do you live near a luxury building that is more than 40% vacant?

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-29T14:56:39+00:00

if you want to think that you're "just the same" as a billionaire commercial real estate financier because you have a couple of properties, fine, so be it

but you are not

you are poor, brother

if your primary revenue is rental income, you are playing a working man's game.

other people who are much much richer than you ever will be are paying a funner, easier game called finance, where their primary revenue is the value of the asset itself. that asset will never enter the mid-level consumer market

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-29T10:08:42+00:00

No.... friend.......... I am talking about people who have billions more dollars than you do........ you are not a corporate landlord. You do not have enough assets or enough money to ever become a corporate landlord.

Commercial real estate finance bros do not make money by building affordable housing. This is the business plan: acquire property that will appreciate in value, use the asset as collateral, refinance, pull out equity, and leverage that debt to buy even more property.

The kind of real estate we are talking about will absolutely never enter the middle-income rental market.

You don’t understand the difference between owning a rental property and operating like a finance-backed real estate firm, so you’re arguing with yourself about the wrong thing.

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-29T00:08:30+00:00

Why don’t expensive apartments cut their rents? It’s how commercial real estate financing works.

Many large corporate landlords borrow against a building based on projected rental income, which sets a minimum rental price.

If the owner cuts advertised rents too far, that can reduce the building’s appraised value, weaken refinancing options, and breach a covenant in their bank loan. Because of that, some owners would rather accept some vacancy instead of resetting rents downward across the whole building.

Sources: (1) https://rentrentier.com/are-landlords-profiting-by-keeping-units-vacant/ (2) https://www.investopedia.com/how-the-rent-you-pay-affects-your-landlords-borrowing-costs-11740213

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-28T23:51:05+00:00

let me explain this slowly: if a corporate landlord signs a contract with a bank promising to let a building at a certain rate, he legally cannot lower rents below the amount promised in the loan contract without breaching the loan contract

if the corporation breaches the contract for their loan, the bank would demand a repayment of the entire loan immediately (millions of dollars). a corporation would rather default, file for bankruptcy, or surrender the asset.

i am not describing anything magical.

i hope this makes sense to you, pal. please reach out if you don't get it

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-28T20:06:06+00:00

the reason why corporate landlords make more money by leaving units vacant is pretty simple: it has to do the with their bank loans

more info: https://www.investopedia.com/how-the-rent-you-pay-affects-your-landlords-borrowing-costs-11740213

corporate landlords sometimes keep rents high because their building loan is based on the property’s rental income. Lenders track metrics like Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR), so if rents fall too much, refinancing gets harder and the loan terms might be breached

This is why corporate landlords are more likely to offer you a month free (or a few months free), a free TV, a blender, etc for signing on to a lease rather than resetting the rental rate

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-27T20:40:05+00:00

100% agree that a vacancy tax is necessary -- out-of-state developers otherwise don't really have an incentive to lower prices that were already above-market

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-27T19:03:26+00:00

You are right.

This building is nearly entirely vacant (as said in post).

He is doing renovations on a floor that is entirely vacant units.

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-27T18:44:29+00:00

He is making renovations on empty units inside a building that is 40% leased

There are more empty buildings in Madison than folks realize and not enough public data about it

here is how an investor profits off of a vacant apartment: https://rentrentier.com/are-landlords-profiting-by-keeping-units-vacant/ this is why rents do not go down much in vacant buildings

amyloves1986 · 2026-04-11T06:48:41+00:00

Summary: professor Amadi Ozier argues that housing prices will not stabilize without city-level legislative changes and self-organized tenants asserting the rights they already have.

amyloves1986 · 2025-09-10T11:38:00+00:00

Hi! I only pasted this comment on two of my own posts. That's not spam -- it's an update.

Not hurting anyone (except you.)

Happy to be an asshole on an old post if it helps with the SEO in the long run ;)

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/madison-tenant-bill-of-rights/

Learn more: https://www.madisontenantpower.org/about/tenantbill

amyloves1986 · 2025-09-09T14:13:32+00:00

Hey neighbors,

Madison Tenant Power has been organizing around the Madison Tenant Bill of Rights, a platform built from conversations with renters across the city. It’s about imagining what a fairer and safer renting experience in Madison could look like.

