Evictions seeing exponential rise in MA (Boston: section 8, rent, student loan)

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

Don't you think landowners should be able to cover their costs without rent? If not, they should sell.

Kind of annoying that some see "owning a house" as a fulltime job / source of income.

was this serious?

[sawyer2]

I am happy to defer some rent collection - as long as I can likewise defer payment of taxes, mortgage interest, condo fees etc.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

was this serious?

lmfao. Scary huh?


smh

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by mdovell

I'm not profiting. The previous attempted buyers financing collapsed. It's like buying stocks during a correction. Would you rather see things fall further?

I wasn't pointing at you.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

was this serious?

It’s the manifestation of a grudge. My last landlord never gave back my security deposit, was generally awful with keeping up the property and with communication. I know I just need to file a claim in small courts against her, but I believe I looker her up and she already had tons of lawsuits filed against her, her husband, and their real estate company.

I don’t think she had any other job besides managing her properties. She didn’t contribute anything to the community or the economy. Just an absolute leech. Ugh. I really shouldn’t have commented because now I’m all flustered.

I don’t dislike renting or landlords as a concept. Renting makes sense if you don’t want to be tied down to one place for a long time, and a little extra pocket change for landlords can be a welcome boon. However, I would like there to be a housing surplus so that lazy bums like my old landlord can’t get rich by jamming 7 people into a single, old house and charging luxury prices.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

It’s the manifestation of a grudge. My last landlord never gave back my security deposit, was generally awful with keeping up the property and with communication. I know I just need to file a claim in small courts against her, but I believe I looker her up and she already had tons of lawsuits filed against her, her husband, and their real estate company.

I don’t think she had any other job besides managing her properties. She didn’t contribute anything to the community or the economy. Just an absolute leech. Ugh. I really shouldn’t have commented because now I’m all flustered.

But you do realize not all landlords are FT slumlords like this lady? Many if not most in Mass. are small time maybe own a 2 or 3 family to help pay for their own housing, or they moved and are renting out the old space, etc. etc.. In many of those cases, they barely break even (if that). You're not going to get rich by owning a 3 decker or two, and it certainly won't substitute for a FT paycheck.

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

However, I would like there to be a housing surplus so that lazy bums like my old landlord can’t get rich by jamming 7 people into a single, old house and charging luxury prices.

I agree to this, and have zero sympathy for those making a career out of investment properties and gouging renters. Hopefully all the vacancies continue putting a downward pressure on rents in the city. But you also have to admit that if a lot of these properties end up in foreclosure due to unpaid rents, others are going to suffer in the short term as well and that will actually cause a housing crunch rather than a surplus.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by massnative71

But you do realize not all landlords are FT slumlords like this lady? Many if not most in Mass. are small time maybe own a 2 or 3 family to help pay for their own housing, or they moved and are renting out the old space, etc. etc.. In many of those cases, they barely break even (if that). You're not going to get rich by owning a 3 decker or two, and it certainly won't substitute for a FT paycheck.

Yes, I absolutely realize this and agree.

But you also have to admit that if a lot of these properties end up in foreclosure due to unpaid rents, others are going to suffer in the short term as well and that will actually cause a housing crunch rather than a surplus.

Seems like most solutions result in people suffering in the short term, unfortunately. I really don’t have a good answer.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

However, I would like there to be a housing surplus so that lazy bums like my old landlord can’t get rich by jamming 7 people into a single, old house and charging luxury prices.

I definitely share similar sentiments on this point. I'm very much a market based thinker, but I'm sick of seeing (in many cases) otherwise "talentless" people get rich off their dumpy rental units only because of low supply and high demand, much of which came from poor/corrupt city planning. Same goes for many of the "rental agent" shysters who take a 40 hour real estate class so they can charge exorbitant fees to do nothing more than open a door to show a unit to a prospective tenant (and all the bait/switch and other scams that come with some of it).

Not saying all landlords are like this, but shocked at the number of apartments I've seen where owners have seemingly not put a dime into the place and yet are renting them at top dollars because they know some poor schlub who just got a job here and desperately needs a place will stand in line to rent the place. In other words, taking advantage of low supply caused in large part not only by the market but because the city hasn't handled the housing supply situation well, in my view.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

Not saying all landlords are like this, but shocked at the number of apartments I've seen where owners have seemingly not put a dime into the place and yet are renting them at top dollars because they know some poor schlub who just got a job here and desperately needs a place will stand in line to rent the place. In other words, taking advantage of low supply caused in large part not only by the market but because the city hasn't handled the housing supply situation well, in my view.

Even if one is an orthodox 'free market' thinker, it's hard to disagree with this assessment.

Low supply has allowed unethical actors to squat on properties, renting non-code compliant bedrooms at exorbitant rates to the naive and desperate. And while they let their properties atrophy, the increasing land values spare them of any future financial consequence.

It's a problem and one I've been helping a family member navigate. Fortunately, she has legal representation and is likely to exit the contract without financial penalty as well as recouping costs.

[sawyer2]

And Boston is the perfect location for these slumlords to prosper - a fresh crop of transient students/young professionals every year.

At the top of this steaming pile is Anwar Faisal
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/...ndlord-boston/


On the other side of the coin, there are many of us who are good landlords and there are many bad tenants.