So the other day I was reading an article in an entrepreneur’s newsletter (I won’t disclose his name for privacy reasons), and I was surprised to read that he thinks it’s much better to rent a house, than to own a house.
While I understood his point of view as he was comparing the cost of a mortgage per month to the cost of renting per month, it was clear to me that either he hasn’t renting in many many years (maybe he never did), or he’s oblivious to what really goes on between landlords and tenants.
Then again, maybe he’s a landlord himself, and one of those few landlords who respects their tenants, I don’t know, I didn’t ask him.
I didn’t want to get into an argument over this issue, as there always seems to be a divide between business owners or home owners, and how tenants are treated, and I’m talking even if the person isn’t a landlord, home owners judge tenants and think they are worth less and have less value than a home owner.
At least that is my experience every time I try to tell my story.
In fact the ONLY time I’ve ever felt any empathy for what I have gone through, has been from American landlords, but as you may have heard me say before, the States takes MUCH better care of their citizens than Canada does, and I’m not talking about health care, I’m talking strictly about tenants’ rights, although I remember one Canadian who moved to the States because he felt the entire system was stacked against Canadians, and he wasn’t talking about landlord and tenant issues.
So this entrepreneur compared monthly prices of a mortgage, to renting an old run down house in downtown Toronto. He stated that to rent a bungalow he saw (who in the world wants to rent a rundown old house unless they really don’t care about how or where they live) for $1,350 was great, because “hey, the landlord is responsible for all the maintenance issues.”
So I had to smile at that one since we all know landlords try to avoid fixing anything if they can help it, and it seems to me that Canadian tenants (maybe it’s just tenants from the Toronto area, I still haven’t figured that one out yet) tend to be very scared and shy away from taking a landlord to court.
So this article got me to thinking how “in the dark” people really are about tenants, and what tenants have to go through when renting.
While the dollars may be less to rent overall, the stress we tenants have to go through when dealing with landlords doesn’t make up for the difference in price every month, not unless you are living in a pretty modern new home where everything is running smoothly, then maybe I could see his point of view, but he was ONLY talking about those tear down houses we see for rent all over the place.
I’m currently paying this $1,350 he mentioned, and I don’t even live in Toronto. I’m stuck out here in Brampton, and not only that, I don’t get the full rein of the house which isn’t that big even though it is on the modern side.
So all things considered, my landlord is getting a hell of a deal getting $1,950 from 2 tenants, and a house 2 doors down just sold for $265,000, and this house wasn’t in the best shape, as it hadn’t been kept well.
What do you think about how home owners view our (tenant’s) situation?
I’d like to hear from other tenants and their experiences.