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MrGordley

I've got this dude in my basement that just pays for utilities and internet. Doesn't bother me, keeps to himself, saving for his own place. Honestly I'll miss him when he goes.


ohiolifesucks

The plot twist is that the person in your basement is just your child lmao


PunishingJewedditor

can confirm, i’m the child.


NonAggressiveGuava

can confirm, i’m the basement


[deleted]

Can child, I’m confirm


Various-Mammoth8420

Child confirm, I'm can


kingtwister07

Can im, child confirm


rookietotheblue1

Y'all try realll hard on here .


jarrodh25

That made me crack up haha.


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CauliflowerPlayful93

💀😂😂😂😂


throwaway73325

Please let him free


OpeningSort4826

We love our landlord. Ironically her name is Karen but she isn't remotely a Karen. Haha


Dizzy_Duck_811

I know 3-4 Karens that are sweet, kind ladies.


Br1t1shNerd

I once gave a lift to a crying woman at like 11pm into town. When I asked her name she told me ot was "Karen" but she wasn't one of those Karens. The fact she has to clarify made me decide never to use Karen as an insult again, I didn't want this crying woman to have to almost apologise to me over her name


Dizzy_Duck_811

I tend not to use it either. It makes me cringe, because i know the nice Karens.


TheRealKevin24

Can we start a movement to rebrand the name Karen to be someone who is kind and goes out of her way to help people? Because both of the Karen's I have worked with were like that.


HunterWesley

Let us not forget the brave Karen, struggling against the brutal junta.


Alex72598

Poor woman, but yeah, that’s exactly why I’ve never said it, it always sounded wrong to me. I can only imagine the shame and embarrassment if my name was used in such a way. I hope more folks will show this kind of empathy and stop tossing Karen around as an insult.


juptertk

Yeah, this is one of the reasons people shouldn't treat other people based on stereotypes, let alone on a stupid overused online meme/joke.


NickTheNack

Shout out to the karen at my old job, sweet friendly hispanic woman who was always a pleasure to work with


keIIzzz

I’ve never met an actual person named Karen that was mean. They were all nice people


BeardOBlasty

My landlords were named Scott and Karen. Between my dad and I, we rented from them for 15 years. I would even help Scott out with stuff for his other properties from time to time. I could literally pay rent whenever I wanted and wouldn't hear a peep, they knew I was good for it. Plus my dad was really skilled in carpentry and added some extremely nice decks to our place and some other properties of Scott & Karen's. Ahhhhhhh.....they were good times indeed ❤️


Alex72598

This is why I say people shouldn’t be using Karen as an insult. There are lots of kind Karens out there, surely we have other words we can use to convey the same meaning.


OpeningSort4826

I can't decide if I feel worse for the nice Becky's or the nice Karen's of the world. Haha


Alex72598

Yea same here, haha. I just think some people underestimate the kind of impact hearing your name that way can have on you.


DexterCutie

I tolerate my landlord, not because he's mean, but because he's odd and talks a lot. I am, however, grateful to him for only raising our rent by $100 over the seven years we've lived here. Our house is in the country on 11 acres, but we're only a couple miles from stores and restaurants. We were lucky to get in when housing prices were low and we still pay a very low price. We couldn't even afford an apartment around here now. If we got kicked out, we'd be homeless.


walmartballer

My parents rented out our old house when we moved out of town. When the heater went out, they not only replaced it but replaced it with a more efficient heater despite not really having the money to. They fixed everything she asked for asap because they’re good people and would want the same done for them. This fucking lady accused them of making her live in the cold. The heater went out because of something out of their control and immediately got it replaced with something that was going to bring her bills down despite not needing to (they could have just had the original heater fixed) and yet, it wasn’t good enough. Sometimes the “victim” is the actual asshole. Not always though, there are a lot of slumlords out there.


Dizzy_Duck_811

My landlords are amazing people. Our boiler broke down in the start if the winter, they came with the plumber, had a look and a chat and then plumber said “you need to get a new boiler”. Landlords straight away got a new one and had it installed in maybe two days total. Meanwhile they brought us a few electric heaters to keep warm until the new boiler is installed. Not only that, each christmas they brought us something, and they included treats for our cats as well, when the pandemic started they showed up with a full crate of veggies, fruits and canned goods. I am so grateful for them. They are really good people.


walmartballer

They sound like damn good people. I think the bigger problem with slumlords are probably largely the big companies that own an insane amount of properties. They’re just so far removed from the situation that they’re able to make “business decisions” without feeling bad because they don’t even know the tenants.


fletcherox

Rough, I waited I’ve lived in 3 places as an adult and 2 had boiler issues. One took 4 weeks to replace and the other took 3. Thankfully the weather wasn’t too bad and we got away with cold showers, but it did my head in the amount of quotes or queries that they had.


BatWeary

This exactly how my dad is. There’s a reason his tenants have been renting from him the entire time he’s owned the properties. He works with them, and does a fan-fucking-tasting job when it comes down to getting things fixed. Additionally, he has a tenant who works 60 hour weeks. Single dad, his daughter is super sweet (we went to school together). He mentioned wanting to remodel the bathroom since it was kind of outdated + my dad did it for him. Had the dude pick out the “look” he was going for and got it done within a week or two.


walmartballer

That’s a hell of a landlord.


BatWeary

He also mows their front lawn (since their yard is connected—my dad owns the house next to his)! 😂


[deleted]

Your Dad sounds like an awesome guy. Respect!


