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Housing

Then, after payment on the
mortgage, comes the calculation of
profits. Here is where the aspects
on a seller's' market become
relevant, where a landlord must
determine what rate of return he
wants on his initial investment in
property and buildings.

The various landlords and real
estate agents gave a fairly wide
range to the estimates of profit
they expected on their collected
rents. University Property
Management collects a "small
margin of profit", Mr. Raynor
expected a "10-12 per cent return on
a good project"; Mr. Marshall said
landlords hoped to make a 940 per
cent profit but stated, "but they
don't"; and Mr. DeButts said he
expected a 15 per cent return on his
initial cash investment.

These figures may not be
representative of landlords as a
group. In fact, several landlords
noted years when they cleared little
or no profit. However, the basic
fact of life remains, landlords as
one real estate agent aptly pointed
out-are not in business for their
health.

The next article of this series
will investigate further the
breakdown on rents and fees and
landlord rental practices.