How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town

Re:How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town by mschuetz on Thursday October 18, 2018 @10:44AM (#18248702)

Looking at Vienna, it feels like the value of real-estate grows faster than what you'd earn by renting. E.g. you'd probably earn 3,000€ netto per year from a 200,000€ property, but it's value also rises by 4,000€ in the same time frame. Why renting it out for a little cash, and probably having to pay a landlord to manage it, when you're already earning more than that by simply sitting on it.

I've just made some numbers up now but last time I went through renting and buying decisions, this is what it kind felt like.

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Re:How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town by hnhg on Thursday October 18, 2018 @12:36PM (#18249769)

You often (depending on region and property) have to pay some kind of ground rent and/or non-trivial tax that you can transfer to the occupant. Also they can pay for maintenance and also point out big problems (water leaks - yes they do happen and be very unwelcome even if you have insurance). Overall, the net gain is low but that's better than 3 or 4 years of a minor accumulating net loss. Also the management fee is say 10% to keep your place in shape, so actually quite cheap in reality if your own time is in any way expensive.

[Edit: multiply the costs if you have a portfolio of properties and you then realise that you can easily have a dent in your cash flow while your property is accumulating in value]

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Re:How Manhattan Became a Rich Ghost Town by mswiss on Thursday October 18, 2018 @11:25AM (#18249073)

yeah but in order to get access to that money you'd have to sell or cash out refi, or take a loan against the property.

So your kind of making money but if prices go down your in a much trickier spot.

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