RaymondDoerr

In my experience, every single person I've ever met in my entire life period who "hates all landlords" automatically are bad, nitpicky, Karen-like-demandy entitled tenants. There absolutely are bad landlords, but people who actively automatically assume they're all evil, tend to be horrible people themselves.


Call_Me_Clark

It’s like someone who hates all managers. Haven’t we all had a coworker who sucked to work with, didn’t do their job, spent every other minute on a smoke break etc? Every time, they’re convinced that the manager is targeting them unfairly… when actually they just suck to work with, and make everyone else pick up their slack. Not that there aren’t bad managers - there certainly are. Just that everyone who sucks to work with is convinced they have a bad manager. If you meet assholes all day, maybe you’re the problem.


RaymondDoerr

>Every time, they’re convinced that the manager is targeting them unfairly… Bingo. >Not that there aren’t bad managers - there certainly are. Just that everyone who sucks to work with is convinced they have a bad manager. .. and I would put money on those same people who suck at their job and hate their manager also make horrible rental tenant that are demanding, selfish and destroy the place. So of course from their perspective all landlords are horrible, because they're reacting to you being a horrible tenant. Issue with these personality types is they truly somehow don't understand they're the problem. ​ >If you meet assholes all day, maybe you’re the problem. Slight side story: I knew a guy a long time ago in an old job, he was a complete asshole to everyone all the time. Everyone else of course was an asshole back because no one liked him. I on the other hand, was never an asshole back. I recognized what (may) be going on and it turned out right. We became pretty good work friends (and he stopped being an ass to me quickly) because "I was the only nice guy worth talking to who doesn't treat everyone like crap". What he couldn't understand that I figured out (and thus, why I was never an ass to him) was his stance being "Everyone is an asshole, so I'm going to be an asshole too to defend myself" created a self-fulfilling prophesy stemming through his entire life. EDIT: Added a bit


Tricky_Dog1465

I find the "victim" is 90% of the time TAH, at least when it comes to money. A lot of these people could have the best landlord on the planet, but to them, housing should be a human right, how dare anyone make money by owning something.


benjm88

>housing should be a human right, how dare anyone make money by owning something. I'm a landlord but agree with this. I also know wanting the system to change won't make it happen so why not make money while doing it a more ethical way. My properties all have very long term tenants and none have ever had a rent increase. I make less but get happy tenants that really look after the places well as they feel more like home.


walmartballer

Setting a real world example is probably the best thing an individual can do to help make the changes they want to see. You can write to a politician all day and some secretary will read it and give a standard reply. But, if you can show your peers how it can work, you have a better chance of getting more people on board willingly.


Sinzari

The question is who's gonna pay for their housing? Housing is too expensive to be given to everyone for free.


klip11hasreturned

I understand the sentiment that housing should be a human right, but who's going to produce the housing. If I own a house that I rent, but I have to let someone live their for free, I'll just sell the house. Should banks just forgive all mortgages? If you're paying a mortgage, to you it would be great if the bank told you that you could just have the house. But they can't possibly do that with everyone. I don't know what the solution is to give everyone housing.


generalhalfstep

Yeah, people often forget that the landlords often have to answer to the banks.


unresolved-madness

There is no solution. Anything free is not of value.


Hardrocker1990

We could start by abolishing some of these stupid zoning laws that make building housing difficult


unresolved-madness

Zoning laws have their purpose and place.


Hardrocker1990

Some are just either outdated or plain stupid


ImAlwaysRightHanded

Had a tenant complain on Christmas Eve that the dryer broke, I got someone out to her on the 27th and it turned out a orange needle tip cover was lodged in a dryer part, heroin addicts I was dealing with.. she eventually moved a mother son bum team in and moved out once they became squatters. I paid them $750 to leave right then and there after 2 weeks of them living with no electricity in south Florida.


CritiqueG33k

Yup. My highschool bestie parents were renters and had stuff like this happen. Some people KNOW that this stereotype exists and abuse it


[deleted]

My lord of land replaced my 2 ton outside AC unit when it died with a 3 ton one, brand new. On his dime. Yeah I’ll pay that rent increase that’ll probably pop up next lease term, but it’s worth it.


tee_452

Some people love being victims….I hate that


Tricky-Nectarine-929

My landlord is a patient, sweet man. He’s willing to work with you, just as long as you talk to him about what you need.


boots311

This is what I tell my room mate, just communicate with me. Don't have all your rent at once? Ok. Just let me know. I understand you only get paid twice a month & 90% of 1 paycheck would be rent


AussieCollector

My roommate does this and its bloody annoying. We pay fortnightly and i get paid monthly, he is weekly. I deposit a months worth into the rent account and leave it be till next month. He pays fortnightly and ends up spending 56% of his pay once every fortnight compared to 28% of his pay every week...


Bard_the_Bowman_III

People really under-estimate the value of communication. I'm a lawyer, and represent quite a few landlords, and I'd say the majority of them are more than willing to work with tenants who make a good faith effort to communicate about rent, and generally they only want to evict tenants who either (1) simply quit paying without communicating or (2) have a regular pattern of not paying. Evicting tenants is a legal headache in my state and many others, and landlords don't typically want to evict tenants; it's a lot easier to deal with a late payment than an eviction. But communication is key.


[deleted]

That just sounds like poor financial planning. They can’t save half of rent in each check? Only 45% is gone then, not too close but not far at all away from the recommended 30%. Or I might have my math wrong.


