The rent crisis on Main Street just took a turn for the worse

CNBC ^

[FarCenter]

Recent inflation data shows that rental prices across the U.S. are finally easing, but on Main Street it’s a different story, with small business owners increasingly unable to make full rent payments, according to a survey from Alignable.

Small businesses are caught in an inflation compounding effect, with prices for inputs, labor, transportation and energy all cutting into margins, while rent prices soared too, and now landlords are pressing the most since Covid began for full payments as the economy cools and sales slow.

There are options, from negotiating with landlords who don’t want empty storefronts, to business-to-business (B2B) owners making the decision to go fully remote.

[poinq]

I would never start a store front business now. Especially if you did not own the building. Its far too dangerous. Rents can change as soon as you become successful. Taxes can change. And inventory means that you have a large outlay at risk every day. If you ever played craps you understand the risks of a storefront business. You buy spots on 8 and 6 and a few other numbers hoping for several payouts before a single 7 shows up and wipes it all away. Not good odds.

[Bob434]

[[with small business owners increasingly unable to make full rent payments]]

Well then lets shut them down for mo ths on end over some other ‘pandemic’- that should help ease their financial woes

[T.B. Yoits]

Owning the building could be worse when the government issues illegal diktats to shut down for a scamdemic. As a tenant you can leave for another jurisdiction. As an owner, you're stuck.

You also run the risk of the government finding chemicals in the soil that you are now on the hook for.

[Dilbert San Diego]

This points up the fact, that most small businesses, or storefront type businesses, rent their space.

Some pay a base rent, then in addition, a percentage of their sales as rent, to the landlord.

[caseinpoint]

New gaslighting tactic: Blame greedy landlords for deterioration of economy in the big cities. But storefront businesses face a lot of problems in addition to soaring rent. Why go to the trouble of entering commercial leases for street space when the junkies and homeless use them for latrines and sleep shelters, while governments continue ignoring the ferals who loot at will and assault and batter the customers, while local bureaucrats pass ridiculous regulations to solve the problems they caused and usually results in driving foot traffic and tourists away from the cities, while political groups demand your business take stands on controversial issues, and while the entire left demonizes you and your business, no matter what you do.

Rising rents is a problem, but only one of many brought to us by the left.

[yelostar]

The Great Reset

[Sirius Lee]

The bankrupting of small rental owners via lack of tenants, unpaid bills, and the coming rent controls, is part of the bigger plan to consolidate all rental ownership into a government approved monopoly like, say, blackrock.

[FarCenter]

I don’t think it is just a big city problem. My barber just said that if the head barber didn’t own the building and parking lot, they’d be closed by now. As it is, the combination of high taxes and the preemption of parking by restaurants that discourages clients from coming to the business district have been very difficult.

[joshua c]

bye bye middle class

[caseinpoint]

Plausible theory.