this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023
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Yeah, it wouldn't even make sense for renting to be cheaper than buying. Most renting is from for-profit landlords. Obviously they have a mortgage, too. They're obviously going to try to make a profit. Plus mortgage is only part of the cost of owning. There's also property taxes and maintenance, which renting includes in the rent price.
The problems are mostly that there's not enough supply (most commonly due to bad zoning), homeowners oppose anything that could help (cause that would reduce the value of the home they already own), and that most of these landlords are for-profit. Being for profit means they aren't just going to charge more, but they also have a vested interest in making sure it's more expensive and less tenant friendly.
Why wouldn’t it make sense for renting to be cheaper than buying? Would I prefer to pay $3000 in rent or $3100 in mortgage+all other fees? Even though I’d be cash flow negative by $100, I am building equity. At the end of 30 years, one person owns a home and the other doesn’t, for the difference of just $100/mo.
Renting is in fact cheaper than buying in places like Vancouver, where wages are low but real estate prices are high.
It wouldn't make sense for a property owner to charge less to rent out an apartment than they are paying to buy it, in the same way it makes no sense to buy high and sell low on the stock market.
You need to cover your costs which includes the mortgage and maintenance fees. In the short term, those fees could be low, but when you need to get the roof or brickwork redone, suddenly you're losing money. Why would you spend money on property only to lose money on it?
Property shouldn't be seen as a commodity, but it also shouldn't be a useless money sink. Who's going to buy anything more than a single-family home if it's just going to suck money out of you forever? There would never be any high-density housing anywhere.
No, cash flow negative does NOT mean unprofitable!
Imagine you are a landlord that owns a $500k unit. You are renting it out for $2000, but it costs you $2001 after your mortgage, taxes, maintenance and fees. Is that worth it? Think about it this way: it costs you $1 a month to own a $500k appreciating asset. That’s a ridiculously good deal.
The reason why it can make sense that renting is cheaper (as a monthly ongoing expense) than buying is because you get less when you rent than when you buy: when you rent you merely get the right to use the property, whereas when you buy you get the right to use the property as well as the value of the asset itself.
The money you pay into a mortgage doesn't evaporate. Only a portion of your mortgage is considered a cost (interest and fees and the like) the rest goes into your home equity.
If a tenants rent payment doesn't cover all of your mortgage, taxes and maintenance it does not mean your not making a profit.