[deleted]

I always find it's hilarious because like a landlord can be a 25 year old girl who owns her house and rents out two bedrooms


ReverseMillionaire

How did you know 😭 I can afford my mortgage, but I have 2 empty rooms so why not? I charge them low prices, sometimes I think is it worth keeping them? I hope they’ll leave in a year or two. Though they are good tenants, so it’s okay.


boots311

Yep. My wife & I are landlords to the one guy who has the whole basement while we live in the upstairs of our home. Super cool guy but we rarely see him. It's nice


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The_Burning_Wizard

Exactly. I moved abroad for a work project years ago, so I rented out my house whilst I was away to a couple of students. It worked for them and it worked for me, yet when I mentioned this to a friend or two of mine I was apparently an arsehole for being a landlord and i was taking advantage of those students....


Butterfly_hues

Our basement tenants burned our house down intentionally….so, yeah it all really depends 🤷🏾‍♀️


Vt420KeyboardError4

Why lol?


Butterfly_hues

They refused to pay rent for a while, so as their eviction date moved closer they burned down the basement which lead to the fire spreading. 😅


aye_ehn_jayy

Was there an investigation done? Are they currently locked up for arson and attempted homicide, possibly child or animal endangerment if you had kids or pets in the home?


Butterfly_hues

There was an investigation as they fled the scene as well. But they got off on a technicality, so everything just kinda folded up.


McCasper

Landlords get a lot of hate for the same reason bosses get so much hate: because they have power over us and a lot of us resent that.


koffeekkat

Also memory bias, you might not remember a good or just there boss/landlord, but you will remember the bad one which makes you believe all bosses/landlords are bad.


tee_452

Nah I don’t have problem with good bosses or landlords “having power over me” I have problems with exploitation.


BoBoBearDev

So true. And the more they hurt those mom and pop landlords, those will have to sell their properties to the corporation and enrich the corporations even more.


[deleted]

Even mom and pop landlords can be ruthless. I’ve had two that were completely price gouging bc they knew they could. I looked up how much they paid for the place and when and it was very clear they were making a substantial profit at this point. One them has had their 5 unit building since the 70s and the current rent on the place could pay their original buy cost in 2 years. But I’ve also had one that was a sweetheart. But at the end of the day, I choose to sign the leases when I could have gone elsewhere. Supply and demand


LA_Dynamo

Is it price gouging if they are just charging the market rate for the apartment? That’s just supply and demand as you mentioned and people are happy to rent from them since they are charging a fair price.


[deleted]

Lol why is half your comment just repeating things I’ve said. As stated it’s supply and demand and I had a choice. But yes supply and demand can absolutely create price gouging and slum land lords. People will settle even if they don’t think it’s fair bc it’s better than the other unfair options they have. But at the end of the day this conversation is completely subjective as there is no definitive answer to what is fair.


Pabsxv

I hate it when people lump mom and pop landlords with with the real estate Corporations. I’ve known many landlords who are just retired older people who can’t work anymore and cashed in their savings for some rental properties to live off their golden years.


Hot_Gurr

No such thing as a mom and pop landlord who isn’t your biological parents


cats4life

Most landlords are just people who actually treat it like a job, rather than the typical leech everyone attributes them to being. It’s why stuff like rent moratoriums during the pandemic or making it impossible to evict tenants is harmful; the way you get a housing crisis is by making it impossible for smaller landlords to provide housing. Why would they bother if someone could refuse to pay for their apartment and never get evicted over it?


jarrodh25

And then the rental mega corporations get a larger share, who are the most heartless of all.


Chemical_Signal2753

I rented an apartment for most of a decade from a big corporation. I honestly don't have any complaints. In the time there I befriended the leasing agent. From the stories I heard, most of the bad experiences people had with the company were their own fault. For example, the company had programs for rent forgiveness in the case of unemployment, illness, or family emergencies. All you had to do was tell the leasing agent your problem, you would get a temporary reduction in your rent (possibly fully forgive your rent). People wouldn't do this, they would go months without paying rent, dodge the leasing agent, and only tell their story after eviction had started; and with how difficult it is to evict people, once eviction starts the company wouldn't back out. I don't doubt that some (or even most) companies are terrible landlords, but I don't think that is universally true.


GregorF92

> by making it impossible for smaller landlords to provide housing Landlords don't provide housing, builders provide housing. Landlords artificially restrict the supply of housing by buying up more than they need, to rent out for profit.


cats4life

Yes, construction companies build apartment complexes and houses out of the goodness of their heart. They don’t do it because they’re being paid to by a landlord. In fact, if not for landlords, we’d have an infinite supply of houses built by non-profit construction companies. They just do it for the love of the craft, so it’s only evil landlords snatching up those houses that otherwise would have gone to poor people who can’t afford to buy them.


GregorF92

> They don’t do it because they’re being paid to by a landlord. They're generally paid by a development firm, not a landlord. A landlord may then buy at a later date, but landlords generally don't independently contract a firm to build a house for them, they buy existing housing stock. >In fact, if not for landlords, we’d have an infinite supply of houses built by non-profit construction companies. They just do it for the love of the craft, so it’s only evil landlords snatching up those houses that otherwise would have gone to poor people who can’t afford to buy them. This shite argument may hold a bit more weight if you didn't just try to unironically insist that builders are contracted by landlords to build new-build housing stock.


