I take issue with the term "slumlord" and here is why

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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I take issue with the term "slumlord" and here is why

Kimberly Kesterke
Investor · Marietta, GA · Member since 2016 · 98 posts · 168 votes

Landlords have a noble mission. We provide safe and clean housing to our tenants, keep homes maintained and reasonably respond to our tenants requests. We provide housing options so that the government doesn’t have to. We build profitable portfolios that employ handyman, electricians, framers, dry wallers, plumbers, roofers, cleaning crews and real estate agents.

We take dilapidated homes and transform them into clean, safe, live-able spaces that create homes for people who either cannot afford a home or chooses to rent. This helps improve the landscape of the local neighborhood and increase property values for everyone who lives there.

We take on all the risk- we keep the water heaters running, HVAC repaired, plumbing working and toilets flowing. We set proper boundaries to our tenants with the expectation that rent is paid on-time- not only helping them make financially wise decisions, but when the proper programs are in place- you can help boost tenant’s credit scores with positive on-time payment reporting.

And yes, we deserve to make healthy profits in doing so.

So next time you hear some jacka@@ referring to landlords as slumlords- share this sentiment. Stand in your power knowing you are providing something that the government simply can’t do well. Know that you as a private citizen are adding tremendous value to your community.

And for goodness sake- please screen your tenant’s properly. You can’t be a slumlord if you don’t rent to unqualified tenants. Stick to your screening procedures and don’t second guess yourself.

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Joe P.
Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2017 · 824 posts · 1k+ votes
6y

My father (who I don't have a great relationship with) called me a slumlord last Thanksgiving. Twice.

I politely reminded him that I took the knowledge I've gained to try and build a better life for me my wife. And that I would live in a property I buy, because I think that's important. And I told him my property rents were $1000 each, which I thought to be quite a bit of money, so I don't consider that a slum.

It was all the justification I needed -- I'm doing something that an armchair investor (or non-investor) would poo-poo. I could be a failure, but my rear-end is off the couch trying.

I think if you're called a slumlord, its for 3 reasons -- someone is jealous, someone has a bad landlord experience, or you may actually be a slumlord. I can't control the first two.

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  • Brian Ploszay
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    6y

    One is not a slumlord if they invest into a lower income neighborhood and provide affordable and clean housing.  And operate the building professionally.

    Being a slumlord is a bad and risky model.

    A slumlord is someone who purposefully does not maintain their property.  Which is actually a bad idea as unfixed repairs multiply over time (especially water damage).  If you don't care about your property, others won't either.  Being a slumlord invites risky tenants into your property where collections will be less.   Being a slumlord invites the City to write you up for violations.  And attorneys to sue you over negligence.

    I find that slumlords are not profitable operators, but landlords who are financially strapped or have lost interest in running their business.   

    1Reply
  • Isaac S.
    Member since 2018 · 563 posts · 562 votes
    6y
    You are either seen as a slumlord or evil gentrifier.

    Generally, people are negative about the things they don't understand or are too lazy to do themselves, so they make themselves feel better with their virtue signalling.

    Not to say their are not some slumlords out there, but, generally the term is used about 1000x more than it actually applies.
    2Reply
  • Alex Tooker
    Member since 2019 · 1 post · 1 vote
    6y

    Hello Ms. Kesterke,

    Your post's title is exceptionally vague and sets up your argument for deconstruction, and here is why.  Your description in your post in no way describes the habits of a slumlord.  My first real estate deal was with a slumlord (it was academic and not precisely for profit or more of a throw-away deal for experience).  I know this factually due to the complaints filed against him with the city, the physical state of the property supported those claims (alongside some illegal and very not to code electrical), and conversations with multiple tenants at multiple properties.  According to Merriam-webster, a slumlord is "a landlord who receives unusually large profits from substandard, poorly maintained properties" (He also had two water-heaters in disrepair, and that had no drain pans).  He utilized a simple system of taking advantage of people's "dream of homeownership" to sign rent-to-own contracts at an inflated price to people who are merely unqualified and uneducated regarding current market conditions to know any better. Oh, and he was a real estate agent, he knew exactly what he was doing, and that was being a financial predator. I ran my numbers regarding the acquisition as a part of my classes, obtaining my degree in Real Estate Management and evaluated that I was paying approximately 20K over. I will post a link to that conservative evaluation shortly.



