Are all home runs created equal?

If you are a baseball fan at all, you know the story of Josh Hamilton. After his amazing display at Monday night’s All-Star Homerun Derby even non-sports fans are now familiar with his journey. I remember playing against Josh in high school and thinking that he was the most incredible athlete I had ever played against. Little did I know, nine years later I would watch him hit 500+ foot homeruns into the upper deck of Yankee Stadium.

So what does this have to do with real estate? Well, I am sure you could draw up a convoluted correlation, but in reality it has little relevance to whatever deal you are working on right now. I think sometimes we just need to step back, look at the big picture of life and realize that miracles can happen.

For those who aren’t familiar with the details of Josh’s comeback, a quick google search will tell you everything. However, I don’t think anyone has said it better than Peter Gammons… “We are reminded that baseball can help us remember what we stand for, not against, what we believe, not what we fear, and that while we learn from the past, what we all want is to open the door to the future.” Gammons blog at ESPN.com

This isn't Russia. Is this Russia?

You now need to register with the city to own rental property in Raleigh. And you need to pay.

The registration fee is $30 for the first unit and $10/year for every unit you own. Here is an article from the N&O about it.

And another. And another.

The problems with this are ten-fold. It's hard to know where to start, really. Not only has the city created yet another bureaucracy, they have done so at the behest of just a couple of spoiled, vindictive inside-the-beltline neighborhoods pursuing the eradication of rental properties regardless of the fact that they live next to a major university.

While it seems clear to most people with more common sense than a rutabaga that if you move in next to a college you may end up with some rental property nearby. Nevertheless, people in that position are certainly due their peace and quiet. However, and I'll try to say this as clearly as possible: a landlord can't stop a tenant from partying. If the law isn't being broken and rent is being paid on time, eviction really isn't an option. The city believes, however, that by evicting the tenant responsible for the PROP violation, the problem will eventually be solved. As if those tenants will simply move to another neighborhood and never bother anyone again.

The most problematic component of the PROP is the fact that violations remain with the property, even after the bad tenant is gone, whether through eviction or lease termination. How does that help? Again, I'm not sure people really understand rental property. Landlords do not ask for their property to be wrecked, partied in or transformed into a landfill. Tenants sign leases with specific clauses to those very issues. When a tenant does so, they are in violation of their lease. But, a landlord can't physically be at their property every day. It's literally impossible. Weekly checks? Sure, that's reasonable enough. But all it takes is one mattress, one time; on the day the landlord is out of town, to warrant a PROP violation.

Now that the city has funding and a staff, look for a much more aggressive approach toward curbing the ownership of rental property in Raleigh. This vision they have conjured of a shiny happy city where no property is left un-spit-shined like a pair of Meeker's boots licked clean by his councilmen is nothing more than that, a complete and utter delusion of grandeur.

The PROP will not curb blight in the city. It will not stop bad landlords from owning property. What it will do is spike the number of evictions in the city, push poor tenants from property to property, raise rents and strongly bolster the already formidable wall built between city government and the citizens of Raleigh who happen to own rental property.

I would welcome insight on this topic. I will be glad to respond.