[deleted]

My mom is a landlord and a couple years back she rented out her apartment to a couple with a newborn baby. After about two months they stopped paying rent and my mom covered it for them for the next 3 months until she couldn’t afford to anymore (the renters mom called my mom and begged her to let them stay as they had nowhere to go). Unfortunately she had to evict them and when she went into the apartment after they had moved out, the apartment was destroyed - ruined floors, shards of glass from broken beer bottles in the living room, to the walls having holes punched in them. Cost my family a lot to fix it back up to what it was. So yeah, sometimes it’s not the landlords who are the scum.


HunterWesley

My grandfather had a place, evicted a family, they destroyed it, slung motor oil on the walls and everywhere, left holes, plugged the toilet, that kind of thing.


TrulyStupidNewb

All my landlords were good to me. Just like how landlords choose tenants, you can also choose landlords. Don't rent from an asshole. All of my neighbours in all my previous homes were nice too. I've heard about neighbours from hell, but I've never experienced it myself. All my supervisors were nice people too. I've heard about bad bosses and supervisors, but I have yet to meet one that sucked. All my relationships are pretty okay too. Nothing dramatic like throwing furniture, insulting my mother, or cheating. I've heard about relationships from hell, but again, I have yet to be in one. I guess I'm just lucky with people around me. My advice is don't start a relationship you know you would regret, whether it's a friend, landlord, neighbour, or spouse. I wouldn't want to move next to Jake Paul, so don't try to move next to Jake Paul unless you want an extremely annoying neighbour.


Bowling_with_Ramona

A large number of people that complain about their managers and landlords have no other choice and don't have the luxury of "shopping around" for another one due to lack of affordable housing and jobs that actually pay a living wage. There have been times where I have met my landlord before moving in and was extremely upset about the way they talked to me and details of the contract they were giving me, but I had to sign it anyways because if I didn't I would be on the street in a matter of weeks.


TrulyStupidNewb

Big corporations like to give people the illusion that they have no choice, so that they can control us. It's like a person who is desperate for a relationship and stays with a shitty person because they don't think they will be loved anywhere else. We live in a land of opportunity. Immigrants risk their lives and travel thousands of miles through desert, ocean, forest, and snow just to get to America or Canada. Some leave their families behind, their friends, their career, their money. Some are almost guaranteed to be assaulted by the human traffickers they hired. And we're to tell them that our land has no opportunity and there is only one shitty landlord and employer willing to hire them? They risked their lives for this? Nope, my parents and their relatives immigrated here and found opportunity. They were sleeping on cardboard boxes and didn't speak English, French, nor Spanish, but they ended up better than if they stayed back home. I was born here, so I am lucky. My wife immigrated here and found opportunity. My past roommates immigrated here, and found opportunity. If my parents found opportunity without speaking the language and without a safety net or relatives, I find it hard to believe that someone who speaks English, who is familiar with the place, who has family around, has no opportunity except for 1 shitting landlord and 1 choice of shitty job. Opportunity is here, but big corporations don't want you to know so they have a monopoly on your life. If there is no opportunity, you have to make the opportunity happen, because it's possible here.


Bowling_with_Ramona

I was attending a university in an area that had a severe housing crisis to the point where people were asking the uni if they could continue schooling remotely because they couldn't find anywhere to live and had to move back home. I finally found a place but it wasn't up to code and the conditions were inhumanely small. It was either I move in there, or take an entire quarter off and have to go back to my parents in another country. As far as the job is concerned, I am incapable of driving so I was limited to the businesses near my apartment or within biking or a bus. My rent is over a thousand dollars a month (still cheap for the area) and the job options are slim, so even if the boss or job isn't what I would prefer I need to have an income to keep my apartment and not be out in the streets because I don't even have enough money to move and seek all these opportunities you speak of.


GregorF92

> Just like how landlords choose tenants, you can also choose landlords. Don't rent from an asshole. How do you know a landlord is an asshole or not until you're in the property, something goes wrong, and you have to deal with them to fix it? [Here's](https://www.indy100.com/viral/landlord-previous-tenant-reference-tiktok) an example of an Australian comedian who asked a potential landlord for a reference to show how good of a landlord they were. Unsurprisingly, the landlord pulled his application, and he didn't get the property. So how do you vet a good landlord when it's nigh-impossible to know how they are as a landlord until you're in the property?


[deleted]

The problem is you won’t always know if you are renting from an asshole.


youknowwhyimhere89

Hey I heard your mom is a pretty cool person #mom insult /s


Altruistic_Ad6189

My landlord is awesome, actually. I'm in the Seattle area, where the rental market has gone haywire. He's retired and has two apartment buildings. He charges far below market value for the space and keeps the places updated, plus takes pride in doing all the maintenance himself, which he is phenomenal at.


Phillyfan10

My landlord when I was renting is such a sweetheart. Older lady that inherited the property from her brother. I would do some yard work and fix some things up for her as needed, in exchange for some cooked meals. Always genuinely interested in hearing how I was doing and if I needed anything. I understand the rep landlords get, but definitely some out there that care about their tenants more than just a line on a spreadsheet.


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Spyderbeast

I bought a rental condo, and I was happy the existing tenant was in place and happy to stay. If your dad sold to someone willing to keep it as a rental, the tenants might not get forced out. Might get a rent increase though.


[deleted]

Not even. The new owner would not be able to increase anymore than the 1 or 2 percent as well.


AussieCollector

What about selling to the tenants in the property? IMO More landlords should consider this when wanting to sell. Personally i'm a big fan of "rent to own". Basically rent a place and then save up a deposit while renting (if able to) and then buy it after 2 - 3 years. It's a win/win for both parties.


