Government Intervention and the Landlord Business -- Are You a Target??

I want to share what I believe is a powerful commentary from Peter Giardini about not only the impact of government intervention on the landlord business, but also the perception of landlords as big bad evil rich people - out there to hold down the little guy.

Please take a few minutes to read it and leave your feedback there for Pete and all the other readers to see.

Government Intervention — and We Landlords are The Targets!

Thanks!

Joshua Dorkin, BiggerPockets, Inc.
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Joel Owens

Commercial Real Estate Broker · Canton, Georgia

Pro Basic

2,194 posts
9 awards
85 influence

Aug 25 '11, 09:14 AM

Here in my area there isn't any rent control that I know of.Laws here are pro-landlord but I have heard of other states that can be a nightmare.

I think Government should keeps it's nose out of businesses.

Shanequa J.

SFR Investor · Fayetteville, North Carolina

232 posts
5 awards
51 influence

Aug 25 '11, 11:04 AM

Good thing NC doesn't have rent control. The government needs to focus on running the country, which is done poorly, and stop trying to regulate everything just because they think something is not fair to everyone. Everything they touch turns to crap.

Bienes Raices

· Orlando, Florida

2,033 posts
9 awards
62 influence

Aug 25 '11, 11:58 AM

I don't think there's any danger of rent control in my area because there's such a glut of rentals here, but there is a town near here that makes rental houses go through a government safety inspection once a year.

Jeff S

Private Money Lender · Los Angeles, California

278 posts
8 awards
63 influence

Aug 25 '11, 12:27 PM

We'll all agree that everything the government touches turns to crap. No argument. With due respect though, I think all of you are either missing Peter's point, or making it.

Just because you lease in an area without rent control, doesn't mean that at some time in the future, you won't be wallowing in it. I hate to say it like this but, there are more of them than us and Peter is suggesting that now is the time to prevent rent control from creeping into even the most friendly pro-landlord communities.

By the time it happens, it will be too late.

Jeff

Dale Osborn

Mobile Home Investor · Spanaway, Washington

1,307 posts
16 awards
61 influence

Aug 25 '11, 01:20 PM

In Washington the government wants to micromanage mobile home park operations. They can't even operate in the black and they want to try and run mobile home parks from their ivory towers?? Rent control is on the table and the suggestion is that every January every MHP Owner will have to report all income and expenses to the state and they will decide if the Owner can increase rents in the new year. They tried to pass an income tax bill here to "tax the rich" and it was shot down. Taxes are already a nightmare and some businesses are closing up shop and moving their operations to Idaho or Montana as they are more "business friendly". Maybe as we all leave the state the government will try to take over the day to day operations of the local businesses. Gas is already $0.20 higher per gallon than other states and real property taxes for 4 acres is over $30K/year. Sales tax is 9.5% also with food being taxed along with materials and labor when you have work done is a 9.5% sales tax added.

And we fought a war with England about "taxation without representation"?

Bienes Raices

· Orlando, Florida

2,033 posts
9 awards
62 influence

Aug 25 '11, 02:01 PM

Originally posted by Dale Osborn

In Washington the government wants to micromanage mobile home park operations. They can't even operate in the black and they want to try and run mobile home parks from their ivory towers?? Rent control is on the table and the suggestion is that every January every MHP Owner will have to report all income and expenses to the state and they will decide if the Owner can increase rents in the new year. They tried to pass an income tax bill here to "tax the rich" and it was shot down. Taxes are already a nightmare and some businesses are closing up shop and moving their operations to Idaho or Montana as they are more "business friendly". Maybe as we all leave the state the government will try to take over the day to day operations of the local businesses. Gas is already $0.20 higher per gallon than other states and real property taxes for 4 acres is over $30K/year. Sales tax is 9.5% also with food being taxed along with materials and labor when you have work done is a 9.5% sales tax added.

And we fought a war with England about "taxation without representation"?

Dale,
If they have public meetings to debate this stuff, you and the other LLs should attemd--they may listen to you if enough people show up, although I know that the west coast isn't that LL friendly. But a rental inspection proposal in my area was defeated because people showed up to protest.

Amanda Hensley

Real Estate Investor · Camas, WA

29 posts
50 influence

Aug 25 '11, 02:15 PM

I live in WA too, and it's funny - I find this state pretty business friendly. My "real job" is as an IT consultant and I think the business taxes, lack of income tax etc, is pretty good - perhaps it's not with real estate, I don't know, I don't invest in real estate here. I don't like how high the property taxes are here but most of my beef with that is with the local folks and the choices VOTERS have made about the hundreds of school levies they've tacked on. But the school systems here are way better than where I grew up in TN, so perhaps it's money well spent.

ETA: Sorry to have gotten offtrack with the original post.

Karen M.

Developer · Lake Forest, California

195 posts
2 awards
69 influence

Aug 25 '11, 05:16 PM

Rent control is definitely a concern. However; in listening to the idea of the "government" dumping the glut of housing they have in inventory on the market as "rental properties", I have to wonder, what will that do to the rental markets, and the foreclosure markets?

In some areas of the country where unemployment is close to 20% and have the highest number of homes that were foreclosed on, there are property owners that have lost jobs, but were able to hang on to their property by renting them out. Should the government now dump all those foreclosures from those areas on to the market, it will lower rents further, creating more foreclosures as the property owners will have even more competition from Uncle Sam, and thus not get enough rent to cover their mortgages, and hang on to their homes.

I don't know why when this whole mess started, if government wanted to "help", they didn't encourage banks to rewrite loans to 50 yr. terms, thus lowering payments, and helping stop the massive foreclosures, and destruction of the housing industry.

Personally, I'd like to see government quit coming up with grand ideas to "help" everyone! They're killing the country and set us back further. Am I missing something?