Does the perfect landlord exist?

Let's talk about two landlords. We'll call them A and B. A is the perfect landlord. B is the kind every tenant hates to run into. Landlord A knows you're downsizing, moving from larger quarters in a "better" building. He wants you, not merely to lease his space, but to be happy with it, happy enough to stay there after the economy improves. So he offers you a deal on parking spaces, always an important amenity. He offers to do some buildout at his own expense, to make an already suitable space even better. And he offers to give you three months rent free because that will cover your moving costs. Such landlords exist, but only in collapsing markets. Honolulu, according to a new CB Richard Ellis report, has risen to 10% vacancy for office space, the magic point at which landlords typically begin to offer deals or cut their asking rents. No sign of that yet, though. Which brings me to Landlord B. Landlord B is not a reasonable person. He has come to regard the income from his property as an entitlement, and the idea of reducing the rent or cutting any other sort of break to help a longtime tenant is anathema to him. He is capable of demanding more rent even when any reasonable person could see that his tenant cannot pay what he's asking and will have to move. He would rather have the space go empty than back down. Renters, whether commercial, retail, industrial or residential, all have horror stories of such people. Not having rented myself in a long time, I have the luxury of a more detached view, and from my perspective the most interesting thing about the greed of such landlords is that it often reduces their income, and normal people can see that outcome clearly. It is, in other words, not about business, not about mathematics. It is psychological, perhaps. I'm not sure the perfect tenant exists -- the one who remembers the deals he is offered, and responds with loyalty in better times, remaining in the space and agreeing to higher rents. More likely, especially at the business level, some executive of the company will say the company really appreciated all that help, but now feels the need to move, nothing personal. So a landlord can be forgiven for taking a cold look at the arithmetic. But in this economy, a number of landlords have misjudged the situation, demanding more than their tenants can pay, forcing them out, and finding no one else to move in. Question for residential renters: is your landlord making long overdue improvements now? It's the best time to do it. Tradesmen who can fix rooves, paint apartments, upgrade plumbing and repair electrical systems are looking for work. Such repairs can be done more rapidly and more cheaply now than in a busier economy.

Comments

[Francine]

We had landlord B while living on Kaua`i and the worst thing about it, was that they lived right next door. They even commandeered what should have been our backyard (by fencing most of it in with their backyard and making themselves a huge garden). And no, we weren't offered any of the fruits or vegetables, thank you very much.
Try and mention anything in the house needing repair and they immediately began the sad tales about how taxes and their insurance was getting so high that they may have to raise the rent again....
In the 10 years that we lived there, they probably spent $50.00 on maintenance and made sure they reminded us every chance they got, that they had to spend money for repairs and how they only raised our rent 6 times out of those 10 years.
The refrigerator broke and we were told that we needed to buy one ourselves, because they didn't feel it their place to provide new appliances. Same story with the washer and dryer and the water heater (this was the first square water heater I had ever seen). The yard service that was initially part of the rent, became our job; even though they always told us we weren't cutting the grass short enough or in the correct pattern as theirs. We shared a water meter, until they decided that the $200.00 bill they paid every two months was caused by us wasting water. Once we got our own meter, they were shocked to find out that we only paid $40.00 every two months. Guess who was really wasting the water?? Yep, we had the landlords from hell.......