The US vs THEM mentality has to stop!

TL;DR – Make love not war!

What other industry is so combative?

Why is there so much distrust between landlords and tenants?

Everyone has heard a horror story. Every tenant has heard of a landlord that charged full rent, left the house to get mouldy and kicked the tenant out with minimal notice and claimed their bond to boot.

What about the stories of tenants stealing the copper pipes from the walls?

I have heard all this too. Sure it happens, but I want to foster a culture of respect between landlords and tenants.

I’d love to burn the word “investment” from the language of residential home ownership. Too many people have a passive view of investing based on how their parents and colleagues gamble on the stock market. Residential property is an active relationship.

Most landlords have just 1 property. That means that they may not have the cash or experience to see maintenance performed immediately. Sadly, many are “educated” in doing the minimum possible to get the maximum return on their “investment”. This isn’t the bleeding hearts choir over here, but hot damn, let’s show some respect to the people who have committed to spending 10, 15, 20, 30 thousand dollars with you over the next 12 months.

In the other direction, I’d love to tenants to understand that owning a property doesn’t mean a landlord is minted. Often it is a dance like any business, pay for what must be done now, delay nice-to-haves until later all the while building a war chest that means when a terrible storm arrives, they can try and make the place a safe and livable home as soon as possible.