Db,

You are not alone. You have described me as well. I know I am a charity and I am choosing to subsidize my tenant’s rent. But I will only do that to a certain extent.

These last few years have been more of a challenge with costs on everything increasing and comparable rents no long $100 more than mine but now $400 - $600. I’ve started selling as a result. I started limiting selling only when someone moved. But now their deal is so good nobody is moving so I really feel stuck.

Ken,

I have sold five of them to the tenants, owner financed three of them. With the way prices have skyrocketed here in Florida that might not be happening again soon though.

Having a good heart isn't a negative. Running your business is not the same as running your personnel life. DO NOT CONFUSE THEM!

My mom, when I was very young, told us all kinds of story's about a men named Rockefeller or Morgan. She grew up in the depression. She hated to see them on TV-- she often said they was out there giving giving giving to make up for all the bad things they did to people during the depression. He and JP Morgan would lock down whole tenement buildings they owned when people got sick and whole building the people would die off. More slave labor. They always were on TV smiling though. WHY? Becasue they didn't do the dirty work they blamed others from their company's. You don't have anyone to fall back on. Do right by tenants and your business but don't forget to smile for your family and friends. Separate them.

So for me I see these goodie two shoes on TV being praised-- Buffets, Gates and many more but I never trust them. They're slick salesman and that's how they got what they have.

I say do what is reasonable to do for your tenants. Remind them you are not their family or their confessor you only do rentals.

I know the value of having Gray hair. Experience matters and you have earned it after paying your dues. So maybe its time that to pass that knowledge on to the next generation of investors. They might not share the same soft heart as they are starting out.

It is commendable at one level and head shaking at another level. You need to answer if what you are doing is right. Who are we to judge you......after 30 years of doing anything, you know what you can and can't due.

Don't beat yourself up. Be grateful you aren't in her situation. Yes, she may be under rent now, but that can be caught up. And, so long as you are covering your expenses, you haven't lost out.

Some of us , by nature, are givers. If I couldn't help someone out, I'd be depressed, big time. So, my doing a kindness for someone is therapy for me. (But, don't anybody take it for granted, or expect it. I can turn on a dime, and hold people completely accountable. Kinda split personality, maybe...)

Something to consider, are there any energy efficiencies to be accomplished on the property? Extra insulation, a shade tree on the west side, a conifer or other evergreen, or even a marcescent oak on the northwest corner? Motion sensor lights, so an outside light isn't kept on all night?

So now there is one question remaining: do you intend to keep subsidizing her or not?

Btw, I don't buy the whole, "I don't ask for help because they ask too many personal questions." bit. That's false pride and vanity. Those are hardly worthwhile character traits to fund endlessly out of my pocket.

If a person needs help, they should ask rather than assume you will just endlessly (and questionlessly) allow her to feed at your trough. If nothing else, that is rude and inconsiderate towards you to assume you will just continue allowing her to pick your pocket endlessly

When I was first starting in the workforce I worked for an older lady that had a son she was helping out. She would subsidize his rent and utilities and kept him in microwave food, he worked part-time at a car lot washing vehicles. This went on for more than 15 years until she was diagnosed with cancer and died. What do you think happened to the son once the enabler was gone? Yep, he ended up homeless living on the street. So, I have to ask, did his mom help him or hurt him in the long run?

I'm all for giving someone a hand-up but a handout keeps them miered in their predicament. Once things get uncomfortable, most people will be moved to make things better for themselves. The goal should be to help them grow by easing them to discomfort so they have time to react to the changing situation rather than drop the aid all at once some point in the future. If it were me, I would give her a schedule of rent increases every 6 months that will bring her close to market over the next 2 years. That will give her time to go through the stages of grief and get on with bettering her own situation before things get too dier. Who knows it might motivate her to get out and find a better paying job in a rewarding field she's been secretly dreaming of.

Well said, Mike. And, that's a good practice. I loved the phrase, ' easing them to discomfort.'

But, they have to recognize that they can make choices, can grow. Sometimes tough. When tenant mentioned the utility bills being high, one could make suggestions they are able to implement to reduce bills.

First thing that comes to mind: clothesline. My family used a wringer washer and hung clothes on a line MOST of my years growing up. We had an automatic washer and dryer, but Mom was raised in the depression, and wouldn't use them. So, I know everything it entails. To start, tenant simply needs to tie a rope between two trees. I also hung out laundry most of our early years of marriage, including cloth diapers. Good for the environment, good for utility bills, good to spend time out of doors ( vitamin sunshine.)

Well said, Mike. And, that's a good practice. I loved the phrase, ' easing them to discomfort.'

But, they have to recognize that they can make choices, can grow. Sometimes tough. When tenant mentioned the utility bills being high, one could make suggestions they are able to implement to reduce bills.

First thing that comes to mind: clothesline. My family used a wringer washer and hung clothes on a line MOST of my years growing up. We had an automatic washer and dryer, but Mom was raised in the depression, and wouldn't use them. So, I know everything it entails. To start, tenant simply needs to tie a rope between two trees. I also hung out laundry most of our early years of marriage, including cloth diapers. Good for the environment, good for utility bills, good to spend time out of doors ( vitamin sunshine.)

Old PA Dutch saying, "Ve get too soon oldt, und too late schmardt."

FYI, the PA "Dutch" were really German, or Deutsch. When they started coming to PA, the prior, largely English settlers, thought that "deutsch" meant "Dutch". Just before WWI, many recent German settlers in SE Pennsylvania anglicized their names and told inquisitive people that they were Dutch, most certainly not German. I know for sure that was the case with my Great-grandfather. Vilhelm became William, and he insisted that his accent (he was born in Germany) was Dutch, as well as his ancestry. My hubby's grandfather had a similar background, and the family name was anglicized around the same time.

Most recently had this happen to us.