[mtrower]

> End of the day, landlords don’t deserve more money and I don’t know why anyone here argues for it. It’s like you want bezos to have even more money - it’s super weird.

See, to me, this vitriol is what seems super weird. It seems like you must be talking about some sort of property shark that owns 8+ figures in property and extracts the maximum possible from the poor peons that dare to want a roof over their heads. Maybe with some large company thrown in the mix for good measure.

My father and grandfather are both in rental (well, they did whatever they could to make their way, primarily carpentry; rental is only part of the picture). Both of them started with nothing and managed to bootstrap their way into some properties, fixing them up as they went. They do all the work on their respective properties themselves. There isn’t a management company involved. They aren’t some evil men trying to extort the populace, the goal is just to live, provide for family, etc. Yet by definition, they are landlords - that thing that so many here despise unilaterally with such passion.

Probably there is considerable diversity (or at least two classes of landlords). But laws are going to apply to both groups.

[bradlys]

End of the day, landlords aren't doing any labor for the rent they are collecting.

If you do something that drives up the value of the property - you'll get some amount of that when you go to sell the property. If your father buys properties, rehabs them, and then rents them out... Guess what? He's double-dipping. He's going to charge more for rent and he's going to be able to sell the property for more later. In one instance (selling the property), yes, he's doing labor and will reap some reward for his labor. In the other, he's not really doing any labor to keep charging more rent.

I had "small time" landlords many times. They always jacked up the rent 10-20% every year. You think they're doing that because the 1920's house I was renting was getting improved every year or they were doing anything to make it better? Nope... They just wanted more money and because no one was building more housing - they knew they could get it.

[mtrower]

Improvements to property often bring little to no return at time of sale —- especially if those improvements have worn in a few years. More than a few years? Forget it. Improvements are generally made to improve immediate rental value (similarly maintenance repairs are made to retain existing value). Gains realized on sale are mostly from natural appreciation of real estate over time (on which capital gains will be paid). This is why house flipping is not a more popular enterprise.

> going to charge more for rent

You mean, be able to charge anything at all.. it’s not like we’re taking about buying turn-key properties and updating the cabinetry or something.

> not really doing any labor

Properties require upkeep. (N) properties require N times the upkeep. In addition to normal expenses, there are also risks; for example a tenant may damage your property, and then you need to fix it. You may think your security deposit covers that; in reality that amount of money can usually only cover minor repairs / cleaning. Landlords need to recoup that sort of thing over time, so it ends up getting rolled into your rent.

I really don’t think you understand how expenses for these things work. The way you’ve been talking, it sounds like you think your rent check goes directly into the landlord’s bank account as profit. Maybe you should try home ownership, and see what the actual ledger (expenses + time) looks like over time. Compare that plus your mortgage to rent. You may need to do this for the long haul to see the real picture though, not just a couple of years.

Better yet, acquire some properties and try your hand at rental yourself —- either you’ll end up filthy rich for nothing like you seem to think it works, or you’ll learn a valuable lesson about the true cost of services…

Because, while you assert that landlords offer no value, the fact remains that there are people in this world who want to rent, not own. Without landlords, how is that supposed to happen?