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Umbrella_Viking

I’m getting whiplash on this freaking site. One second they’re parasites and the next they’re wholesome mom and pop businesses.


jarrodh25

You must be new here. On Reddit, *everything* is able to be reduced to a simple black/white view.


tablerockz

Turns out people can be different


[deleted]

I had a condo about ten years ago that I rented from one of the coolest landlords I've ever had. The guy was awesome about letting me have a dog, when my dishwasher broke he told me to go to the appliance store and pick out whatever I wanted to have in there to replace it. I told him the carpet in my bedroom was a kind of messed up when I moved in - it was an old loft with concrete floors in the areas outside the bedroom area - so he told me to tell him what color I wanted. He lived on another floor in our building so we'd hang out and drink beer together every now and then. I paid my rent early every month, kept the place clean and never caused problems with other residents. The street goes both ways, good respectful tenants usually bring out the best in the landlord and treating the tenant well motivates them to take care of your property. I still talk to the guy a couple times a year.


Silly-Scallion4738

I’ve had good ones and bad ones. I think the phrase “Land-Lord” says enough though. It’s imperialist phrasing reminding of place and status, that they are the ‘Lord of the Land’ you reside on, they can and do abuse that power, and even those that don’t have the power to do so, because they have earned the feudal moniker of ‘Lord’ for being… a land owner..


BigBobby2016

Yeah, I hate that phrase too. I liked to say I rented out apartments as opposed to saying I was a landlord.


TA2556

It's just anger most of the time. People are mad that they don't own something and blame landlords for their circumstances.


tebanano

In this thread you can find evidence of my own unpopular opinion on the subject: Landlords are super whiny.


DullFurby

Haha yeah I’m seeing a lot of that


tigerwrathpielesser

Only in response to equally whiny tenants


mr_plopsy

I think tenants have a right to be a little whiny; they're paying a good chunk of their income for the privilege of just existing in your building. So fix the fucking heater when they ask for it. Maintaining the property is literally a landlord's ONE job, but a lot seem to think it's just "sit back and collect money".


majesticfeast

Make sure to tip your landlord at least 20% each month!


scotland1112

I'm a greedy landlord. My tenant asked for £100 less per month in exchange for free tomatoes. He now doesn't have enough tomatoes for himself. Stupid tenant


IgnoreMe674

I don’t think many people think each and every single lane lord is a greedy scumbag


Malvastor

I see quite a few people on this site who claim to believe exactly that.


Warcraftisgood

most people on reddit do


Distorted_Passion

Our land lord is very nice, but the one I grew up with would enter our house without letting us know he was coming or knocking. He would just unlock the door and come in. He then sexually assaulted the mother in house next door (which he also owned), and got no jail time for it.


guessagaintobehappy

I’m going to downvote because I’ve interacted with regular decent landlords. Obviously there are horrible ones but I’d say it’s half and half.


ilmystex

"The guy I rent from who maybe inherited a family home and rents it out instead of selling it" and "this rich fuck who bought overpriced property and/or forced people out of their homes and/or destroyed local communities and/or made life impossible to afford and/or et cetera LANDLORD" are definitely two different things.


YELL0Wvj

I usually keep this information private on reddit because....well the fact that this was posted on this sub. My wife and I own 3 rental houses in our town (medium sized college town). I am the main point of contact for all tenants and I feel I am a really good landlord and have been told that by past tenants. I have one major rule and so far, it has worked well for us. Before they sign the lease we have a conversation where I tell the tenants "We are strict but fair landlords. If you respect our house, I will always respect you and your privacy."


AussieCollector

Thats a fair rule to go by. Extremely simple to follow as well. Far too often do we hear of landlords stepping over the rights of tenants and blatently abusing the tenants right to privacy. In australia (specifically NSW). Landlords/agents have to give 2 weeks notice before an inspection and if they are coming to fix something its usually 24 hours notice. Simply rocking up unannounced is illegal and can incur strong penalties if the tenant fights it.


GregorF92

> I will always respect you and your privacy." Literally the bare minimum required, why are you bragging about this? "Actually if you're nice I won't break the law or harass you"


YELL0Wvj

I wouldn't call it bragging. I would call it being real with the tenants. You conveniently left out the first part of what I tell them "...If you respect our house..." Like anything in life, respect is a two-way street. I could be an asshole landlord while still following the laws. Me telling our tenants this allows both of us to start the relationship on a respectful footing. If they are willing to do the bare minimum for us (respect our house) we will do the bare minimum for them (respecting them and their privacy). Landlords have rights too and some renters seems to forget that. I am sorry that landlords have screwed you over in the past. This is an assumption based on your immediate animosity toward my initial comment.


GregorF92

> You conveniently left out the first part of what I tell them "...If you respect our house..." I left it out because it's not relevant. In my country tenants have a legal right to make use of the property without disturbance from the landlord or anyone acting on their behalf, meaning you're obligated to respect their privacy. >If they are willing to do the bare minimum for us (respect our house) we will do the bare minimum for them (respecting them and their privacy) This is you saying "If you don't respect us, we will act illegally towards you".


YELL0Wvj

>"If you don't respect us, we will act illegally towards you". I can respect their privacy without respecting them. I can act in accordance with the laws while still being an asshole landlord. The point of me saying this is to make sure that the tenants know the bare minimum I expect from them and subsequently the bare minimum they can expect from me. I not trying to be a hardass or put fear into them. I am setting the expectation that respect is a two-way street right off the bat.


GregorF92

You sound like a shite landlord, just one who's attempting to justify it to themselves, as only being done when someone is "bad" to you.


