patrick.net

Hi E-man:

The poster did not say that France had a smaller bubble than the U.S., just that they "haven't suffered the same property crash because of it."

I guess we are reading it differently, however, I can see your point of view. imo, the poster (highlighted) is also stating that the "morals" behind their property rise is different - not sure about that since human nature is the same everywhere.

Not sure what France is doing to cushion their deflating bubble, however I follow the international financial scene daily (sometimes hourly when things are getting intense) and so far I'm not reading or being sent email alerts about France or their housing deflation.

Greece yes, Eastern Europe yes, Ireland and England yes, but not France.

In any event, the point is what I highlighted in my original post.

Additional to address the OP upset rant and to stay on-topic:

Renting and living within a budget in America (note comments from renters):

http://www.mybudget360.com/going-broke-on-50000-the-story-of-the-struggling-american-middle-class-the-50000-median-household-budget

Like it or not, stratospheric rent increases developed on the Boomers watch and during the timeframe they have had to "cash-in" and pad their retirement accounts.

It is also my personal experience having rented from two different generations.

Boomer landlords raise rents just for the hell of it. Every year when the lease is up. No reason, even in a bad economy.

There are exceptions, I'm sure, however, the majority of them have a completely different view of landlording as opposed to the generation previous to them.

My opinion probably mirrors the experiences and opinions of my generation (Gen-X) and not to upset you or anyone else further, but Millennials who have discussed this situation with me hate the Boomers with a particularly negative energy.

I am aware that I am not the first to express this bad news regarding the perception of Boomers.

Here you can read the vitriol in some of the comments:
http://thehousingbubble.blogspot.com/2005/04/baby-boomers-are-el-nino-of-housing.html

Patrick has an interesting article up which looks at one Boomer couple's journey through the buying and selling of their homes and thus contributing to the housing price run-up along the way:

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogapr10/housing-demographics04-10.html?source=patrick.net

I have attempted to convey my point of view diplomatically.

Unfortunately, Boomers are not going to have a historical reputation as honorable ancestors with my generation or with Millennials.

~Misstrial

Where'd you find that e-man?

Interesting that Japan has steadily gone down over the past 13 years (is that really true?). Guess deflation can be a bitch like that.

Guess my landlord wasn't blessed with tenant-reading skills for my next-door neighbor had one too many demands from roofing problems in Santa Clara to the ever-increasing rent. Poor guy still puts up with said neighbor, for some reason, that he called some roofing contractor http://www.workforceroofing.com/roofing-services.html. Why, roofing repairs and whatnot in Los Gatos, Santa Clara and our other surrounding areas are anything but cheap.

I agree about raising rents. I'm fed up with my current landlord. She SEEMED OK for the first few years. But starting 3rd year it became "well I need to raise rent $100/month due to rising costs". What rising costs? I did nearly every repair and just billed her for the parts. I used quality parts instead of cheap junk and she got a better outcome. If there is a need for outside service I'm the one sitting around the house all day seeing that they have access they need and do the job right. Yet she tries to complain I spend too much even when I'm the one on the ladder saving her money. "Sure I suppose you need to replace those 20-year-old smoke detectors....but do you really need to replace ALL of them, maybe you don't need to replace the one in the hallway it hardly matters...." Yeah a $20-$30 smoke detector is a good place to save money isn't it? What do I get for it? Oh I'll only increase by $50/month instead of $100 if you guys are really thinking about moving...

She hasn't been paying attention I think to rental market. She only lives one street over and hasn't stopped by the house in 2 years. The house next door has been sitting empty since December with a FOR RENT sign hanging out front. I got furlough pay cut, and can't see her justification for wanting rent increase larger than alleged "inflation". I'm actively shopping for better digs, will give her the contractually agreed minimum notice before moving out.

Dropped the rent on my tenants $250 per month on both houses.
I'm not hurting for the money.
I like them.
I don't want to have to roll the dice again and 2 dark months can really screw me (take 10 months to recover in the discounted rent).
Rent =$3000
Discount = $250
Being a hard-head = Tenants leave (approx) 2 months lost rent = $6000
Will take 24 months to recoup the dark months (based on the $250)
I can always raise the rent again when (if) things pick up.

I find a lot of people become landlords by mistake, or at least unintentional. There are also those who are investors and just look at it as P/E ratio. I think the best landlords are like business managers. You can organise, plan and have a huge human resources department.

Your rental homes are not the source of income. It's the people in them.