baltimore city is a great place to rent!

[MrRational]

Landlording is a retail, customer service, and in-your-face business.
Long distance land-lording doesn't work well... especially in the 'hood.

[B.K.]

Y'know, Royal, this is Baltimore you're talking about right? Have you done business here before? It sure sounds like the tenants you rented to were receiving some form of housing subsidy (city or state) whether you were aware of it or not. If so, you will find it nearly impossible to forcibly evict them for any reason for a minimum of 90 days whether or not they pay rent, trash the property or "provide a common nuisance." There are renter's courts here that will forestall any efforts to remove said miscreants. It will cost you a lot of money. It will cost even more when you discover you are responsible for all of the unpaid utility bills which must be settled before you can lease the property again.
On the other hand, we are generous to absentee landlords also. Let your tenants destroy the place, board it up, and watch your property taxes shrink to nothing.

[royalfortune]

Well, I guess I should have said up front that I'm not new to this racket. Been renting props in Balt City for 20+ years. Take all the necessary precautions, and more. We don't rent to S8 tenants. We have tenants who stay in our props for many, many years. I could provide you with "landlord references," that's how happy we keep our tenants.

Everything was much easier -- less of a stressor -- when Balt City prop taxes weren't so ridiculously high. Higher prop taxes, sucking up most of a business's profits (especially when you can't raise your rents fast enough to keep up with them), make even the slightest hassle much more of a hassle. Add to that the rise of fees for certifications and registrations and etc (more taxes on me and my business), and suddenly your profit is out the window. So when one tenant decides to squat, and Balt City suddenly says your lease is meaningless (ie, "no holdover" doesn't mean anything legally when it's most needed), you get sort of steamed up about it.

We have seriously thunk about just boarding up props and leaving them behind. It would help our business (and keep our money out of the deep pockets of the city administrators who demand it).

It's just a shame that Balt City is so business-un-friendly.

MC

[mrboltonman]

The property tax rate in Baltimore City was 2.328 in 2002-2003 and is 2.268 (w/ adds for certain areas) now so it's been ridiculously high for a long time.

SDAT: Property Tax Rates
MD Current Tax Rates

Now the assessed value is a different story which can drastically change from year to year. This should be reworked for landlords so they don't get a shock when this happens.

If boarding up your properties helps your business then you should do it, I would.

The city and state need to do more to be business friendly.

If a tenant is evicted which should be a speedy process (a couple days) then they are out. The doors locked and their **** on the street. The landlord should not have to pay for them to stay in the place. If the city/state wants to give them more time then the city/state should pay for it.

The lead laws are ridiculous and make owning a rental property a pain. It should be that landlords have the tenants sign a paper stating that the property has lead and that's it. Like when you buy a property.

[royalfortune]

If a tenant is evicted which should be a speedy process (a couple days) then they are out.

In Balt City, eviction can take WEEKS, if not MONTHS. In other words, tenants get to live for free with the blessing of the city for quite a long time.

Frankly I'm surprised that renters all over Balt City just don't stop paying their rents. I mean, nothing happens to you when you quit paying rent. You basically get to keep your property. The owner has no rights at all. Can't change the locks. Can't take the property back. Owner's gotta keep paying water and tax bills, too, I guess. Non-paying tenants get a free ride, thanks to Balt City!

Who can do real business, and really help anyone, in this kind of business climate?

Thanks again, Baltimore! What was I thinking when I loved you?

MC

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by royalfortune

In Balt City, eviction can take WEEKS, if not MONTHS. In other words, tenants get to live for free with the blessing of the city for quite a long time.

Frankly I'm surprised that renters all over Balt City just don't stop paying their rents. I mean, nothing happens to you when you quit paying rent. You basically get to keep your property. The owner has no rights at all. Can't change the locks. Can't take the property back. Owner's gotta keep paying water and tax bills, too, I guess. Non-paying tenants get a free ride, thanks to Balt City!

Who can do real business, and really help anyone, in this kind of business climate?

Thanks again, Baltimore! What was I thinking when I loved you?

MC

Ok, a free ride, huh? What are they going to do when they can't rent at a new location because they now have a crappy reference and/or credit score.

It may be a lame deal for the landlords (assuming they are, in fact, decent landlords at that), but to assume that nothing happens to the renters is ridiculous. Only the lowest of slumlords will give them a second chance. Then they can be "rewarded" by living in a roach, mouse, infested sh*t hole with busted pluming, asbestos falling from the ceiling, etc.

[jrh0341]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

Ok, a free ride, huh? What are they going to do when they can't rent at a new location because they now have a crappy reference and/or credit score.

It may be a lame deal for the landlords (assuming they are, in fact, decent landlords at that), but to assume that nothing happens to the renters is ridiculous. Only the lowest of slumlords will give them a second chance. Then they can be "rewarded" by living in a roach, mouse, infested sh*t hole with busted pluming, asbestos falling from the ceiling, etc.

That sounds good in theory but in reality, its meaningless.

1. To believe having your credit and renter's record trashed prevents you from renting again doesn't account for all those people with apartments and utilities in their brother/sister/husband/mother/5 year old/parakeet's name.

2. To assume that this works as any kind of deterrent isn't logical. This is the same person that doesn't think ahead enough or have enough common sense and foresight to make sure they can make the next month's rent, (or at least communicate with the landlord on the issue) and yet they are supposed to be concerned about what's going to happen to their permanent record?

3. Even if they DO get their credit trashed, so what? It doesn't help the landlord. When the landlord is out thousands of dollars and quite possibly might be unable to maintain the property as a business, the knowledge that the Smith family "might have trouble getting their next place" isn't much of a consolation IMHO.