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The death of the brick and mortar toy store

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Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#221

Post by hdgvhicv »

NickC25 wrote: post #154
mschuster91 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That seems like a rather inefficient use of resources. Inefficient for society? Yes. But for the capital providers aka investment (and let's be clear: retirement ) funds and banks? Definitely not. The fundamental problem at the root of all of it is how the US does pensions. In contrast to most European countries that operate in a redistribution system, aka the current workers pay the pensions of the current pension…

> and I'm sick and tired of American vultures buying up everything in Europe Just Because They Can. Here in America, we're also sick and tired of vultures buying up everything just because they can.

Who’s that we? Because that’s exactly who America put in power time and time again.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#222

Post by hdgvhicv »

SoftTalker wrote: post #213
anthonypasq wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

land value taxes would fix this. is too cheap to sit on derelict property

I don't think it's that simple. If the property is abandonded there's nobody to collect any taxes from.

On which case it’s owned by the state and the state can do whatever it wants. Like rent it out for $10 a year to the local knitting club.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#223

Post by BrenBarn »

bluGill wrote: post #112
BrenBarn wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. . . but isn't that just obviously stupid? If I say the rent is $3k a month but you get all 12 months free, why would anyone be fooled by that? Why would you base it on some hypothetical rent rather than the amount of actual money that the property takes in?

The bank knows but they maintain the fiction that they don't because their books collapse too if they count those. Banks make money from loans. Don't forget this is typically a short term things. When the economy improves the building will be rented again. So they need the books to look good today to get through.

> Don't forget this is typically a short term things. When the economy improves the building will be rented again.

In my experience in many cases this is not true. The shift toward online shopping, for instance, has meant that a lot of retail properties have no realistic chance of recovering to previous values. The accounting shenanigans described in this thread are just a way for various people to play make-believe that their properties haven't already lost value permanently.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#224

Post by hdgvhicv »

SoftTalker wrote: post #214
ishouldstayaway wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of LVT is right there in the name: it is the land that has value. "Location, location, location" is an old cliche for a reason. If you let your property go empty and crumble, the Land Value Tax is there to provide the incentive for you to either fix up the property and actually use it, or sell it to someone who will.

What if nobody wants to buy it and you can't pay the tax?

Then it’s worthless and the state will take abandoned land for $0.00.

If the land is worth less than nothing (contaminated etc) then there should have been a bond involved to ensure the clean up fee was collected.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#225

Post by hdgvhicv »

bartread wrote: post #116

In the UK at least a big part of the problem for all high street retail is high fixed costs. High rents for "prime" locations that, given the trend over the last 25 years, are no longer very prime, coupled with high business rates set by central government make it incredibly hard to make any money. And that's even before thinking about staff, where cover is no doubt needed at a higher concentration per square foot th…

> by the way, I have no quarrel with.

I do. Shops, cafes, pubs are closing left right and centre because the median person can’t afford labour intensive unskilled jobs. The majority of the public are earning little more than minimum wage (1.6 times). 25 years ago it was 2 times.

Wages compression means shops, cafes, pubs closing, as exemplified today with Morrisons closing 100 local shops, putting people out of work, denying people easy access to local shops.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#226

Post by bluGill »

BrenBarn wrote: post #223
bluGill wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The bank knows but they maintain the fiction that they don't because their books collapse too if they count those. Banks make money from loans. Don't forget this is typically a short term things. When the economy improves the building will be rented again. So they need the books to look good today to get through.

> Don't forget this is typically a short term things. When the economy improves the building will be rented again. In my experience in many cases this is not true. The shift toward online shopping, for instance, has meant that a lot of retail properties have no realistic chance of recovering to previous values. The accounting shenanigans described in this thread are just a way for various people to play make-believe…

There have always been shifts in where people shop. However retail overall is still doing very well. Downtowns as a place people go to shop is mostly dead (in the US, not elsewhere), but people still go out to shop someplace and the new places will recover.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#227

Post by hdgvhicv »

avidiax wrote: post #175
andrepd wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Georgist LVT would fix that is short order. Start making owners pay compensation for keeping a valuable space empty and crumbling, and you'll see them step to it pretty quickly or sell it to someone who does.

Though I am pro-LVT, I don't think this will help in the current situation. The owner, the bank, and the city all wish to maintain the illusion that a $10M building from 2010 is still worth at least $10M today, even vacant. No party wishes to realize the loss in value. Occasionally, the city may try to punish vacancy with a tax, which is still about additional revenue and not about realizing diminished value.

Let’s assume that 10m is the land and it’s a 5% tax. That means the bank is paying 500k a year to keep an empty property. That’s real cash flow problems.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#229

Post by magenta4 »

kurttheviking wrote: post #6

I own a reasonably well performing indie bookstore. I've noticed for the model to work you need a critical mass of other local shops clustered to make the trip an experience for families and diverse tastes. My working theory is that three of such small businesses are sufficient and could operate well with a common inventory strategy and manager (e.g. a bookstore, a toy store, and a tea or candy shop...nothing that sp…

That is such a good idea but I always have loved small stores so I might be too optimistic.

Let us know if you do it.

Re: The death of the brick and mortar toy store

#230

Post by carlosjobim »

kurttheviking wrote: post #6

I own a reasonably well performing indie bookstore. I've noticed for the model to work you need a critical mass of other local shops clustered to make the trip an experience for families and diverse tastes. My working theory is that three of such small businesses are sufficient and could operate well with a common inventory strategy and manager (e.g. a bookstore, a toy store, and a tea or candy shop...nothing that sp…

Aren't you worried that your rent will be jacked up 100% or more in case you successfully revitalize the area?
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