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The Diva Speaks

Observations and opinions about Hawaii

Most Politicians Are Ignorant

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All too often I hear politicians especially in an election year talk about Renters vs. Landlords…there is constant fodder over renters' tax credits and renters’ protection from “greedy" landlords…Former President Obama among many others have often touted that it seemed unfair and unequal taxation for landlords vs. renters…many politicians ask why should landlords get mortgage and business deductions as it just seems unfair…

So here is the answer…Landlords are the risk takers…in a free market system, which is here in America, landlords are the ones who bear the costs to supply housing, they provide the maintenance and repair, the safety, the insurance, etc…if the tenant is a deadbeat, landlords are the ones to pay for the attorneys for eviction and there is no rent/income for the mortgage payments until they can have the tenant physical removed…this can sometimes take up to six months to happen and a lot of times when they do get the properties back, the housing is in shambles and it takes months and a lot of money to repair these houses or apartments to rent again…In addition, if a roof is leaking, it must be fixed immediately, if an appliance, air-conditioner, faucet, shower, tub, etc. is not working, landlords are mandated to repair them within a certain number of days under the Landlord-Tenant Codes…

So what is the tenant’s responsibility? Pay his/her rent on time, keep the place clean, report any problems in a timely manner to the landlord…and what if they are tired of the place?…they simply move without any further obligations to the landlord and they get their security deposit back in full…

In America many folks want to be entrepreneurial and one of the fastest ways is to buy a property, fix it up and rent it out to grow wealth through hard work and appreciation of assets, but government keeps trying to get their sticky fingers into everything…if housing is short, it is government’s responsibility, not the small businessman or woman to provide adequate affordable properties for people who need them…they should not be taking away from owners/landlords who provide other avenues to housing…deductions of mortgages are needed and it’s not like landlords/owners are getting boo koo bucks…because even with appreciation and growth when owners/landlords sell, they have to pay back the depreciation they took over the years and pay capital gains taxes to both the federal and state governments…

Yes, politicians are ignorant when it comes to small business and real estate ownership…I believe when politicians get elected and before they take office, they should all be required to take Economics 100 at a university…

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Stephany Sofos