    https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slumlor

    1Reply
  • Angelo Mart
    Professional · Parsippany, NJ · Member since 2013 · 384 posts · 262 votes
    6y

    Great post and Well said

    0Reply
  • Patrick J.
    Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2019 · 173 posts · 87 votes
    6y

    @Quincy Lockett

    What do you mean by "The government can't do it?" The reason the government can't do it is because we live in a Capitalist and Democratic country where land can be bought and sold by private citizens. We don't live in China where private citizens are banned from owning land which is why many properties in the U.S are bought by foreign investors from China which I think should be illegal.

    Also, many politicians own property. Ever heard of the Trump Tower???

    Branding investment properties as some noble chartible deed is just to boost your ego and the OP's ego. Get over yourselves. You buy investment properties to build your net worth. It's not charity and never will be charity.

    If you want to do charity work, help kids in school become financially literate. The school system in America is a joke. No one was ever taught the basics of Finance, Accounting, Taxes, Investment accounts, IRAs, Real Estate, Interest, Credit Cards etc in school.

    School taught us some random war was in 1852 and what an Isosceles triangle is.

    1Reply
  • Tushar P.
    Member since 2019 · 332 posts · 171 votes
    6y

    I thought any rentals approaching/exceeding 2% rule (monthly rent >= 2% of purchase price) will require a slumlord to manage them - is that right? Also, we are hearing only one side of the story. It is easy to say that I am not a slumlord because I didn't do anything, it's just that the tenant converted my property to a slum. 

    @Kimberly Kesterke good point on the importance of tenant screening. Ask yourself (no need to answer here) whether you will provide the contact info of all the tenants in the last 2 years if a prospective tenant asked for it (good tenants use that to screen slumlords).

    0Reply
  • Quincy Lockett
    South Holland, IL · Member since 2017 · 376 posts · 432 votes
    6y

    @Patrick J.

    You @ me with a lot of passion. You’re such of fan of capitalism? Are you foregoing your Social Security allotment? What about your mother? Is she a socialist for accepting it along with her Medicare? Do you support taxpayer funded subsidies for corporations? What about the $700 billion bank bailout of 2008??? You capitalist “purists” kill me. You’re only a capitalist when the media or your political party tells you to be.

    Chill.

    0Reply
  • Patrick J.
    Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2019 · 173 posts · 87 votes
    6y

    @Quincy Lockett

    If Capitalism didn't exist, you wouldn't have rental properties. The government would own everything.

    1Reply
  • Quincy Lockett
    South Holland, IL · Member since 2017 · 376 posts · 432 votes
    6y

    @Patrick J.

    When did I ever say I had a problem with capitalism? What I can’t understand is schizophrenic capitalist purists who can’t decide if they want capitalism or quasi-capitalism when it suits big business.

    0Reply
  • Patrick J.
    Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2019 · 173 posts · 87 votes
    6y

    @Quincy Lockett

    And as far as Social Security goes, the government would have raped me for 100s of thousands if not millions of dollar in social security and Medicare taxes by the time I'm 65.

    Give me back my 100s of thousands for the social security tax I've contributed and I'll be glad if they got rid of Social Security. Another failed government social program thats going bankrupt. Reminds me of food stamps, another failed government program.

    Rich people and drug dealers in corvettes running around with food stamp cards.

    0Reply
  • Dan H.Pro Member
    Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Patrick J.:

    @Quincy Lockett

    And as far as Social Security goes, the government would have raped me for 100s of thousands if not millions of dollar in social security and Medicare taxes by the time I'm 65.

    Give me back my 100s of thousands for the social security tax I've contributed and I'll be glad if they got rid of Social Security. Another failed government social program thats going bankrupt. Reminds me of food stamps, another failed government program.

    Rich people and drug dealers in corvettes running around with food stamp cards.

     The maximum social security tax currently is $8537.  The only way you will pay $1,000,000 (in today’s dollars) is if you worked 117 years earning enough to hit the maximum SS tax (currently $137,700).  It takes almost 12 years at the maximum SS tax to hit $100,000.  