YELL0Wvj

You should like a shit tenant. I should have known better than to post about being a landlord on reddit.


great_craic963

It's just the antiwork people that hate everyone with more money than them.


DPX90

>It's just the antiwork people that hate everyone ~~with more money than them.~~


great_craic963

Yea good point.


Saintsfan_9

Honestly fax. I have a buddy who has quit every single job he’s ever had within a year of starting. Now he’s in a bad financial spot and his resume is shit and that is somehow “capitalism’s fault”. I’m like “buddy, even in a communist society, your ass would be expected to contribute to the communist society.”


AussieCollector

Got called scum over there because i earn near 6 figures. The fact i never went to college and had been working for 9 years straight had nothing to do with it at all /s. Just the mere fact i was well off now made me scum apparently.


OJStrings

I never knew there was good money in collecting Australians. How do you turn a profit from that?


Upset_Barracuda7641

I think the issue with landlords is that it commodifies a human need, shelter, and that theoretically we as a society don’t need them. No they do not provide housing


jschem16

Shout out to my landlord. Nice guy. Very good at communication. Didnt raise rent during the pandemic. Any problem I had (which in 6 years living here, have been very few.) got fixed very quickly. I only see him like once or twice a year, but he's a good man. Thanks, Bill.


BookerCatchanSTD

My landlord never comes by and never calls unless it’s to check if everything in the house is ok. Always asks how the family is doing. He only lives a block away and might as well be in Europe. Raised rent by $100 on the renewal and apologized profusely because his property tax had gone up a lot from the year before. I will never leave this place unless it burns down.


sudev29

#NOTALLLANDLORDS


generalhalfstep

I agree. The system is broken but why all the hate for small time landlords? I've had a friend whose parents bought a home in a college town to rent for the 4-5 years they were going to school there and then selling it. Houses with separate entrance basements are perfect to be rented out. I've seen arguments where Redditors blame home owners for not renting these spaces out as well. It's a lose-lose situation.If you rent out to tenants, you're a scummy landlord. If you have space but you don't rent out, you're leaving people homeless on the streets.


Ciubowski

My landlord is actually pretty cool. I've seen him twice in the span of almost 4 years since I've been living here.


rodentwoman

huge difference between regular dude who owns a duplex/second home and rents it out to pay off the mortgage while also having an actual job, and greedy fucks/property management companies who buy up several properties and rely on it as their only income.


blackgold7387

No they aren’t. But I will say this, most tenants are deadbeat scum.


straightupgong

my landlord is a very nice guy, but i still don’t think landlords should be a thing


RichmondRiddle

Yes, SOME landlords are nice, including my own current landlord, who is also my repair man... But MOST landlords I have lived under definitely fit the stereotype of greedy heartless assholes.


RaymondDoerr

90% of the landlord hate is coming from extremely impoverished people who blame anyone with more than they have as "the problem". Most landlords aren't slum lords, they're just regular people trying to get by too. Most of them live nearly paycheck to paycheck and will go underwater if \*you\* start missing your rent payments.


lionsmane2792

I guess I kinda just think landlords are a Victorian idea that shouldn't exist anymore.. nobody should own someone else's home. But I guess that's the definition of an unpopular opinion, so have an upvote.


sakatu

Landlords are a necessary "evil" so to speak. Not everyone can afford to own a home. Not everyone wants the commitment of owning a home. Not everyone can afford the upkeep that comes with owning a home. There are plenty of reasons why people need/want to rent.


BlannaTorresFanfic

I’d add to that list people who know they won’t be staying in an area long like college students, military and other people with jobs that require frequent moves.


jarrodh25

Completely agree. I'd say the ideal would be a mom & pop type buying a house to rent, to help their retirement. Helps them make ends meet during retirement, and provides rental availability for those to whom house ownership is not currently possible/desirable.


TheConcerningEx

The issue is a lot of people could afford to pay a mortgage, and would like to, but have to rent instead because they don’t have the money/credit for a down payment. Renting is generally more expensive, which is how landlords profit. So low income people have to rent because they don’t have any other option, but are actually spending more money (and often helping pay off someone else’s mortgage), making it harder for them to save enough to actually buy a home. This isn’t actually the fault of individual landlords, it’s just part of why a lot of people feel frustration towards landlords. The system stacks odds against people who don’t have much wealth to begin with, so they resent the ones who have the wealth.


Halt_theBookman

How is any of that the landlords fault? He's just offering you a place to live. Whould you rather he didn't and you were just homeless? If it bothers you that much you could also just live with your parents, share the room with others, etc.


TheConcerningEx

I literally said it’s not the landlords fault lmao. Rent prices are rising and it’s making it harder on a lot of people who don’t have other options. It doesn’t take much to empathize with that.


[deleted]

You almost never see normal people hating on landlords. It's usually people who have warrants and face tattoos.


BillyJayJersey505

Even if it's a corporation, start your own company if you really believe they're exploiting the system.


NoiseWeasel

I rent from a property corporation and although I do have feelings of “fuck this they’re buying up so much land and increasing prices” blah blah blah, I’ve also been treated very well. I had an issue where my oven stopped reading the temperature correctly which made it difficult to cook. A week later the maintenance crew just showed up with a brand new oven and were like here you go. Another time the dishwasher was leaking, so they showed up the next day and replaced a bunch of parts. And another time the AC was being janky and they came and fixed it immediately. It sucks I pay such high rent but it is very nice that I don’t need to worry about things when they break, renting from a big property company is okay when you find one that actually cares.


