Finding affordable housing right now is basically an Olympic sport. You would think that scoring a massive, fully finished basement apartment for pennies on the dollar would make someone the happiest tenant on earth. But some people are completely blinded by entitlement and a total lack of basic financial literacy. One homeowner recently offered a friend a sweetheart rental deal, only for the tenant to throw a massive temper tantrum over exactly how the rent money was being spent.
The Original Poster is a financially savvy individual who spent years aggressively saving up a massive down payment. Their goal was to put at least 50% down on a property to secure a low monthly mortgage and free up cash for travel. The perfect opportunity arose when their father inherited a house from a grandparent. The dad offered to sell it for slightly below market value, roughly 75% of its worth, acting as an advance on future rent since the parents planned to eventually move into the basement.
The Original Poster agreed to the terms, dropped a massive 60% down payment on the property, and financed the rest. Fast forward to about six months ago. The new homeowner decided to rent out the finished basement apartment to bring in a little extra cash. The space is completely private with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room, and a small kitchenette.
Around the same time, a friend mentioned that his brother was moving to the city. The brother is a brand new teacher making a very modest entry level salary. Knowing the guy needed an affordable place to live, the homeowner offered up the basement for a ridiculously low price of $650 a month. That insanely cheap price tag even included all of the monthly utilities.
The young teacher eagerly accepted the incredible deal and signed a standard year long lease. Everything was going perfectly fine until a few days ago. The tenant randomly asked if he could start paying his rent directly to the landlord instead of handing the money to his roommate. Confused, the Original Poster stated that there is no separate landlord because they actually own the house.
Instead of just saying okay and moving on, the tenant completely lost his mind. He aggressively screamed at the homeowner, accusing them of lying for over six months and actively taking advantage of him by making him pay so much in rent. Just for the record, a comparable apartment in their city would cost at least double, if not triple, the $650 he was currently paying.
The furious tenant then demanded to know exactly how much of the homeowner’s mortgage he was personally covering. The Original Poster correctly deflected the incredibly invasive question. They reminded the angry teacher that he was getting a nice, quiet place to live with access to laundry and a full kitchen for a price he could easily afford. The homeowner’s personal financial details are absolutely none of his business.
Doubting themselves, the homeowner asked friends and family for their opinions. Shockingly, several people claimed it was wrong to have the tenant cover $650 of the $775 monthly mortgage. Those people are completely delusional and terrible at math. The mortgage is only low because the homeowner aggressively saved and put a massive 60% down payment on the property. Furthermore, the homeowner is paying roughly $1500 every single month out of pocket for taxes, insurance, maintenance, and the very utilities the tenant gets to use for free.
The absolute cherry on top of this ridiculous drama is the lease agreement. The tenant claimed he was tricked, but the document he signed explicitly stated that the Original Poster was the homeowner. He simply could not be bothered to read a legal contract before signing his name on the dotted line. The homeowner is absolutely not the a**hole in this situation.
You do not get to dictate how a landlord spends your rent money, especially when they are actively subsidizing your lifestyle. If the tenant is so deeply offended by the basic concept of real estate investments, he is more than welcome to break his lease and go pay triple the price to a corporate landlord who will not care about his teacher salary.