Yeah, honestly, small town landlords and building owners have to keep up repairs and constantly monitor the situation so that the tenants don’t burn down or cause an infestation that tanks a 200k USD miminum (it goes a lot higher from there) investment that wouldn’t have been payed off for 13 more years as per the contract for deed.
They also have to file all the receipts, run background checks and keep documents on their tenants, and keep their leases up to date. All of this has to be securely stored for like 6 years.
There is a lot of risk involved in getting shelter to people who need it the most in the USA. Not everything can be a charity, if you’ve got a problem with that system then you don’t have an issue with landlords you have an issue with corporatocracy and real estate moguls on a much larger scale using a necessary resource as a semi-fungible currency. More than 1 in 20 homes in the USA are owned by Chinese investors. I’m sure there are some bad apples but the majority of non-affiliated landlords are just doing what they need to do to minimize financial risks and stay afloat.
Sometimes things like Lawyer Consultation Fees, Eviction Serving fees, Vacancies, and Water Damages forcing you to replace the flooring, the boards, some insulation and vents… It can run into the negative multiple months in a row. Sure they get some of it back after Tax Season, but they still had to pay in Quarterly Taxes up until that point so in order for it to work they need a lot in savings.