Letters to the Editor

(The following letter was taken from The Cornell Daily Sun issue of 4-17-97)

We are writing in response to Seth Stern's column "Ithaca's Legalized Mugging" (Camp Cornell, April 8). As a couple of former Cornell student-renters, we have certainly seen the down side of the Ithaca rental market. We've been stuck in an overpriced, roach-infested dump, and we were homeless for a month once because one of our landlords refused to repair the heat. But, we've been on the other side, too.

So, as a couple of former Ithaca landlords, we'd like to offer a teeny, tiny reality check on a few of Stern's inaccurate statements. First of all, landlording is far from being "truly lucrative." It is, in fact, one of the riskiest investments going; if you don't believe us, do a little market research. And, secondly, it is inappropriate of Stern to multiply the total monthly rents by 12 and assume this number represents the amount his landlord "rakes in" every year. The costs of owning a rental property far exceed "the water bill, taxes and some negligible maintenance."

Does Stern suppose his landlord got his building from the Tooth Fairy? Most landlords buy their buildings, the market values of which are usually set at somewhere around five times the annual projected rental income. Therefore, a building such as the one Mr. Stern lives in, where the annual rental income is approximately $80,000, was probably something like an $80,000 cash down payment and the balance financed with a mortgage. Do you know about mortgages, Stern? They're sort of like student loans, except the interest rate is a lot higher and repayment begins before the ink on the contract is dry. Oh, yes, and if you fall behind on your payments, you don't just get some strongly worded letters from the bank about your responsibilities to the future of the student loan program; you lose your property to foreclosure.

When we were Ithaca landlords, we had not one, but two mortgages. One for the original purchase and one for the repairs to the foundation, new furnace, new roof, blown-in insulation, all new storm windows and a total paint job. Not to mention the new dead-bolt locks and fire alarm system required by changes made to the building code by politicians who (according to Mr. Stern) don't "care about students."

Well then, after we "raked in" the big bucks every month from our oh-so-abused tenants and after we paid the mortgages, we got our tax bills; Stern should try multiplying the local tax rates by 400,000 before he calls property taxes a "minor" expense! Then, there were the water, sewer, electric, heat, trash and advertising bills, not to mention the endless repairs required by the 80-year-old plumbing and electrical systems. Stern's idea that maintenance is a "minimal" item is extremely mistaken; maintenance is very expensive and absolutely essential.

Of course, we still had to take out the trash, shovel the snow, sweep the walks, mow the grass, rake the leaves and scoop the poop. We got to catch bats, scrape grease off stoves, scrub nicotine stains from the light fixtures, and deal with irate 2 a.m. phone calls from the neighbors of blaring stereos. We installed carpeting to muffle the tenant with the loud feet and replaced window screens ruined by marijuana smokers had a late night party, complete with basketballs bounced on the floor over the heads of sleeping tenants. We got to share our bathroom with tenants who had plugged their own toilets with dirty diapers and feminine napkins; then, we got to call the plumber, wait for the plumber, meet the plumber, stay with the plumber and pay the plumber. We got to deal with the neighborhood disturbance caused by a student tenant who played his electric guitar in an open window at 3 a.m. wearing nothing but a towel. And, we got to remove debris and stinking garbage left by every tenant who didn't care that we needed to show and re-rent their apartment if we were going to keep up with the mortgage payments.

After all of this, at the end of a good month, we had $100 left over, which we used to plant trees and bushes, refinish worn linoleum, and add some badly needed closets. But that was only in the good months when there were no vacancies, unusual damages or tenants defaulting on their rent payments.

So, some Ithaca landlords are real creeps with no regard for the well-being of either their tenants or their buildings. But, most Ithaca landlords are either just trying to earn a living or else have their retirement savings or their kids college savings tied up in a rental property. Is it okay if these people make a little for all that goes with owning rental property? Or maybe Stern, and others like him, think that by adding to the financial risk, work, headaches and late night calls with their bad attitudes and bad behavior they can somehow improve the Ithaca rental market. Get a clue. We were excellent landlords, but we got out of it after five years, because it wasn't worth the aggravation we got from tenants like Stern. So, if the rotten tenants drive the good landlords out of the business, guess who is left to rent you a place to live? Right. And, whose fault is that, Stern?

David Bravo-Cullen

Christine Bravo-Cullen

Ithaca