Hey, this is something that is eating me up lately and I'm not sure what to do or where to turn. Some context to the title:
I have a very good friend who I've known for years (he and his fiancée are both going to be members of my own wedding party) who I care about a lot. That being said, he comes from a family where his parents started their own company and both they and his brother do landlording on the side. He usually has a cycle of thinking about joining in and then backing out, and he is back in that mindset again. He's very frugal so he's saved up quite a but and after getting furloughed for a while he seems a bit more serious than usual. He's aware of my politics and I think I've been slowly making him see the light, but I'm at a roadblock. How do I tell this guy that I don't think he should be a landlord because they are scum, without also saying that I essentially think his family are scum? Is it even possible? I just feel like I need to say something if I want to call myself a leftist actually dedicated to making the world a better place. Thoughts?
I've kinda been in that dude's shoes before (my parents wanted me to rent out their condo and manage the property when they went back to their home country). In cases like this where family is involved, he may be looking for an excuse other than the moral/ethical ones.
Is this in America? If so, remind him of the looming renter crisis https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/30percent-of-americans-missed-their-housing-payments-in-june.html . Many people lost jobs just like his, and continue to lose them daily. Does he really think this is a good investment to be making now? Even if eviction courts are in session wherever you are, this is constant instability for his investment. Even places that seem more stable income-wise will still have people who lose their job, don't have a ton saved up, and with the higher rent prices rapidly lose the ability to keep up with payments.
When pointing this out you can also make subtle arguments like walking him through what eviction looks like, how it's not going to be single people who can crash on a friends' couch if they really need a home that bad, it'll be families, especially those with kids that he'll most likely need to evict, as their financial burdens are greater and more susceptible to even 1 parent getting laid off. Eviction takes time, and legal proceedings. Time that he'll spend not making money, and time he'll have to spend in court having the renter plea their case and beg for leniency. Sure, the judge won't grant it, he'll win easily, but how many times does he want to go through that just to make some side money?
Point out how much easier and stabler investment in stocks is. Unemployment and homelessness doesn't hurt the stock market, it can be a very stable investment with little work, etc. Hell, open a coffee shop. For the foreseeable future you really don't need much real estate, and enough businesses have gone under that he can grab up some decent storefronts for cheap now.