Quit destroying the duplexes

When I was younger, my PawPaw told me to buy a duplex for my first home. So that’s what Beth and I did. And, it’s been great.

He also advised me using a rental company name and separate address so the tenants wouldn’t bother me all day long. I did not take that advice, which might have been good the first time around. But now, thanks to Airbnb, we’re hoteliers for that unit, he probably would not have expected that.

This been a huge blessing for us. It has provided us freedom to pursue starting the farm, and for Beth not to be stuck in a full time job while we got Perennial City rolling.

Yet, there is this trend all over the city where people are buying unique two family homes, and converting them into single families, so they can flip them for a quick profit. We really hate this… Not only does this mess with the originality of the buildings, it also reduces the diversity on their streets. Our block contains mixed-use, 2-, 3-, 4- and 6-family buildings, and it adds all kinds of flavor. Conversion also takes away an opportunity for meaningful passive income for everyday people like us, in exchange for a fast bank account bump for real estate speculators.

Leave the duplexes alone.