On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 12:34:43 PM UTC-4, Stephen Sprunk wrote:   
      
   > It's not a matter of tenants caring.  If every landlord's land values   
   > (and thus taxes) go up 3%/yr due to general inflation, then they will   
   > all increase their rents at least 3%/yr so they don't lose money.  The   
   > tenants either pay the higher rents or become homeless.   
      
   Not exactly.  Individual situations vary greatly.   
      
   We must consider the demand curve.  Just because taxes go up does not mean a   
   particular neighborhood is more desirable to live in.  Indeed, a neighborhood   
   could be declining in desirability and taxes go up.  (Welcome to   
   Philadelphia).  So, if rents    
   exceed demand, people will go elsewhere.  In the case of poor people, yes, it   
   could mean the homeless shelter.   
      
      
   > If politicians raise the _rate_ in a particular jurisdiction, then every   
   > rent in that area will go up faster than inflation.  Some of the tenants   
   > will move to other jurisdictions, though, so rents will go back down,   
   > which means property values will go down, and the total tax collected   
   > may be more _or less_ than before the rate increase.   
      
   Once again, property values do not necessarily coorelate to property taxes.    
   The assessment system itself could be screwed up (welcome to Phila and NJ).    
   Some districts rely much more on property taxes than other districts.   
      
      
   > He's even smarter than that; his insurance businesses mean that people   
   > _pay him_ to borrow money, so he can turn profits doing things that   
   > others can't do profitably even with cash, much less loans/bonds.   
      
   While some landlords borrow money from a bank, others get it from family (rich   
   parents), an inheritance, or their own cash.     
      
   It's important to note that such landlords (eg non-bank financed) do not   
   necessarily operate by rational decisions.  Some are stupid and shouldn't be   
   landlords at all, but they are, and impacting a community with their   
   decisions.  (We had someone who    
   bought property using an inheritance.  They were totally incompetent as   
   landlords and caused their neighbors untold grief.  We had another who used   
   his own cash, but for whatever reason, he neglected his property, another   
   causing grief.)  These problems    
   can be _eventually_ resolved by the courts, but it is very costly and takes a   
   long time to do so.   
      
      
   Ya wanna talk about NYC's strict rent control laws devastated the city in the   
   1950s-70s?   
      
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