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SpareCartographer402 t1_j41b2je wrote

No its not. Plenty of us are forced to be renters because assholes keep buying everything up to rent out, causing scarcity and higher market prices. So yes, fewer people can afford a house now. There's more to it then that but its a big issue, but I don't feel bad for the people who afford the property upset about losing 22k of passive income. That's part of owning a business. Vet tenets better. In this situation, renegotiate costs until there lease is up based on whichever hardship their on, maybe you could have made Atleast 10k and the less pressure and stress could have helped the family to fix their situation easier. Did he communicate with these tenants and figure out what's going on or just evict after 1 month? (Now the tenants won't work with you because you evicted them before trying anything else, Of course, they won't move out or pay up... theres no incentive, evections make it difficult to find a new place making leaving more difficult.)

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EfficiencySuch6361 t1_j41i6ys wrote

Well yes it is, what I meant was that a landlord can choose NOT to rent their property and just let it sit there vacant. I know some older ppl with multiple properties who don’t need the money anymore and are tired of the hassle of dealing with overly entitled renters, so they let their secondary properties sit vacant. Which hurts both renters AND buyers

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TheSpektrModule t1_j41ls4v wrote

We looked into becoming landlords a few years ago when moving. Did some informal risk/benefit calculations and nope, not worth it. Sold the old house, threw the money into an S&P 500 index fund. A house that could have been a very reasonably priced rental property stayed off the rental market. Turns out there are consequences to having a system that's unfriendly to landlords.

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superdreamcast64 t1_j41ubs6 wrote

> A house that could have been a very reasonably priced rental property stayed off the rental market.

i don’t really see why this is a bad thing? rather than becoming a landlord’s 3rd property and sucking up tons of tenant money, the house went to someone who actually wants to own the home and live in it. we need more houses that people can buy on the market rather than forcing everyone to rent.

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TheSpektrModule t1_j4217hc wrote

Re: why it's a bad thing, buying a home in Baltimore is already relatively affordable compared to renting. That suggests that we need more rental homes, not more houses available for sale.

There are many reasons you want a robust rental market. Buying a house is not always better. The general rule of thumb is that you need to live in a house for seven years in order for the transactional costs to be worth it. Lots of people are not staying here for that long. Baltimore has a lot of grad students, medical residents, nurses working at big hospitals for the first few years of their careers and just people who don't want to stay in the city after having kids. People have become more mobile in general. If you want those mobile people to be part of your tax base for at least a few years then they need to have decent rental options.

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EfficiencySuch6361 t1_j41ufca wrote

It’s certainly not as lucrative here in Baltimore as some other places. It’s pretty standard especially in the pricier areas to only get 0.8%-1% of the purchase price as monthly rent, which is at the very bottom of the 0.8%-2% range that makes rental economics work. And if u can’t handle property management and at least 80% of the maintenance then it really becomes unprofitable quick. It’s not passive income I’ve discovered 😊 hopefully u feel good about the choice u made (which sounds very responsible)

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TheSpektrModule t1_j421bh2 wrote

> hopefully u feel good about the choice u made

I wake up every morning thankful that I did not become a landlord.

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dopkick t1_j41gh3m wrote

> Plenty of us are forced to be renters because assholes keep buying everything up to rent out, causing scarcity and higher market prices.

Yeah, that's not the case in Baltimore city. That is true in some cities but the whole "evil Texans are coming in and buying up all the property and driving prices higher!" narrative that some people love isn't actually happening here. There's still PLENTY of affordable housing here, check your favorite realty website. There's even affordable housing outside of the city if you want a more suburban lifestyle.

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StarkyPants555 t1_j42hqyg wrote

That's not true at all. Homeowner here. I get multiple calls per week asking if I want to sell my house. There are signs all over the city offering to buy homes cash, as is. Plenty of out of state property owners as well, just sitting on vacants and waiting for the neighborhoods to gentrify.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/investigations/bs-bz-baltimore-landlords-investor-homes-20221028-v5mmhm7aubbrbdw2zngmnjiuri-story.html

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dopkick t1_j42kj51 wrote

There are always a number of homes for sale under $250K in desirable neighborhoods. This is objective fact that can be checked by realty websites. If you cast a wider net you can find plenty under $200K, although it won't be in Fed Hill and the like (but still not bad - think Pigtown). For a vast, vast majority of cities such a price point is absolutely unheard of. Baltimore has plenty of affordable housing. If your idea of affordable is in-line with prices of run down homes in meth addict-ridden cities that have been declining for 50 years, then yeah I guess Baltimore isn't affordable. But good luck in those places.

I also get calls. They're cold calling in hopes of finding someone who wants cash now and they can score a deal. It's not unique to Baltimore.

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StarkyPants555 t1_j46qonc wrote

Yeah most homes in Baltimore were constructed pre 1950. There may be several homes under the $200K price point in "desirable" neighborhoods, but will need significant renovations or upkeep in the coming years. Your point still does not address the fact that equity firms are buying up properties at a rapid pace in this city and it is getting worse. This objective fact can also be verified.

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