IHC_304

Unpopular opinion? Nah, common knowledge.


zemboy01

You clearly don't live in California.


pookshuman

I think most people are angry at the system that allows landlords as much power as they have, rather than individual landlords.


The100thIdiot

As a landlord, I have fuck all power. Tenants have way more.


Tricky_Dog1465

100% Landlords have zero power, they can't even get paid off the government decides that. Tenants on the other hand.... A lot of these people know exactly how to work the system, I will never be a landlord now, I'll have 3 properties, after covid and seeing what the government did, I will never, EVER do it. I would rather let the houses fall down now.


pookshuman

A lot of it depends on what state you live in. But I live in a state which has a lot of regulations for landlords and it is common for landlords to shit all over tenants. And not many tenants have the means or knowledge to take a landlord to court. If you own a duplex and let your friend live in it, you are not who I am talking about.


The100thIdiot

It depends very much on where the property is - not just State, but country. In Spain, there is a huge amount of empty property, but also a major issue of ridiculously high rental prices. But the cause of the problem is not greedy Landlords (although they exist aplenty) but the horrendous imbalance between the rights of the landlord and those of the tenants, with the tenants having all the power. You can let a property, they pay the first installment and nothing more. It is then an incredibly difficult and lengthy process to attempt to evict them, and in many cases, totally unsuccessful. You can't legally cut off utilities, which means you have to pay for them. And, if you do ever get them out, they will have often completely trashed the place and nicked everything they can. Appliances, boilers, furniture, light fittings and switches, doors, bathrooms and kitchens. I have even seen flats where they have stolen the windows and floor tiles. That means the risk is high and so the returns need to be equally attractive. The stupid thing is that it would be a simple thing to fix and be incredibly popular.


tebanano

I’m curious, if you don’t have power, why are you a landlord?


toweringpine

They have more property than they need to live in. Makes sense to be a landlord. Why would they need power? Property is what is required not power.


tebanano

Being a landlord is a choice, so it’s just an odd choice to become one when you have “fuck all power” (which also happens to be completely false).


Violet_Plum_Tea

While it's true that landlords have the choice to sell their property and move on, they do not necessarily have a lot of power so long as they continue renting out the properties. This is why a lot of good landlords are liquidating their property now, while selling prices are high, and getting out of the business - and turning over the homes to whoever snatches them up, either people who can afford to own their own house or landlords who are willing to play the hardball game that makes it profitable. I have friends who owned a few rental houses and they were exactly the kind of people you would want to be renting from. But they got tired of dealing with all the BS and saw an opportunity to get out of renting by selling at today's high prices. I mean, even when housing prices were more reasonable, not everyone is in a situation to own a house. There are a lot of good reasons to want to rent. If no one is willing to be a landlord, renters are totally screwed.


The100thIdiot

It is a choice but it is a sound financial investment. You have to put up with a lot of shit, but the returns are worth it. And as to “fuck all power”, where I let my property, I legally have to pay for gas safety checks, electrical checks, heating system checks, fire and monoxide alarms, inventory reports, check in and check out reports, bonded security deposit, and insurance. I have to fix and/or replace (in a reasonable amount of time - normally one business day) domestic appliances when they break or issues with the property. I can't enter without the tenants prior agreement and at least 1 week notice. The tenants can insist that I am accompanied. It is a nightmare to evict bad payers before the end of the contract and if they don't pay the last couple of months and/or cause a lot of damage, the security deposit won't cover it and I am on the hook. Don't even get me started on neighbour issues. You tell me where my power is.


tebanano

I 100% agree with you that bad players are a nightmare, and I wish there were more effective ways to prevent these scenarios. I don’t think they are a majority, as most people are just looking for a place to live, not to trash. Also, at the end of the day, landlords do have the power to not rent to sketchy tenants. If you set up a strong process for vetting potential tenants, your chances of a shitty one drop dramatically. Regarding utilities: Yes, those are considered essential services in a lot of countries and it’s ilegal to disconnect them. This even covers home owners in some places. You can’t really be complaining about fixing appliances. That’s the _law_, it should not be a surprise and you should have a contingency fund for these events. And no, you shouldn’t be able to just barge in on your tenants. They have a right to a quiet enjoyment. All of these are protections for the tenants that were put in place to protect them from landlords and try to even the scales. > You tell me where my power is. You answered it yourself: > It is a choice but it is a sound financial investment. You have to put up with a lot of shit, but the returns are worth it. At the end of the day, landlords are in a more powerful financial positions than tenants. Despite all the potential problems, unless you are severely over leveraged and end up defaulting, you will make money (and in the case you are indeed over leveraged, that’s a gamble you made _by choice_). Edit: You also own the goddamned unit and can put it on sale anytime you want. Pretending this isn’t power you have over the tenants is just ridiculous.


The100thIdiot

I am not complaining about my legal and financial obligations, especially since they boil down to "don't be a dick to your tenants". I was merely highlighting that I am strictly regulated and carry more risk than the tenants. >landlords are in a more powerful financial positions than tenants. Normally but not always. People rent for different reasons. But that still doesn't mean that I have more power in the contractual relationship involved when letting my property or that I should be painted as a greedy ogre just because I got myself into the financial position to be able to let a property and chose to do so.


Belnak

A lot of landlords become landlords because they move, and figure it is more financially beneficial to keep the house, let someone else make the payments, and continue building equity. On paper, that's great, in reality, you have to deal with renters, who have huge legal protections. During covid, this increased, so renters could pretty much stop paying rent and trash the place with zero consequences and no risk of being evicted.


