Yeah that would be nice. I think the former are kind of a dying breed though (and those that still have them are holding on as tight as they can).
Honestly I tend to refer to the latter as "slumlords" as that tends to better reflect the actual fucks they give about the tenants in their properties. Even the corpos are often better, as at least they tend to be better informed/regulated about their legal obligations.
There's cosmetic repairs and then there's "making the place fit for Guinean habitation" repairs.
Now granted I'm a bit older and not renting now (and not a landlord, though I did share in my first place when I was a younger), but in that time a lot of better available places were people who'd bought a home, had kids, then had said kids grow up and move out. Given the free space but still wanting to keep with the family home they'd invested half their lives in, they'd rent out a basement suite or whatever (generally for a reasonable rate, at least compared to other places or the shit-show we see today). Some didn't need the money, others found that rising property values also came with a rise in taxes and repair costs. Most were still not assholes though so if the stove or heating broke down they'd actually get a repair guy in fairly quickly or replace said appliance (often with a used but functional one).
Those are what you'd call the "mom and pop" landlords and they were a lot more prevalent. By the same token though, they weren't making a lot - hell some were less interested in rents than not having an empty-feeling house - and all it took was one bad tenant to make it not worthwhile. It doesn't take much either. Water damage and/or mould abatement, a kitchen fire, pet/drugs/smoking damage etc can all add up pretty quickly especially if they're hiring somebody professional to do repair work which was certainly more than just cosmetic.
I don't see a lot of those types now - I'd certainly not want to be one - but most I know cite that it would take them years to recoup the cost of damage from that one bad case and they just weren't willing to deal with that plus the life-disruption anymore. So now all there pretty much is would be corporate landlords or the type that own several "rental properties" and consider painting the walls (and hinges, and light-switches, and plugs) or throwing down the cheapest carpet possible the extent of their actual "investment" in the property.
They didn't know that it would probably become an airbnb, but the likelihood of such a place becoming one or being bought by somebody else wanting to charge higher rents isn't exactly low either.
The whole "market rates" thing is used by corporate landlords to increase prices, and controlling available properties - including by leaving vacancies - is one way that do that. By the same token, charging below "market rates" could also help of enough did it, especially if the places are decent and money re-invested in proper upkeep. Many/most though are not even investing in proper maintenance/repairs while charging over an above the cost of entire mortgages, which IMO is just greedy bullshit
I don't think we should have the situations and lack of regulation that leads to billionaires, especially as it will likely continue to drain/erode the quality-of-life for everyone else to eventually lead to trillionaires...
I'd say it's less that "things will get better on their own" and more "somebody else will take the steps/sacrifice to fix it"
If you're not sarcastic then I'm generally sorry to hear you're stuck in that shitty situation.
You're also welcome at my BBQ if you're ever up here in Canada
Yup. I use credit a lot but also pay off my cards every pay period. I get that it sucks for merchants, but you know what sucks worse: getting cheated like this on a debit/cash transaction, or worse having your debit card skimmed.
A relative of mine had the latter and the bank froze her account for weeks while investigating. If it was a credit card they'd just freeze the transaction and maybe send you a replacement card with different #
This does seem like an important step. Like yeah, absolutely report this to the vendor but a theft also occurred so at least get a file going. Providing a police file # might have been enough to get them to refund as well
Or if you're in Canada: London Drugs actually has decent service in their computer dept
Got a chuckle out of my. IMO good comedy is very much about intent. You can say something offensive and legitimately funny, that's comedy. You can also say something extremely offensive/racist and actually mean it though the delivery may be kinda funny. Not comedy.
They said much the same about Putin and - regardless him being in better initial shape than Trump - he's still around.
Being old and unfit means less event you've got money for top-notch healthcare and people willing to ignore (or take advantage of) your physical and mental decline