Text 14242, 71 rader
Skriven 2008-04-19 15:11:20 av Roy Witt (1:397/22)
  Kommentar till text 14235 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Rentals
===============
19 Apr 08 08:23, Robert Bashe wrote to Roy Witt:

 RB>>> If the housing rental laws in Belgium are anything like those in
 RB>>> Germany - which I assume from the description - landlords have very
 RB>>> few rights and many responsibilities.

 RW>> Either there are no 'landlords' in your legislature or they're
 RW>> awfully stupid.

 RB> The former is more likely... most of our parliamentary
 RB> representatives are either tenured civil "servants", mostly teachers
 RB> (nothing like that in the States, it's a German institution),

Our Teachers Union would be about the same. When you retire as a teacher,
you're still a union member, only your dues aren't collected anymore.
Belonging to the teacher's union is mandatory if you expect to keep your
job.

 RB> or lawyers. Just a smattering of others, like Joshka Fischer, the
 RB> firmer foreign minister (former taxi driver - no joke!).

Reminds me of Diane Feinstein, former Mayor of San Francisco, now a US
Senator. She wasn't anything special before she married her rich husband,
who wanted her out of his hair and paid for her first election as city
council person. She's as dumb as a stump and just as stubborn.

 RB> Landlords are a despised species here, even if people agree that
 RB> they're somehow necessary, since renters are in the great majority.

Necessary but despised...interesting.

 RB>>> My considered opinion based on experience as renter and landlord:
 RB>>> nobody in his right mind would buy a house or apartment to rent for
 RB>>> income in Germany.

 RW>> They buy them by the dozen here for that purpose. I can go without
 RW>> the headaches myself.

 RB> Believe me, I could too. But just try to sell a rented house or
 RB> apartment here. Impossible - since the rental is NOT "broken" by the
 RB> sale and the new owner is bound by the original rental contract
 RB> which, among other things, makes it as good as impossible to evict
 RB> someone who has lived in a rental house or apartment for 10 years or
 RB> more.

What you're looking for is a rental agreement where a portion of the rent
paid goes toward a 'rent to own' lease agreement. At the end of that
lease, your tenant becomes the owner with a note in your favor for the
balance.

 RB> About the only way to get rid of renters here (if they don't
 RB> voluntarily move out) is to bribe them to move out - yes, with money
 RB> - or if they don't pay the rent or pay it only partly or with great
 RB> delay for more than 2-3 months (one time isn't enough). And even in
 RB> that case, you have to take them to court, which even if you're lucky
 RB> and win will take 6-7 months and you probably will have to pay all
 RB> the legal bills yourself. And naturally the rent will not be paid
 RB> during that time. Oh sure, you get a title for the damages - but just
 RB> try to collect: generally you find that the former renter is
 RB> insolvent and that's that.

In the 'rent to own' I mentioned above, you would want to look into your
tenant's background before you bring it up. 'course, you'll need
permission to do that, so you need to be up-front with the tenant.

                R\%/itt



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