dtcwee: The Value of Nothing

Landlords have existed for centuries, and there are many stories of bad landlords, who harm their tenants, their investments, and ultimately themselves. When I have been thus guilty, it's often been through ignoring the Seven Deadly Sins' wise messages of moderation. Sometimes you just couldn't be f****d. Bills due. Repairs required. Tenants' demands (if you're lucky to have them.) Frustrations can build to the point where you ask yourself if any effort is worthwhile. Sometimes the reluctance to act comes without any precipitating event. You just wake up in a funk, thinking only of writing the day off and staying in bed. What makes things worse is that you know this is sloth. Or is it?

Perhaps without realising it, modern-day landlords are part of an ancient tradition, and are uniquely positioned to benefit from the timeless wisdom distilled into the seven deadly sins. While it is good to appreciate our blessings, we know that it is wrong and somewhat offensive to be too proud. Envy soon gives way to eye-rolls as acquaintances flood social media with posts of their new pet, relationship, child, or house. But what is Pride ? Is it Pride to reveal I bought in at the bottom of the market? Is it Pride to celebrate being mortgage free? Is it Pride to write 'landlord' as my occupation? Is it Pride to expect my wishes regarding the property to be carried out because I own it? Is it Pride to consider that my time in the market makes me an authority? (Hint: yes, obvs. See 'Dunning-Kruger effect')

The vintage cautions of the Seven Deadly Sins have much to offer the equally ancient practice of being a landlord. Envy comes at you from all directions as a landlord because once you hit a certain age, everyone you know has a story to tell about making money in property. You'll hear about awesome tenants, adroit agents, diligent trades-people, steady rents, and low vacancies. To add zest to the experience, you'll be told all this while mindful of your struggle with property managers who couldn't bang two rocks together, let alone fill the vacancies in your money-pit slum before it disintegrates in a pile of dodgy construction. Your successful companion's tales of being a landlord may even be an interlude before the climax of flipping the property for immense capital gains. The more skillful the narrative, the more you will ask, "Why can't I do that?"

The ancient ' Seven Deadly Sins ' with its message of virtuous moderation has much to offer the equally ancient practice of being a landlord. There is a lot that makes landlords wrathful . A tenant could alter the property without permission. They could ignore a simple fault until it turns into a crisis. A contractor could break more than they fix, and overcharge to add insult to injury. An agent could ignore all of this. Why, just last month: A tenant broke lease and skipped town, taking the keys with him. Tenants unplugged the alarm system during a blackout, draining the battery and requiring a costly replacement. As I write this, I frown. I grit my teeth. My breath and heart move faster. I remember how my already low expectations have been betrayed yet again. Surely I'm outraged for good reason?

Landlords, like myself, have been around since before Christianity, and we often trip ourselves up by falling prey to the seven deadly sins. Avarice is so intertwined with the common perception of landlords that 'greedy landlord' may as well be a tautology. On the face of it, acquiring more house than you need can only result from greed. But what do landlords do and think that makes them greedy? Are they being rightly accused? Most importantly, how can greedy landlords right themselves?

Classical advice on moderation can benefit modern day landlords, as many self-inflicted losses can be seen as a result of falling prey to one of the seven deadly sins. Wouldn't it be nice ... Lust doesn't have to be romantic. Sure, you could lust in the conventional sense after a tenant, worker, or agent, but apart from that example being too obviously inappropriate, it's also misleadingly narrow.

Landlording is an ancient profession which has survived almost untouched into modernity. Its antiquity positions it uniquely well to benefit from classical advice on moderation. Many of the hardships of being a landlord are self-inflicted. When I've kicked my own goals, it's often been because I was tempted by one of the seven deadly sins. This series of posts will examine those sins, and their remedies, to moderate the ups and downs of being a landlord. Gluttony - Too much landlording is bad for you

"Trust him to return your deposit?" Landlords need love too, but it's hard to find out there. Searching the web for 'landlord moral support' doesn't return much. The top links are complaints about landlords denying support animals. Et tu Google? As if it wasn't enough to be faced with my own tenant problems, reading about how hated landlords are makes me feel even more isolated. But with close to 1.9 million Australian landlords out there, it would seem that while we're numerous, we're not very vocal. Perhaps the self-reliance that landlording both attracts and requires also means they tend to suffer in silence. There's plenty of practical advice for landlords on the internet, like how to fix water heaters or evict problem tenants, but much of it is area-specific, and being demoralised makes it hard to even act on it. Sometimes I already know what needs to be done. The only thing stopping me is feeling like I'm fighting a losing ba...

The acceptability of social welfare is linked to racial homogeniety. That is, we like social welfare unless it benefits minorities. (Al Capone enables freeloaders.)

Demographia's 2016 report singles out land regulation for housing unaffordability. Japan: Made of ticky tacky "The largest losses in housing affordability have been in markets with more restrictive land use policies..." "In the worst cases, urban containment metropolitan areas become investors markets, attracting buyers principally interested in housing for the extraordinary short term profits typical of distorted markets in which demand substantially exceeds supply …" 'Land use policies' is vague, but I think they mean urban containment, or anti-sprawl policies that limit the release of land. Perhaps they'd be better off targeting different regulation.