Improvements to property often bring little to no return at time of sale —- especially if those improvements have worn in a few years. More than a few years? Forget it. Improvements are generally made to improve immediate rental value (similarly maintenance repairs are made to retain existing value). Gains realized on sale are mostly from natural appreciation of real estate over time (on which capital gains will be paid). This is why house flipping is not a more popular enterprise.
> going to charge more for rent
You mean, be able to charge anything at all.. it’s not like we’re taking about buying turn-key properties and updating the cabinetry or something.
> not really doing any labor
Properties require upkeep. (N) properties require N times the upkeep. In addition to normal expenses, there are also risks; for example a tenant may damage your property, and then you need to fix it. You may think your security deposit covers that; in reality that amount of money can usually only cover minor repairs / cleaning. Landlords need to recoup that sort of thing over time, so it ends up getting rolled into your rent.
I really don’t think you understand how expenses for these things work. The way you’ve been talking, it sounds like you think your rent check goes directly into the landlord’s bank account as profit. Maybe you should try home ownership, and see what the actual ledger (expenses + time) looks like over time. Compare that plus your mortgage to rent. You may need to do this for the long haul to see the real picture though, not just a couple of years.
Better yet, acquire some properties and try your hand at rental yourself —- either you’ll end up filthy rich for nothing like you seem to think it works, or you’ll learn a valuable lesson about the true cost of services…
Because, while you assert that landlords offer no value, the fact remains that there are people in this world who want to rent, not own. Without landlords, how is that supposed to happen?
> going to charge more for rent
You mean, be able to charge anything at all.. it’s not like we’re taking about buying turn-key properties and updating the cabinetry or something.
> not really doing any labor
Properties require upkeep. (N) properties require N times the upkeep. In addition to normal expenses, there are also risks; for example a tenant may damage your property, and then you need to fix it. You may think your security deposit covers that; in reality that amount of money can usually only cover minor repairs / cleaning. Landlords need to recoup that sort of thing over time, so it ends up getting rolled into your rent.
I really don’t think you understand how expenses for these things work. The way you’ve been talking, it sounds like you think your rent check goes directly into the landlord’s bank account as profit. Maybe you should try home ownership, and see what the actual ledger (expenses + time) looks like over time. Compare that plus your mortgage to rent. You may need to do this for the long haul to see the real picture though, not just a couple of years.
Better yet, acquire some properties and try your hand at rental yourself —- either you’ll end up filthy rich for nothing like you seem to think it works, or you’ll learn a valuable lesson about the true cost of services…
Because, while you assert that landlords offer no value, the fact remains that there are people in this world who want to rent, not own. Without landlords, how is that supposed to happen?