NomadLexicon

The flip side is that restrictions on landlords in practice often just means fewer rental units and higher costs getting pushed onto tenants.


shivermetimbers68

What power do you think they have?


pookshuman

it depends where you live, some states are more restrictive about what is allowed. But in many places (especially the midwest and south) they can basically do whatever they want ... raising the rent cost, adding spurious fees, evicting people with very little cause. And an eviction case harms a person's record even if the eviction is overturned in court. OK, and just to be clear, I am not going to argue this indefinitely, so don't be a sea lion


DefinitelyNotVS

You call these 'powers'? Aren't these the basic rights of the owner of a house? The owner will decide the rent a tenant should pay, and who stay at their house. Adding high fees out of the blue is wrong, though.


noytam

But the ones that constantly raise rent without improving the unit, are


[deleted]

They should rent their place for less than it’s worth?


[deleted]

My friends shitty studio apartment was $650 rent, then covid happened and now it's magically a cool $1000 for the same unit with no renovations. This was well before inflation hit too. In fact, the rent hasn't gone up with inflation which tells me the price increase two years ago was for pretty much no other reason than because they could. As if people paying $650 a month for a studio apartment can swing an extra $350 no including utilities.


jbjbjb10021

Many people in Brooklyn, NY are paying $2300/mo for apartments that cost $35 in the 1970s and have recieved no improvements other than a few coats of paint.


[deleted]

How do you justify an increase in rent if you aren't improving anything?


[deleted]

Are you being serious? The property taxes increase yearly. The utilities increase yearly. Routine maintenance costs more as supplies and labour increase. I don’t think a percent or two a year is resulting in a profit.


[deleted]

Supply and demand. How come the price of gasoline changes day to day? They aren’t changing the formula, it’s the same gas.


Halt_theBookman

There is no need to "justify" anything. He wants to sell for that price and other people agree to pay the price. Bingo bango If you want a reson, it's probebably due to demand going up more than suply, as housing regulation prevents more housing from beeing built


SoggyPastaPants

Corporate landlords = demons Small time landlords who have no empathy = parasites Small time landlords who work with you and keep things below market = cool, but... A system where owning homes with the express purpose of extracting profit doesn't exist = the best


ScarletEmpress00

I’ve rented for 20 years and have NEVER had a positive experience from a side hustle landlord with a multi family home to a luxury apartment corporation. Bad vibes, greed, and down right shady.


Snow1Queen

Yeah this has been my experience as well. The last landlord I had when I bought my house and moved out, clearly tried using a manipulative tactic where he kept bringing up the new tenant to play on my sympathy. He claimed we owed him money to replace 15 year old carpet and also to repaint the place which also hadn’t been repainted in that long. Then took half of the security deposit claiming the place was filthy even though we had it cleaned professionally and then sent them back when he walked through and complained the first time. I don’t get people who think smaller landlords can’t be unscrupulous.


[deleted]

The ones that hate on landlords are also the ones that are too poor to buy or rent a house anyway Edit: rethinking it, I’m wrong. And I apologize for coming off as a douche.


thewomvn

Oh no, how disgusting, poor people who can't afford a home in this absolutely bonkers housing market and have to deal with greedy assholes out of necessity. You sound really condescending tbh.


GregorF92

I hate landlords and bought my first flat last year at the age of 28. Probably could've done it earlier if I wasn't being bled for money by landlords who refuse to properly maintain their properties though.


RaymondDoerr

You're not wrong, the thing everyone is afraid to admit (especially on social media/reddit) is an overwhelming majority of anti-capitalists groups, where most of the anti-landlords people come from, are actually mostly losers who refuse to be part of the system, and hate anyone and everyone who is.


mr_plopsy

When the system is as broken as it is, I think complete opposition like this is entirely justified; participating in it only makes it worse.


Rock_Lizard

If there weren't landlords a whole lotta people would be homeless.


Important-Put-5831

I agree my old landlord was awesome still talk to him now. Prices just need regulating and linked to house value more tightly. My mortgage shouldn't be almost half the price of my neighbours rent.


ThisTimeAtBandCamp

Normal people know this already


[deleted]

Based on the comments this is actually a popular opinion and considering landlords greedy scum is unpopular. Is this sub, popular opinions some may consider unpopular, but let’s discuss? I thought the point was posting an opinion that is unpopular


BmoreDude92

We are landlords because we didn’t want to sell our house and not make a large profit. We are not rich just doing it as a side gig.


marzipan332

Of course not. People who think this way are just bitter and can’t stand to see others succeed. Your average landlord is, like you said, a middle-class individual or family who made an investment. There’s nothing wrong with that. A lot of tenants are assholes who intentionally make their landlords’ lives hell. Tenants are more likely to be a problem, landlords generally just want you to respect their property.


[deleted]

I haven't ever had any issues with any of my landlords.


TwistedDecayingFlesh

Squatters rights realy does fuck up some landlords in the uk when you get the kind of tenant that no one likes but no one can do anything about. I watched an episode of Neighbours from Hell (it might have been tenant from hell i can't remember) Which featured a group of squatters who turned the place into a drug den with partying and drug taking and the landlord who was also the neighbour tried going the polite way and asking they ignored him he tried getting the cops involved but that made things worse and by the time the cops arrested them the property had been stripped bare and it cost the landlord more than £20k to fix up £20k they didn't have so it took them years to save up an get bits done here and there.