Community Chat

[RetRN]

@Jacie, you are so wise to have a service screening your potential renters.

You can not be too careful nowadays. 

[Kalli]

Dh's business is rental properties.  In the beginning it was 1 or 2 residential rental double houses.  Over the years we got out of residential rentals for the reasons I've already seen mentioned by landlords on this thread.  We found it difficult to deal with tenants who didn't take care of the rental, trashed it, didn't mow, used the septic system as a general disposal service and then wondered why the toilet overflowed, I could go on.  

The worst part was the attitude that since landlords "own" their rentals, they must be rich, so why should tenants take care of the place?? In the beginning we were paying a mortgage on our rental properties along with the taxes, insurances, upkeep.  We counted on the rent payments to pay the mortgages.  There were bad tenants who refused to leave after being deadbeats.  The legal system favored them over us as landlords and it was a long process to get them removed.  Meanwhile, we still had to pay the monthly mortgages.  The banks didn't allow us to delay those payments just because we weren't receiving the rent payments.

Many years ago we divested of our residential rentals and expanded in other areas.  This has worked so much better for us.  

As has already been mentioned here, there are 2 sides to this situation.

[catwhisperer]

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@gardenman wrote:

If you're older (over 62) and just getting by, it might be wise to look into HUD's section 202 housing in your area. Your rent is capped at 30% of your income, which is great for low-income people. There's often a waiting list of a year or more, so apply early if you think there might be a need going forward. It can keep you from becoming homeless. 

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I have been on one of these lists over 5 years and still waiting.

[RetRN]

@Trailrun23, I think more and more people are choosing to leave states with high taxes and costs of living. They are relocating to more reasonable states and out of big cities. It may be a difficult thing to do but it may be their only option. People need to be realistic in their expectations. 

[sktchy]

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@catwhisperer wrote:

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@gardenman wrote:

If you're older (over 62) and just getting by, it might be wise to look into HUD's section 202 housing in your area. Your rent is capped at 30% of your income, which is great for low-income people. There's often a waiting list of a year or more, so apply early if you think there might be a need going forward. It can keep you from becoming homeless. 

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I have been on one of these lists over 5 years and still waiting.

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I would strongly suggest you also look into other housing-assisted programs, if possible. We have 2 buildings in our neighborhood that house the elderly and a lot of people with mental health issues.  I have a Senior friend who has a neighbor who slammed her door 24 hours a day.  Another had a neighbor had 'family' staying for weeks on end who smoked in the apartment and luckily was evicted.  

Where I live is a noted Senior Friendly 'town' so we have a lot of bougie Senior housing.  Free local transportation buses and lots of hospitals and Out Patient type of hospital services.

[Gorgf]

There are two sides to this and some Landlords take advantage as I recall in college towns and many more get taken. Judge Judy often has cases. My Stepdaughter was a Property Manager whose job was to clean rentals, yes filth and refusing to move to not paying rent. It was her job to go to court, a long process.

Gas has doubled so along goes the rest of increases including rent. My cousin's daughter can't afford rent in Ca. $5000 for a home. He has two properties, marital home where she moved into and they stay at their Senior mobile home park near the beach. 

I think like Europe families will need to share housing which they have done for many years and pay more for smaller spaces. I have an old mortgage which is not bad and I worked 50 years before retiring. I would have loved to have retired in my 50s but glad I am doing o.k.

The young and seniors are really going to struggle. Waiting lists for subsidized housing. I paid alot of interest in 1980 for a home but refinanced several times for lower rates.

[Firefly901]

Something has got to give.  We need more affordable housing for both rentals and homeownership.  In America, we have lots of undeveloped land.  In the 1970s we had an initiative called the New Cities Movement.  It fostered the creation of new cities, and new communities to accommodate our rapidly expanding population.  We now need a new grand vision to house our people.  Federal, state, and local governments will have to lead the way in this effort.  Homeownership is a fundamental key to the American dream, and it must always be available for people who desire it.  Single family homes, no matter how tiny they are, should be available. Wall street should not compete with everyday people for little single family homes. Local governments should control how much rents can increase. 

We need a new generation of craftspeople, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, builders, and developers.  The unions, the schools, and colleges must train this new generation of housing people. Begin the training while they are still in high school. The old ones are now retiring, some are sick from COVID, and they can't handle the magnitude of work that is now needed.  Developers are saying they can't build because they don't have the numbers of skilled craftspeople that are required to build what is needed. Funding has got to be pulled together.  We need a grand plan for the nation, or many, many, many people will be homeless. It is awful now, but if we don't do something, a lack of adequate housing units and greed will destroy us.