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<p>Because you value small housing providers you favor legislation
that causes small housing providers to sell their rental holdings
to hedge funds to further reduce the wealth gap?</p>
<p>K. Garl Long<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 1/23/23 17:46, Andrew Hay wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal">While there is truth to the problem of
individuals fleeing the renting market, I would say the
discussion is less about horrible landlords owing poor tenants
than it is about social priorities. I favor residential
properties being owned and managed by individuals and families
like Carmen far more than by the hedge funds and the investor
class. So it is sad to see individuals abandoning the rental
market because of recent changes in the law and the growth of
tenant advocacy. However, I support both the tenant advocates
and the recent law changes. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some ridiculous proportion of our country’s
wealth goes to one percent of the population. Brookings says
the wealthiest one percent owns more than the entire middle
class. By Bernie’s math it is 99%. In any case, the wealth
gap is ridiculous. The wealth gap is a product of social
policy – whether it be taxation, market regulation, and state
and federal legislation. Little is being done to change this
and the gap is growing not narrowing.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Landlord tenant-relation is a microcosm
of this. Landlords are invariably more wealthy than tenants.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Roughly half of rental housing in the US is
owned by investment trusts or hedge funds.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hedge funds and investment trusts make
billions of dollars and pay little taxes – less than middle
income people. Hedge funds are essentially a vehicle for
wealth to be taken from the 99 percent and given to the one
percent.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So half the housing in the US is owned by
the very vehicle that perpetuates and increases the wealth
gap.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One a more narrow scale, the average
monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Seattle is $2,615.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Minimum wage is $15 an hour which creates a
gross wage of $2500 a month.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The situation is not much better outside of
Seattle. The benefits of living in lower rental areas are
offset by the high cost of auto transit, flimsy public
transportation, and the stress and time loss of commuting.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It doesn’t stop there. Homelessness is
increasing. People are homeless because they can’t afford
rent, have been evicted and can no longer rent, or have life
issues – addiction, mental health, etc. Our social
infrastructure to support this population has decreased
proportionally over time – and the numbers of homeless
everywhere are increasing.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">People recognize the fundamental inequity
of this. That has led to the changes in housing legislation
that slow the pace of fast, cheap evictions. This is a good
thing. I wouldn’t say it will stop the wealth gap from
increasing but it treats a symptom of the wealth gap.
Unfortunately treating symptoms is not a cure for the disease,
but it is better than doing nothing and therefore better than
maintaining the status quo.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For people with one or two rentals, it is
unfortunate that you have to abandon the rental market because
you are better landlords than the hedge funds. But you can
always move into more secure investments like the stock
market. And find comfort in the 7% to 8% annual gains in that
investment vehicle. Ironically these returns are largely due
now to the hedge funds and the wealth gap they perpetuate.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The people really suffering from the
current changes in rental realities are renters. The recent
changes in the balance of power that favor renters are only
the first of many steps that need to be taken to support that
group.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Berlin
Sans FB",sans-serif">Andrew Hay<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Berlin Sans
FB",sans-serif">Hay & Swann PLLC<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Berlin Sans
FB",sans-serif">201 S. 34<sup>th</sup> St.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Berlin Sans
FB",sans-serif">Tacoma, WA 98418<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Berlin
Sans FB",sans-serif"><a
href="http://www.washingtonlaw.net"
moz-do-not-send="true">www.washingtonlaw.net</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Berlin
Sans FB",sans-serif"><a
href="mailto:andrewhay@washingtonlaw.net"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">andrewhay@washingtonlaw.net</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Berlin Sans
FB",sans-serif">He/him/his<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Berlin Sans
FB",sans-serif">253.272.2400 (w)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Berlin Sans
FB",sans-serif">253.377.3085 (c)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com">wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com"><wsbarp-bounces@lists.wsbarppt.com></a>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Carmen Rowe<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, January 19, 2023 6:29 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> WSBA Real Property Listserv
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:wsbarp@lists.wsbarppt.com"><wsbarp@lists.wsbarppt.com></a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [WSBARP] [WSBARP Digest] evictions, UD
and available housing<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">I'll short-cut my response rather
than try to cut & paste the digest, other than
this brief excerpt:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><br>
"Food for thought - the unlawful detainer statute was
created for a quick and efficient way to resolve the
issue of possession. It's no longer quick, it's no
longer efficient, and it's no longer affordable for
many landlords. Some are starting to consider walking
away from unlawful detainers and just file full on
ejectment cases because now they are likely faster and
can resolve all issues more effectively than unlawful
detainers can.<br>
KJ"</span><span style="font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">Amen, Amen, Amen
... other than
it's way
beyond that,
as someone
else noted.
Not some, but
many, small
housing
providers are
considering
(and many have
acted upon)
leaving the
market
altogether. I
did, and every
person I
personally
know that had
a rental
property or
two did. Those
that had it
for retirement
quickly saw
the potential
for it to pull
them down, not
maintain them,
and invested
elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<div>
<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">The latest mess
just showed
that the
government is
plenty willing
to "take"
private
property to
serve the
greater good
(I know it
wasn't
technically a
"taking" as it
said tenants
still liable;
but the odds
of a tenant
that far in
arrears having
the means to
pay it back?
In I would
hazard to say
the very vast
majority of
cases, the
words are just
air, any
judgment worth
less than the
paper it was
printed on).
Never mind the
ongoing
increasingly
extreme
tenant-protection
laws (King
County
leading, but
where KC goes,
the rest
apparently
eventually
follows). No
cause eviction
was the final
straw for many
colleagues
& friends
& family I
knew who had
rental
properties.
With the solid
market, they
simply sold.
Which also
allowed one of
the few
remaining
options for a
straight-forward end to a tenancy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<div>
<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"><br>
It won't get
better. What
used to be a
viable
secondary
source of
income (and
sometimes,
critically, a
resource for
retirement)
just isn't
anymore. And
there goes a
significant
chunk of the
housing market
- which
contained, by
the way, the
landlords who
were likely
the least of
the problems
the
legislation
meant to
address, and
the most
likely to be
accommodating/friendly/humane
to their
tenants, with
whom there was
a more
personal
connection by
the nature of
the person
just having a
few rentals.
So you
eliminate a
significant
chunk of the
housing, and
another chunk
gets passed to
the 'mass
production
landlords' who
are the worse
offenders.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">I could not
agree more
with that
comment that
this is a
horrible trend
long-term for
homelessness,
so the
purported
protections
will do great
harm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">But I never seem
to see any
discussion on
that. Only how
horrible
landlords are,
how they "owe"
it to the
tenants, how
they were
somehow just
living high on
this side gig.
Is there any
balance to the
discussion
anywhere?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif">Carmen Rowe<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><i><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
</div>
<div>
<p
class="MsoNormal"><i><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif"><img
style="width:2.0833in;height:.7416in" id="_x0000_i1025"
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<div>
<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif;color:#660000;background:white">Phone:
(360) 669-3576
(direct cell)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif;color:#660000">Email:
</span><a
href="mailto:Carmen@GryphonLawGroup.com"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif">Carmen@GryphonLawGroup.com</span></a><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif;color:#660000"><br>
<br>
<b><span
style="background:white">Olympia/Lacey
and primary
mailing
office:</span></b></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet
MS",sans-serif;color:#660000;background:white">1415
College Street
SE, Lacey, WA
98503</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p
class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p
class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#660000">Seattle
office: </span></b><span
style="font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;color:#660000">2611
NE 113th St.
Suite 300,
Seattle, WA
98125</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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