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We need to stop overcharging for everything. Being kind to one another also involves transactional living. Instead of thinking just about self when it comes to money think also how those prices will affect someone else. You can tell me from today till tommarow it’s the “market” this how much I can charge. But we are communal people and our need to support one another comes because we are actually incapable of doing “everything” alone. If lowering your price will bring ease to another person’s life. Take that leap of faith and watch how G-d blesses you. The opposite is true too. Watch the internal strife you suffer because the price did not take into account the party involved
Rental houses are largely a function of supply and demand. New York City keeps the supply low (through rent control of various flavors), which keeps the price high. However policies that encourage people and businesses to move elsewhere will reduce demand, which will lower prices. A private landlord has little control – if he sets the price tooo high he won’t find tenants, if he sets it too low he will have more people wanting to rent than he can deal with, plus he may have too little revenue to stay in business. The frum community could migrate to cities which encourage construction and maintenance of apartments, though that may not be an option for someone whose parnassah comes from working for the goyim’s well-paying corporations.
I have been a landlord for many decades. When my expenses (taxes, maintenance, insurance) rise then rent has to increase at renewal time. I keep my net constant, but why should you expect me to subsidize my tenants?
I do not look at what the current rentals in my local markets are to set rents. They are set based on expenses and a reasonable Return on Investment.
In years when taxes and insurance does not go up, I renew at current rental amounts.This may be one reason that most of my tenants have been in place more than 10 years.
Indeed, one of the talmidei chachamim in Bavel was in business of retail wine sales. He would buy a barrel, say for $100 and then sell 10 bottles for $10 each. Gemora asks – this does not make sense as there is no profit. Answer: he also had sediment left that he will sell to other businesses for small profit. The lesson is – ehrliche business is about having some profit – not too much but also so that the business can exist.
akuperma > if he sets it too low he will have more people wanting to rent than he can deal with, plus he may have too little revenue to stay in business
Furthermore, often if you price too low, you may get questionable renters who may stop paying or who will try to push for other payouts, such as costs of repairing things they break. If you charge more, you’ll get people who either/or earn more and are not able/interested in fighting for every penny.
ehrliche business is about having some profit – not too much but also so that the business can exist.
I’ll try to remember that principle when negotiating the purchase of a $500 Calabrian esrog or $50/lb box of hand-made shmurah matzoh.
>>>I’ll try to remember that principle when negotiating the purchase of a $500 Calabrian esrog or $50/lb box of hand-made shmurah matzoh.
No comparison to rental prices. If you can’t afford it you can easily do without a $500 esrog (or not buy an esrog altogether and just borrow one) or $50/lb box of hand-made shmurah matzoh (or ask for Kimcha D’Pischa. The Gemara says that Arba Kosos etc. in an exception to the rule of
עֲשֵׂה שַׁבַּתְּךָ חוֹל וְאַל
תִּצְטָרֵךְ לַבְּרִיּוֹת)
. When someone is living in an apartment with raising rents they do not always have the easy option to just movegadol > I’ll try to remember that principle when negotiating the purchase of a $500 Calabrian esrog or $50/lb box of hand-made shmurah matzoh.
Absolutely. Buying this would be lifnei ever. They would not be selling them if you are not
I used to buy from a couple of the talmidei chochomim like in the gemora whose prices were 30,40,50… The older one is already niftar, and the younger one went to another town to be a rov.
I took kids to the store to teach them some advanced math: record all prices: 30,40,45, 50, 70, 100, 150 compute median 50, add 20% for hidur mitzva, buy $60 esrog.
relevant Gemoras
Bava Metzia 40b – Rav Yehuda was selling oil and sediment, not wine.Bava Basra 90-91 Shmuel (R Yehuda’s teacher) one can not profit more than 1/6th
plus payment for labor and selling expensesRambam: this limit is set by Beis Din and is for essentials only (oil, wine, flour).
Shulchan Aruch (CM 231:20)overall discussion is that 1/6th is enforced only under some circumstances – having a beis din regulating prices and essentials
and when all grocers do not keep to the limit, one does not have to.:SMA (38 and Prishah 26 DH d’Chi): When there is no Beis Din and everyone else transgresses Chachamim’s words not to profit more than a sixth, one who fears Hash-m need not be careful about this. If not, when he finished selling cheaply, all others will sell for a high price!
AAQ – I am not sure SMA works in current markets: Walmart shows you the power of low profits: one who sells cheaper can order more merchandize and become as rich as Waltons.
none2> If you find the perfect tenant and he can’t afford 50 dollers one month would it kill you to wave that
Of course. But a lot of laws make it difficult to give discounts to good tenants – you might get accused of various discriminations. I believe Trump’s father was accused of something similar: when he had apartments for rent (maybe subsidized ones?), he quickly advertised them in russian-language newspapers, so that recently arrived russian jews would come before less desirable renters.
there are a couple of articles in WSJ looking at recent experience in Austin TX where even progressives went for relaxing rules and encouraging building more instead of rent control – and successfully lowered housing prices in the last several years. TX-wide rule forbidding rent control was helpful here to nudge them in the right direction
One lesson from NY and other such places – if problems remain unresolved, then there will be someone offering a socialist solution. Places where it is easy to build do not elect communists to establish rent control. Historically, this is why USA had very weak socialist movements 100+ years ago comparing to most of Europe – as many problems were resolved otherwise.
Ex-CTLawyer: Just trying to understand your pricing model. You say you keep your net the same, how do you handle pricing downturns (which do inevitably happen over the decades)?
no ones making you buy a 500$ esrog and i know of a prominent posek who sells his chabura matzah for 40 a pound, i dont know why it costs so much but i can guarantee hes not cheating anyone
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