Gene,

I’m glad that you enjoyed the article. You bring up some very good points on both sides of the argument that were not included, as I was already at a 12-minute read and didn’t want to bore people.

My most successful rentals have been at multi-family properties, specifically town homes. The occupants are normally older and appreciate quiet neighbors. Additionally, the owners/landlords are corporations that, while still trying to make a profit, at least are beholden to a thoroughly written lease that provides a modicum of occupant protection.

The apartments I have rented have been a mixed bag, but overall I can’t complain. They still had the well-defined lease to fall back on should a conflict occur.

The one single-family house I rented was a disaster. We rented from a first-time landlord, and all they wanted to do was have us pay their mortgage. Any maintenance was minimal and extremely low quality.

For the rent increases, I realize that inflation in the 70’s and early 80’s was super high, leading to double digit rent increases. However, inflation has been in a downward trend for the past 35 years.

Interest rates are historically low, so any regression to the mean will result in upward pressure. But, that increase towards the era you mentioned will take another 30–40 years (unless we go all Weimar Republic, then we’re all screwed).

Given the 75–ish year cycle we’ve seen with seen with interest rates/inflation, I thought my numbers would hold true for the majority of future possibilities.

Lastly, I am super excited to hear that you grow your own vegetables. We had three raised beds at our last house, and it was both better and cheaper food that we could find in our grocery store. If everyone would jump on the bandwagon, then we could cut down on the environmental footprint of shipping food, lower our grocery expenses, and increase our health.

If only we could all be like Curtis Stone.