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'Renters Are Struggling': Economists Back Tenant-Led Push for Federal Rent Control
(www.commondreams.org)
this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2023
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My biggest head scratcher now that I've bought a house is "huh, my mortgage is locked in now, no matter what the market does... Why did rent keep going up if my landlord's mortgages were locked in?"
I honestly don't have a good answer, I could be looking at something perfectly explainable. But to me it seemed like they raised rent not because costs went up, but because they could. Why not. Everybody else is doing it.
Mortgages are locked in. Taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance/upkeep are not. All of those things have increased since I bought my house a year ago. Rental properties experience the same thing.
My landlord's taxes went down, I pay for utilities, not sure about insurance, as for upkeep I will let you know when I see that happening.
Property taxes went down? I doubt that. As far as upkeep, if the furnace goes out, who pays for that? The property owner. That's what I meant.
We got federal money for Covid and the commerical sector is doing well. Pretty sure the furnace is fine, but it isn't like I have lived here for multiple years.
Property taxes, market rate, costs to repair and maintain, interest rates increasing. How much money, beyond your mortgage, have you spend on your house since you moved in?
Less than my apartment ever was 😜
And what's especially nice is everything I buy and repair goes to me, belongs to me.
Sure I had to buy a washer and dryer, lawn mower, more furniture, etc, but that's all mine forever.
The only cost that's higher at my house than my much smaller apartment is utilities.
How much?
A few hundred a month less. I'm not suddenly drowning in money, obviously, but it's interesting paying less for much more, and that money actually benefitting my net worth vs being flushed down the toilet
See, you can't even answer a simple question.
You weren't actually asking questions to gain knowledge, you just want to hide the facts so it looks like you're right. Home ownership is expensive, and for most people, isn't ideal, renting is a huge need on our society so I don't have to give up 50k cash right now, so I don't have to pay 15k/yr in property taxes, a 20k water heater bill randomly and I can move next money if I want to. You being willingly ignorant to those don't change the facts.
???
Dude calm down. Is it really so crazy that my apartment was more expensive? Do you really need to know the exact dollar figure of price difference? No, that's my private financial info and my prerogative to give you, but fuck it, here's some ballpark figures;
My rent was $1299, pet fees added $75, water, trash, electric, and internet came out to about $300. So per month for basic nessesties, my apartment was about $1675 a month. 900 square feet. Oh, and they were going to raise rent $120 if I renewed
My mortgage? With escrow (insurance and property taxes) is $990 a month. My water bill is $42 and includes trash, electric about $150 (and it's the peak of summer so, obviously that's going to drop), internet $55. Places totals at roughly what, $1250? That's a 1600 square foot house with a 2 car garage and a yard.
Rentals have their place, no shit, I'm not saying that. I'm saying I'm pretty certain rental prices get jacked up to meet "market values" regardless of what any landlord is paying to own the rental.
Of course buying a house is harder, not everybody can drop the money down or afford to furnish or purchase appliances. But the month to month costs are, in my opinion, really weird with how much cheaper it is to own than rent. An apartment the same size as my house would run like $3500 a month here and be expected to share with roommates. That's almost triple the cost of mortgage and utilities. Yes, you rent property to make money, yes there's the added convenience of not being responsible for the yard and maintenance, yes, there's value in being able to move easily, but $3500 a month is too fucking much for an apartment, how could anybody possibly save up for a house when rent is costing so goddamn much. I only saved up because I deployed and moved my wife into my parents house!
And just to top it all off, I'm overpaying for this house. My friend bought a bigger house in a more expensive area, closer to the city center, but it was a few years ago. He's paying like $750 a month for the mortgage!!
See, you haven't read anything I've written, nor have you actually taken time to understand the costs.
Your apartment, monthly, may be more than your mortgage. What about the cost of home ownership like I asked? You've said so many words, even offering to tell me your monthly internet, to avoid telling me how much money you've spent on your house since ownership.
I sincerely don't know what you're looking for. The fact that down payments exist? My down payment and all the money I've spent since for furnishings and appliances was less than a year's rent. Where we get to MY point. The down payment and all the shit I bought is my equity now, not a landlord's, and it's money everybody would have a much easier time saving up if rent wasn't so diabolically high.
Maybe you're talking about the extra associated costs of maintenance, home renovations, etc. A couple hundred a month extra in .y.pockrt certainly makes that a lot more manageable.
In the 3 years I've lived at the apartment, I'd have spent in the ballpark of 60k on the monthly requirements. Even with the costs being front loaded for house purchase, in 3 years I will have spent a good deal less, for a good deal more.
I guess I'm confused about why you're insisting I'm lying, or obscuring the truth, why you're so confident you know more than me. It my own finances, I am pretty certain I know at least vaguely what I'm talking about, whereas you're just guessing based on what you want to hear, what you think I should be saying.
All I've done is open up a genuine dialogue with "I could be wrong, but my experiences show xyz" and instead of actually engaging back, your only take is "No, you're wrong and lying, I will not clarify despite being asked to clarify, see previous comments"
Evidently, in your brilliant master class intellect, you've neglected to be clear enough for the smooth brained idiots like me, because I've clearly read all your comments and still have no idea what your point is beyond calling me a liar because I'm not saying what you want to hear. And after all that, all this, I'm wasting your time?? Give me a break. My house is cheaper than my apartment, yes that's including all the super secret extra costs. My "xfinity bill" is far from the only proof I've offered.
What's frustrating me the most is that your argument hinges on me being a liar. Maybe you genuinely think so. But it's frustrating as hell because I know I'm not lying and there's nothing I can do to argue otherwise short of... saying it again. Sorry your world view boils down to "they disagree? they must be making it up!" but unfortunately I'm the one dealing with the negative consequences, while you surely feel quite intelligent and assured.