After reading the article “Clark County rents lead to despair” (The Columbian, July 21), I find myself baffled.
I own a home, the mortgage has been the same for years. How is it not possible to walk away from that article believing landlords are greedy? And yet, landlords say they are not.
Can someone clarify? If a home has the same mortgage year after year, why not keep the rent level? Just because property values go up, that doesn’t mean a landlord has to raise the rent, correct? Or am I wrong?
As an aside, my sister owns a duplex. She rents it through a property management firm that advised her to raise the rent because “property values have gone up.” My sister said no. The duplex was paid off and she didn’t care if property values increased. She was more concerned about her tenant. Shouldn’t more landlords be like her?
Thank you anyone for clarifying these issues for me.
