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Um listing photos are very important, the more the better, these are vintage items so condition and grade are important. Need to set up a printer scanner digital camera. Currently I take stuff from storage to a friend's house for listing pictures, but it's slow because that process is dependent on his schedule. If I could do everything from home I could sell more items faster which would also allow me to buy good deals when they appear, which I cannot do now.
I am constantly and totally stressed out in this house when the drunk is around, and since he has no job and no life and no license (too many DUIs) he's always moping around the house. The rest of us either get out of the house as much as possible or hole up in our rooms, it's miserable here. And when everyone holes up in their rooms the electric bill necessarily skyrockets which sets off a drunken rampage.
Applies only to renters with discretionary income. Renter median income is HALF median homeowner income; most renters are not in a financial position to invest meaningful sums.
stop already!.. renters who are poor or have no money to invest or buy have no choices ,period. they are not part of a rent or buy discussion. they are renters for the reason they have no or little money and have no choice so bringing them in to a discussion of whether to rent or buy is rediculous..
that is why renters as a group appear poor. because those with money are diluted by all those without.
Yes and no. There are many factors influencing rental rates, and costs are certainly one of them. However, a landlord cannot charge higher than market rates simply because s/he wants to make a profit. Other factors also come into play, such as local housing supply and demand, local job market, advantages and disadvantages of the particular property. It's not as simple as "Oh, I need a new HVAC. Your rent just went up $500 per month. Oh, my property taxes just went up, make that $600." The tenant will simply move and the unit will sit empty.
Local zoning codes are often used to restrict the supply of rentals. I lived in a town where many homeowners believed there was "too many" rentals and reacted by pushing for a couple decades to gradually tighten the zoning to the point where an existing 8BR house was limited to 2 unrelated individuals (or a family of 12). Rents necessarily skyrocketed which made the landlords happy.
I think this argument is overly simplistic. The main reasons renters don't accumulate wealth actually has relatively little to do with whether they're homeowners or not. Home ownership is, and effect of a certain value system. It doesn't create a lot of wealth:
Home ownership is generally correlated with:
--Married people (who accumulate more wealth than singles or divorced people)
--Long term commitments (long term mindset helps people accumulate wealth)
The problem most renters have is:
--They pay too much rent as a % of their incomes.
--Even if their rent is reasonable, they blow the difference on other stuff instead of saving/investing it.
--Renters also tend to be younger and have lower incomes than homeowners.
It's all in what you consider wealth. I invested $159k in my home in 1994 and paid off the mortgage in 2008. Since then, property taxes have run about $100/month and a comparable rental would cost me about $2k/month, so I'm getting a pretty good monthly return. A small logging project in 2013 put $47k in my pocket. Depending on the market, I might be able to sell it for $100k more than I paid for it when it's finally time to move to assisted living. Meanwhile, in living expenses and timber it has already returned more than I paid for it. If I live here for 20 more years, it will have returned over half a million bucks in kind and in cash, mostly tax free, while at least meeting inflation in sale price.
Homeowners have the same problem as renters in spending too much of their income on housing. They get into the "bigger boat" syndrome. My house is only 1700 square feet, albeit on 93 acres. We were originally shopping for the classic 5 acre mini-ranch, and found that the extra 88 acres cost about $20k more, so why not? Thanks to a rural background, I knew the scrubby timber would be worth something if we stuck around long enough to pay off the mortgage, and the payments were well within our budget. As long as you are paying off a mortgage you are not a home owner, you are just a glorified renter. When you reach the term of the mortgage and actually become a home owner, the investment starts to pay off.
Home ownership has always been the main way the middle class develops wealth.
stop already!.. renters who are poor or have no money to invest or buy have no choices ,period. they are not part of a rent or buy discussion. they are renters for the reason they have no or little money and have no choice so brionging them in to a discussion of whether to rent or buy is rediculous..
The reason is political; I have offered a free market solution based on economics rather than politics.
The reason is political; I have offered a free market solution based on economics rather than politics.
A better solution is for them to accept responsibility for their own lives and circumstances, and do what it takes to stop being in a position of having little to no options. Of course, this is something which cannot be legislated, but rather something each person must choose to do.
the problem is discipline . a renter who could buy but doesn't, usually will just rent a better place ,buy a better car or take an extra vacation. that money may not make it in to any investments.
most americans are awful investors as many academnic studies show over and over. throw in few lack the discipline to invest extra money or stay the course in volatile times and the house usually wins as a consolation prize.
but a renter who can do the above can do very very well. like i said had i owned and had that money tied up in the house i could never have had the money i needed for my real estate ventures.
i admit it was hard to to keep reinvesting that money i made through the years and not buy that bmw i wanted or the trips i wanted and i consider my discipline very good when i set out to do things . but i would be lying if i said i didn't want to use it to upscale our lives so many times..
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-02-2014 at 04:50 PM..
you reminded me of an ad in the paper. if you or someone you know has a drinking problem, call this number.
when you call it's a liquor store , ha ha ha
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