I lived in San Francisco (North Beach) as a renter in 1987. Rents were outrageous. Home ownership was out of the question. The apartment we lived in rented for $1,100/mo. It was a two bedroom. That was considered a steal. The landlord gave us a small break if we promised not to raise chickens on the porch or lay dirt in there and plant a garden on the porch. The walls were flourescent orange when we moved in. We had the whole place repainted at our own expense as landlords do not pay to paint there. They also do not provide appliances so we had to buy a stove and a fridge. There was NO offstreet parking. You could buy a parking place from the church across the street for $150/mo. You also needed a parking permit to park in front of your own building. I think that was $40/yr. We didn't pay gas but electric was $90/mo.
However, the weather was spectacular. Chinatown was the bomb and the view of the bay was pretty nice too.
I think rent controls would drive rents up significantly before rent control kicked in. I am not sure it would serve the purpose it was intended to serve.
The bottom line is that owning and managing rental property is a for-profit business. If someone isn't making a little money for all the headaches involved in owning and managing rental property, why would they do it? I think that is the reason so many buildings in New York were converted to condos.
Barb Lickness
Whittier
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,
it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