    2Reply
  • Patrick J.
    Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2019 · 173 posts · 87 votes
    6y

    @Dan Heuschele

    Thats for people with W2 wages. Anyone who is self employed will pay double in social security and medicare tax.

    0Reply
  • Dennis M.
    Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    6y

    I’m often called a slumlord and I’m ok with it . In fact I’ve grown to like the title ,has kind of a classic regal twang to it ! it’s almost a badge of honor in some regards . I stopped caring what people say or label me as at this stage of my life ..it really doesn’t matter to me . I’ll leave you with this quote to live by :

    “The lion doesn’t lose sleep over the opinions of the sheep “

    9Reply
  • Ryan Proffit
    Saint Joseph, MO · Member since 2018 · 401 posts · 244 votes
    6y

    @Kimberly Kesterke I think you have to give people the right to offend you. I say it’s all water off a ducks back. I would take zero time to explain myself to people.

    0Reply
  • Nick Gann
    Real Estate Agent · Murfreesboro, TN · Member since 2019 · 194 posts · 181 votes
    6y

    @Michael Ealy now theres a man woth some insight.

    1Reply
  • John Teachout
    Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    6y

    Not all landlords are slumlords. But all slumlords are landlords so it is inevitable that the term will get misapplied. I'm a landlord but not a slumlord. Unfortunately, they do exist. I just bought a property from one. Their policy (even stated in the contract) was to essentially not fix anything. It said "only emergency repairs" would be accomplished by the management. Based on conversations with our inherited tenant, nothing qualified as an emergency. Problem with range? Too bad. Roof leak? She had to have her uncle try to stop it. Ceiling light fixtures in two of three bedrooms inoperative? Too bad and the list goes on. Then there are some apartments (a row of duplexes) in this same town that the owner literally fixes nothing. A perfectly defined slumlord. Talked to a resident and she stated he only collects rent. Some of these units were no longer occupied and they had holes in the roof you could drop a wheelbarrow through. If I had the money I would buy this complex (it's for sale) and give these people a decent place to live. It's way overpriced of course. Think of how much higher your rental properties would profit with no set asides for capex and maintenance... So the OP's post while all sugary sounding should have been more of an encouragement to not be a slumlord rather than it doesn't apply to landlords. Rant over, back to my cereal bowl...

    1Reply
  • Syed H.
    Developer · NY/NJ/PA · Member since 2018 · 758 posts · 935 votes
    6y

    There are a lot of slumlords out there. Plenty of people even on here are slumlords. 

    Slumlords give the rest of us bad names. Criminal landlords that did illegal things to get past RC & RS laws in NYC are why places like NY are putting such anti-landlord laws in place. 

    It's not just about the tenants. Ive had bad tenants in a class A property. 

    The problem is when theres patchwork (or no work) done by landlords. I see it all the time when I am looking at potential acquisitions. Slumlords cheap out by never fixing anything and then wonder why their buildings are worth what they are. I will always pay more for a building that has actually been properly maintained. 

    1Reply
  • Bob Prisco
    Specialist · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 666 votes
    6y

    @Kimberly Kesterke  those that throw around the slum lord term are usually 9- 5ers that have done nothing with there life but sit in a cubicle miserable . Never having the balls to " make it on their own " . Its like taking advice from uncle joe while he sits at the bar 3 nights a week eating wings...

    Great Post, all the best 

    0Reply
  • Steve Vaughan
    Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
    6y

    I never wanted to be the 'lord' of anything, so dislike both terms.  I've always been just the bad handyman and working stiff of a mgt co. 

    Slumlord is used loosely and vaguely by the masses to express disdain toward and insult all landlords. 

    To me being an individual 'slumlord' is the practice of gouging tenants while not taking care of the properties.  Oversubscribing applications with fees, then rejecting with 'a better candidate was placed'. Offering m-m agreements but the deposit isn't refundable unless you're there for at least 6 months,  'evicting' amd charging late fees and court costs to the poor when they are a day late, etc.  It's a character trait and mindset of the shady with property IMO.

