My name is Laura and I post under my name on the Forum. I've been active there for years to try to help other tenants and give some of my advice to help small landlords too.
These are crazy times for everyone.
And while tenants are suffering it's also important to know your landlord might be suffering too. This pandemic is hurting everyone.
We Need To Stick Together
I used to own a house and we rented our basement out years ago and it really helped us cover our mortgage. When my husband died my children were grown so I decided to sell the house and rent.
Renting has a lot of advantages.
I don't have to worry about any maintenance issues and my landlady has a service to cut the lawn and plow the snow. My landlord cover my utilities so she can get just one payment each month to keep things uncomplicated.
My landlady is a teacher and her husband has his own contracting company and they are terrific.
"Are You Going To Pay The Rent?"
When all this chaos started in March and the government said 'tenants don't have to pay rent" my landlady called me and asked me if I was going to pay the rent.
I told her "of course I will". She was thankful and said if I needed a break just call her.
My Landlady Is Professional and Kind, And I Make Paying Rent A Priority
I'm in a pretty good situation where I don't need to worry about buying food and my children are adults now. I know others might not be as safe as I am.
I'm going to pay the rent not only because it's the right thing to do, but because I want to keep my excellent relationship with my landlady and know that if I don't pay rent it could hurt her financially (and even lead to her selling this place).
Pay You Rent And If You Can't Call Your Landlord
My landlady isn't some big global corporation. She and her family invested and thank to them I have a great place to stay at a great price. Small landlords are people too and not rich.
Rent Strike Hits Small Landlords, Not The Corporate Landlords
Not paying rent will just get rid of the small nice landlords who care about you.
Not paying rent will not impact the big heartless corporations.
The whole "rent strike" people are likely corporate landlords who want to get rid of small landlords who are their competition. At least that's what I think.
Stay Home and Stay Safe!
I'm so happy to have a great rental with a great landlady. I feel safe and don't ever want to move.
With Love And Wishing Everyone Stays Safe,
Laura
