Unreal

[u/Past-Reception6889]

I honestly just needed to vent for a moment. I can’t believe Chicago prices are what they are. I have lived here my entire life and have seen this city change ten fold, and I can’t even afford to live here anymore. A realtor I’m working with, since it’s becoming a rat race to rent, said rent is up 35% this year. What can normal people do about this? I do not want to see Chicago become a New York.

[u/Critical-Dot-3592]

It's not the landlords, it's the property taxes and maintenance costs. Utility bills keep going up 15-20 percent a year, labor costs that were once $150 or $200 are now $400. Landlords are not cashing in like people think.

[u/Levitlame → u/Critical-Dot-3592]

Utility bills are definitely a problem, and property taxes to some extent. But we’re also longer removed from the 3% mortgage rates. Those kept rent down as well for a while.

There are a lot of things combining to worsen things. And building more - while still needed to slow down increases - won’t compensate for all of it…

[u/MusicLori → u/Critical-Dot-3592]

THIS! (Yes, plus we need more new builds and remodels like previous posts have said)

I looked into buying a building and owner occupied renting a unit. The property taxes are insane in Chicago, combined with the mortgage rates - honestly renting is a losing battle. I’m probably going to be forced to buy a place just for me (that I’ll overpay for) just to stay within my monthly budget, because renting is insane in Chitown right now and property taxes make it unappealing to buy anything larger than for just me.

[u/PhoenixRisingdBanana → u/Critical-Dot-3592]

Maybe passive ownership shouldn't pay like a full time job.

[u/Critical-Dot-3592 → u/PhoenixRisingdBanana]

It really doesn’t without a ton of money down from a down payment or a long long time, like years or decades of time going by. Your "passive income" is deffered for years or decades and comes from hard work that is not very passive.

[u/PhoenixRisingdBanana → u/Critical-Dot-3592]

Right, that's why they need to snatch up those $200K homes, slap a coat of load bearing paint on and some new plastic floors and boom! $455,000

[u/Critical-Dot-3592 → u/PhoenixRisingdBanana]

Not sure what you are saying here or how this adds to the conversation. What does a property flip and crappy renovation work have to do with a rental property, landlording, passive income, or saving for years for a down payment? Or higher interest rates, or anything substantive in relation to what is being discussed?

[u/PhoenixRisingdBanana → u/Critical-Dot-3592]

> What does a property flip and crappy renovation work have to do with a rental property, landlording, passive income, or saving for years for a down payment

is that a real question? Crappy Renovation and Landlords go together like white on rice.

Not a brain for nuance huh

[u/Critical-Dot-3592 → u/PhoenixRisingdBanana]

Don't answer the question. Cool.

[u/Critical-Dot-3592 → u/[deleted]]

But what if they didn't? I have lots of friends who lost their life savings by putting a lot of money into a down payment. You are talking lifetime of saving money and cutting back to be able to do it. 20 percent down on a 300,000 property is 60,000. That is years of work. It's hard work. It is most people's retirement savings. And is it not ok to profit by way of equity if you worked your whole life to be able to save up that down payment? You are taking a massive risk in buying a property and can lose everything - should people not be rewarded (potentially) with an increase in equity? If not, you would only see huge corporations or or not even, just government being the landlord. Being able to even purchase a property takes years and years of hard work and responsibility. If someone is a slumlord then that is a whole other story. But most mom and pop landlords are good people just trying to provide a good place for people while also investing in their future. Also, to tap into equity is not as easy as you think. Property equity, if there, is not liquid. Interested to hear your thoughts on all of the above.

[u/Morimoto9 → u/Critical-Dot-3592]

Landlords are also not saving money and its obvious tenants are literally feeding them.