being rented out, having put up the money for a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, taxes, etc.
  - swagasaurus-rex 2y ago
    That's nice of you, but you owning the place means that somebody else cannot.
    - pavel_lishin 2y ago
      That's very true.
    - csa 2y ago
      > That's nice of you, but you owning the place means that somebody else cannot. If this “somebody else” has the capital, then they should build or buy. Obviously there is an issue of lack of purchasable land/units in certain desirable areas, but that’s a zoning issue. That’s not the problem and shouldn’t be the problem of someone who had the foresight to invest their capital many years/decades prior.
      - swagasaurus-rex 2y ago
        Yeah I should have bought a house when I was 12 years old in middle school. Still kicking myself for that
- ineptech 2y ago

gruez 2y ago

>It is not clear that she has any real duties on a given week, living far away from the location with no contact details. That's... how investing works? The average S&P 500 investor is probably making even more money than that lady (in percentage terms), with even less work. If you're a landlord you have to deal the hassle of finding renters and fixing stuff, or hiring a management company who take a significant cut. If you're an S&P 500 investor on the other hand you pay vanguard 0.03% and they handle everything for you.

charlie90 2y ago
The stock market investor makes money off of other stock market investors playing the game. Landlords are making money off of real working people.
- gruez 2y ago
  It's hard to take the "stock market is just a game" claim seriously when it's been reliably delivering returns for the past 5 decades. Moreover the stock market pays for the retirement of working people after they've retired, and funds working parents' college fund for their kids.