We get it…no one feels bad for landlords…but maybe we should consider what they represent and how hurting them hurts everyone.
I’ve always thought the word landlord had a bad sound to it. When you hear it, it conjures bad memories from movies like Braveheart, where the king grants the Nobleman rights over the land and they commence terrorizing the Scots. Or maybe for you, it’s Monty Python. Muddy towns with carts of dead people milling around. Could be a fat guy in a tux or a sweaty southern plantation owner. Horrible English Lords ruling over starving peasants and swollen southerners selling the children of their slaves in Uncle Tom’s Cabin is what we see.
The reason it feels so medieval...is because it is. During feudal times, lower nobility would own land and use it to generate income. The practice itself wasn’t bad but for some reason all the people we hear about who did it, were. More modern portrayals bring to mind the “projects” like the tenement houses in the Bronx. You know, the ones you pass under when you head toward the GWB. It may not be the oldest profession in the world, but it’s been around awhile and there’s no doubt landlords have a bad rap! So why don’t we see these folks for what most of them are? Hardworking, hustling, strong Americans.
I became a landlord by accident, not by design.
I stumbled upon a way to solve a problem for a young family and at the same time, solve my problem. They needed a place to live and I couldn’t sell my house for the price I thought it was worth. I compromised and decided to rent it.
Later, as I maintained the rental and simultaneously continued paying my mortgage and taxes, I saw that there was potential in repeating the venture.
Like many of the examples I’ve listed above and countless others I’ve heard about, not all landlords are good at what they do. Not all landlords are well-intentioned, and many do not care about their tenants. It’s documented well enough and while the stories may be juicier, I want to let you know a little bit about what most of the landlords I know are up to…
