Comments

3

@#'s 1&2; And yet here you are, the Stranger staff get paid to be here, and you give them your time, funny that.

As for naming the ferry, in support of our friends across the pond (in Scotland) I'm going with Boaty McBoatface

5

@4, a promise was made, it needs to be upheld, i don’t know about you but i’ve spent time in Neah Bay with members of the tribe, I consider them friends and that moment was important for them and their culture. Industry and shipping kills mor whales than the Makah ever could dream of.

6

I needed that jolt of endorphins - been a long day. Every article featuring the latest in rental/landlord regulations does that for me. Gives me a nice warm feeling as I bask in the fact I am no longer a landlord. My only concern is getting addicted to the rush of feel good chemicals. From what I've gathered here I'll get another endorphin rush later in the week!

7

After the British silly naming contest resulting in 'Boaty McBoatface' and several similar naming contests since then, you'd think the WA state ferry system would know better than to repeat the silliness. This will not end well.

10

People 65 and older, etc. etc. can get booster shots ONLY if you had Pfizer shots I and II. Moderna and J&J haven't gotten their shit together yet.

12

"passive income"? Fuck off. A landlord who is doing it right is a) spending either a chunk of time or money or both maintaining the building, b) paying the property taxes that support the social programs you like so much, and c) running significant financial risks due to the fact that not all tenants pay their bills. That's far from "passive." It's actually kind of like work. Not to mention the time & effort it took to come up with the money to own property in the first place.

If you have a goddamned bank account you are also getting "passive income" in the form of interest. Maybe you should liquidate your account and give the money to those renters in need.

13

@raindrop, do you eat meat? Do you but international goods that are shipped actoss oceans? They are just as good a steward of the environment as you are.

14

*buy, across. damn old thumbs.

16

Yes, because we are a nation of laws and we respect treaties made. We don’t just get to pick and choose which ones we respect. The Magna Carta is our foundation and the court has upheld that they have a right.

20

I might respect the Makahs if they did hunt traditionally. You know, nearly naked in paddle powered canoes with bone and wood harpoons. A fair fight with the whales.

21

maybe white people should stop trying to tell indigenous people how to live their lives and uphold their traditions. we took most of their land in exchange for their right to hunt whales. if you really want them to stop hunting whales you’d have the federal government give the land back to the makah’s.

some of these comments come across like a big f’ you to this tribe. “hey, we know we got most of your land in exchange for this thing that we whites see as bad but now we need you to stop that too. and, ahh, we’re still going to keep this land. sorry ya got screwed. you should’ve been born white.”

24

The name a ferry contest insists you send a snail mail name suggestion. No wonder no one is doing it.
I suggest the name: Stay the fuck away from the orcas
It would be great if every 'sport' yachty saw that everytime the ship sailed!

26

The Seattle Times is "annoyed"? C'mon, Eric Lacitis is legendary for poking fun at human foibles and celebrating our eccentricities. Google "visiting Tukwila" for a chuckle from decades back, and an update from last year.

The phrase even made its way into an "Almost Live!" opening monologue. Don't make me come over there and tell you what "Almost Live!" is.

27

@17 Sounds to me like small landlord was under utilizing their assets - the only thing preventing them from improving the property was lack of access to capital. Or maybe complacency. Developer was doing them a favor.

City still ends up with "multiple" dwellings where there used to be one.

28

Small-time landlording is horrible. It's a great way to lose your money, your sleep and your sanity. The only way to make money doing it is to go slum lord. Ignore your tenants needs, collect the rent without pity and don't spend any money on the property until the city tries to sue you. The margins are simply too thin on rent -- even at the shockingly high rental rates that define this region of the USA. You need scale to make money, so unless you have multiple properties or an apartment building, you're going to go broke.

I think the solution is to just start building public housing like mad. The private sector is clearly incapable of dealing with the housing crisis. While we're at it, let's get the private sector out of the utilities business, too. I want public water and power companies back -- they might actually try doing something about climate change.

29

Typical conservative democrat, every year she wants to expand Seattle's military despite public demands and despite the massive drain they are on public funds and despite the fact that cops don't provide any benefit to the majority of people. I know people are going to say "they keep us safe" but I'd like to know how. Are they going to save you when you are hit by a speeding driver or get shot by some armed emotionally unstable person?

30

@12:

Can't speak for other landlords, but based on the County assessed value of the multi-unit where I live (you can look up property values and assessed taxes at: https://kingcounty.gov/services/gis/Maps/parcel-viewer.aspx), and the absolute lack of any significant maintenance done for several years, he's making huge bank - as in roughly to 70% of our rent is pure profit after he pays taxes and utilities (sewer and garbage - we pay electricity & water), because he doesn't have a mortgage.

I'm not saying every landlord is in that same position, but I venture it would be a safe bet to say there are a lot more than most people realize.

31

@30 - I don't know the stats but I'd wager that most landlords in Seattle are NOT in the position of not having a mortgage.

And if yours has not done any significant maintenance for the last few years, I'd not characterize him as "doing it right." You have every right to complain about landlords who are not holding up their end of the bargain, just as landlords (should) have every right to boot people who trash the place or refuse to pay rent.

The other thing to keep in mind is that while he may not have a mortgage now, he probably did for a good number of years, during which he likely made very little (if any) profit. He is now in a position to see the return on investment but it is a long-term proposition.

I'm certainly not saying nobody makes money owing rental property. They do. Eventually. I had a good 7-8 years in before I started seeing any real return. That's part of the game. Makes sense as a way to diversify investments, although the return is for the most part in the same ballpark as investing anywhere else.

Despite what the Stranger and Ms. community college-poly-sci-teacher Sawant would tell you, not everyone is Snidely Whiplash.


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