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Comment on With Shared Software, Landlords Are Teaming Up to Raise Rents

I own my home. I may rent it out when I retire because I sure as fuck won’t have any money. Maybe we’ll get an RV or move to the Philippines. Dunno. But I need to get paid on that home.

For one, renters are likely to fuck shit up, because it’s not theirs, they have no stake in the property. They may simply be ignorant and ignore problems that cost $100 to fix today, $1,000 to fix tomorrow. Also, I need to buy extra liability insurance.

Then there’s routine stuff. When my ex and I bought the place we took payday loans for 2-months just to get the tools and stuff we needed to care for the place. And nearly everything we bought was used. Paid them off responsibly and quickly, but it was costly.

Ever priced a new roof? Hell, within the last 30-days our sink stopped up, the washer died, fridge finally died. and that’s only the big stuff. Even buying off FB, that was $1,000 in new appliances and repairs. Oh, and the hot water heater leaks, but that’s under control for the moment. And the roof needs patched. I’m scared to even price that, can’t afford it ATM anyway.

So yeah, I need serious “profit” just to break even.

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TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

So yeah, I need serious “profit” just to break even.

That’s a contradiction in terms. To break even is by definition not a profit. To have a profit, you need a surplus after you minus expenses from revenue. If landlords were content to just break even, I wouldn’t necessarily have a problem with them. In fact, I think not-for-profit housing could go a long way in addressing the housing affordability crisis.

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- shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  You need solid profit up front to backstop you for emergencies in the future.
  
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SoJB@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Yeah you’re really not beating the allegations here, bud.

I hope that house turns you under.

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- shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Who the hell upvotes evil shit like this comment?!
  
  Lemmy: Capitalists don’t deserve the profits of our labor!
  
  Also Lemmy: Fuck you, I want your labor for free!
  
  Fucking children.
  
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ltxrtquq@lemmy.ml ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
If you plan on moving out anyways, why not just sell the house? It’d give you a large up front sum of money, and you would never have to worry about maintenance or bad tenants again.

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- shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Fair question! Two reasons:
  
  I’m not the picture of fiscal responsibility. Be much more comfortable with a predictable income, especially since I’ll be too old to work.
  
  Selling the house would be a last resort for two reasons. My wife is foreign and would be lost without me. I want to know she will always have a roof to sleep under, no matter what. Two, I really want to be able to leave it to my children, give them a jump in life when we’re both gone.
  
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Maggoty@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
You can get reliable maintenance estimates and keep the rent near costs plus a small profit easily enough. Charging the market price that’s been illegally pushed up but a cartel is not defensible.

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- shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Who the hell said anything about any of that?! Jesus, a guy talks about renting his house when he retires and suddenly he’s a corporate slumlord.
  
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  - Maggoty@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    Probably because you talked about needing a ton of profit. When I think you meant revenue to cover costs and then some profit, but not extreme amounts.
    
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