    Corporate slumlords are the worst and not on here sharing  They are also the biggest reason anti landlord laws get passed and tenant-minded protests erupt. 

    Kushner Properties (Ivanka's husband) is a corporate slumlord IMO.  He buys large buildings and goes through all old tenants that didn't follow or terminate old leases to the T. 

    He takes poor tenants that vacated long ago to court for 'back rent' owed even though they  had a mutually satisfactory early termination agreement with the previous owner.  Single moms, the poor and disenfranchised,  all so Kushner can add another zero to the 8 he already has.  They interviewd people that moved out during the recession and suddenly found themselves in court and wages garnished by Kushner 9, 10 years later.  

    Corporate slumlord, yet the properties themselves may be in good condition.  Actions and mindset. 

    0Reply
  • Linda S.
    Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    We purchase C/D properties, and of course when I tell friends, they immediately say "so how's slum lording working out for you?"  at first it bothered me, but as @Dennis M.  pointed out, you get to a certain point and legit stop caring.    I know the numbers, they don't.  I know how nice our homes are, and how awesome our tenants are-- they don't.  I also know what it feels like to have my property trashed.   I don't feel the need to educate people, it's a waste of my time.  Will me telling them XYZ do anything? nope...  don't waste your time.  Maybe you just become numb to a-holes looking down on you, and then you realize-- they are a-holes.

    If you're doing C/D rentals, your skin should already be super thick because of the BS you have dealt with,  and others opinions shouldn't bother you, if it does-- you need thicker skin.

     Don't be looking down on real slumlords, they take all the liars/scum/drug dealers at the bottom... everyone needs a home!    They're the dung Beatles of real estate, and they play an important part in our system!  

    4Reply
  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    6y

    @Kimberly Kesterke based on how you described yourself and your business operation, you are not a slumlord. Almost every landlord has been called a slumlord, often out of ignorance by the person saying it. It is like calling all wealthy people greedy, when in fact the vast majority of charity donations come from wealthy people. In general, wealthy people are actually more generous than poor people, because they have abundance. If you have more than you need, you are much more likely to give some away.

    Labels often don't follow logic and are often meant to cut people down. It is human nature to compare yourself to others. People see landlords reaching financial success and feel threatened, because it shows their own lack of success. It is easier to hurl insults than it is to face your own shortcomings. 

    There is also the other reality that slumlords fill an essential market need. Slumlords are just working in the subprime rental market. Anyone familiar with subprime understands it is just the high risk portion of any market. As a byproduct of the higher risk, the landlord seeks higher margin to cover risk. Very often these properties are rented without any screening. Tenants in this class are very hard on properties. You can't update these properties and make money. The landlord is forced to do the bare essential to keep the property operational. 

    It is easy to look down on the slumlord, but we are rejecting the same tenants that they are accepting. They are giving homes to people because we will not. Nobody lives in a property run by a slumlord by choice. They only live there because they either can't afford or can't get an application approved for a better property. 

    2Reply
  • Lorna LeBlanc
    Member since 2019 · 33 posts · 28 votes
    6y

    exactly.  are all doctors "quacks?"

    0Reply
  • William Wright
    Raleigh, NC · Member since 2019 · 26 posts · 11 votes
    6y

    If we refer to ourselves as slumlords, maybe the plumber will come down on his price...

    1Reply
  • Linda S.
    Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y

    @William Wright,

    I like how you think!!   Good idea!

    @Joe Splitrock, wow-- really great post!! very well written!   I just don't understand all the judgement, you do you, I do me, that's that.. if someone wants to be a slumlord-- THANK YOU!   I won't deal with those tenants, but that doesn't mean people as humans--they  don't need a home.

    1Reply
  • Carla Sonnier
    Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    6y

    @Kimberly Kesterke

    Kimberly you are on point. I am a landlord for over 15 years. I buy run down properties and fix them up to rent. Using the word slumlord is appropriate. You have people in the business who only care about profits. They let anybody in without proper screening.

    That is not fair to other investors in the neighborhood who do a good rehab and the people who purchased homes in the area. We get a bad name for only a few slumlords. Thanks

    0Reply
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