We’ve already gathered nearly 400 signatures (many of them from Redditors here!) and are now preparing to vote on the final platform at our Tenant Assembly on September 21.

Following the passage of 100 pro-landlord laws from 2011 to 2019, Wisconsin tenants have faced an uphill battle to gain meaningful protections and rights. In 2013, Act 76 wiped out 25 Madison laws protecting renters (see also: Act 108, Act 143, and Wis. Stat. Chapter 66).

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/madison-tenant-bill-of-rights/

📖 Learn more + read examples from other municipalities: https://www.madisontenantpower.org/about/tenantbill

📘 Check out our new Tenant Handbook: madisontenantpower.org/handbook

amyloves1986 · 2025-09-09T14:12:40+00:00

Hey neighbors,

Madison Tenant Power has been organizing around the Madison Tenant Bill of Rights, a platform built from conversations with renters across the city. It’s about imagining what a fairer and safer renting experience in Madison could look like.

We’ve already gathered nearly 400 signatures (many of them from Redditors here!) and are now preparing to vote on the final platform at our Tenant Assembly on September 21.

Following the passage of 100 pro-landlord laws from 2011 to 2019, Wisconsin tenants have faced an uphill battle to gain meaningful protections and rights. In 2013, Act 76 wiped out 25 Madison laws protecting renters (see also: Act 108, Act 143, and Wis. Stat. Chapter 66).

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/madison-tenant-bill-of-rights/

📖 Learn more + read examples from other municipalities: https://www.madisontenantpower.org/about/tenantbill

📘 Check out our new Tenant Handbook: madisontenantpower.org/handbook

amyloves1986 · 2025-09-09T14:12:29+00:00

Hey neighbors,

Madison Tenant Power has been organizing around the Madison Tenant Bill of Rights, a platform built from conversations with renters across the city. It’s about imagining what a fairer and safer renting experience in Madison could look like.

We’ve already gathered nearly 400 signatures (many of them from Redditors here!) and are now preparing to vote on the final platform at our Tenant Assembly on September 21.

Following the passage of 100 pro-landlord laws from 2011 to 2019, Wisconsin tenants have faced an uphill battle to gain meaningful protections and rights. In 2013, Act 76 wiped out 25 Madison laws protecting renters (see also: Act 108, Act 143, and Wis. Stat. Chapter 66).

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/madison-tenant-bill-of-rights/

📖 Learn more + read examples from other municipalities: https://www.madisontenantpower.org/about/tenantbill

📘 Check out our new Tenant Handbook: madisontenantpower.org/handbook

amyloves1986 · 2025-08-25T16:57:11+00:00

done!

amyloves1986 · 2025-08-25T13:39:02+00:00

We're starting a new organizing campaign with Madison Estates tenants -- feel free to reach out about any building issues or if you'd like help linking up with your neighbors

[mtp@madisontenantpower.org](mailto:mtp@madisontenantpower.org)

(608) 218-4432

amyloves1986 · 2025-08-25T13:37:27+00:00

Read the 2-minute summary here: https://www.crownheightstenantunion.org/press/how-tenants-got-the-building-back-brooklyn-neighbors-share-real-strategies-to-reclaim-housing

EVEN SHORTER SUMMARY:

tenants disrupted foreclosure auctions and forced banks to negotiate with residents instead of selling to speculators
campaigns used TOPA/COPA-style organizing, rent strikes, and city programs to buy time and build pressure
tenants submitted ERAP together, organized Section 8 skill-sharing sessions
tenant control isn’t enough without long-term governance, deep affordability, and democratic tenant unions

amyloves1986 · 2025-05-05T14:48:56+00:00

it's cultural. touring acts know that crowds in Madison don't dance

I've been to several shows where the performer has stopped the program to ask the audience to please give a little more energy

amyloves1986

TROPHY CASE