Home-ownership, race, and household type in the United States

[Torie]

Except up in Oregon, I rent to upper middle class types myself. The economic incentives to maintain one's properties well, and upgrade, are enormous, particularly under the rent control regime in LA, where you can only charge market rent on a turnover. The result is that you upgrade to try to get the highest rent on a turnover that you can, because that will set the new rent control baseline. That incentive to improve, come to think of it, is actually a benefit of an otherwise economically indefensible construct, where by law longer term renters are subsidized by landlords on a non means tested basis.

I over-improve anyway, for the psychic income. I don't own anything that I don't like architecturally, and that I would not be willing to live in myself.

[Torie]

I over-improve anyway, for the psychic income. I don't own anything that I don't like architecturally, and that I would not be willing to live in myself.

This has always been my mindset with my little investment property. The more you improve and the nicer the property, the more you can charge. And by charging more, you tend to get a more reliable type of renter -- and a renter that's typically eager to stick around after the lease is up.

You bought something in LA?

[Torie]

I wish you the best of luck Mr. M. Financing a property based on the projected rent of a tenant is a ballsy way to live. Especially in an expensive place like Boston. I'm also curious how you and Torie and opie's families find good tenants. Hardly needs to be said that it makes all the difference in the world. So many people are destructive or unwilling/unable to pay rent on time. People with higher incomes overextend themselves and fall into financial traps just like everybody else. I don't anticipate having the funds to become a landlord. Just nosey.

Oh, I advertise on Craigslist, have them fill out an application, run a credit check, verify their bank deposits, check their prior landlord, and verify their employment and salary, sometimes ask for tax returns if self employed, and meet them personally to assess their temperament. I have learned to be very careful. I tend now to avoid renting to lawyers. They are just bad news in general, and it is legal to discriminate against them (their is a CA Appellate Court case on that as precedent), believe it or not.