My landlord is awesome. For people who are unable to afford a house, it is a life saving option to have a place cheap enough that you can live and save money. My landlord makes a little on top and I pretty much pay his mortgage and save up for my own. Win/Win. The fact that I could have purchased this apartment with the amount I spent living in it doesn't mean anything because I could not afford the costs of a deposit and closing fees at the time nor would I want to own this place because it comes with ridiculous management fees and shitty neighbors. Landlords can be awesome and they can suck too but the way the other guy calls them parasites and his response following your comment basically reveals that he is immature and was the parasite himself.