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Solar will go big when interest in home ownership goes away due to innovations like Uber which is reducing long term car ownership or multiple car ownership. On

Solar will go big when interest in home ownership goes away due to innovations like Uber which is reducing long term car ownership or multiple car ownership. Once home ownership goes away and we can subscribe to smart, intelligent homes powered by solar and other renewable energy sources, it will begin the golden age of Solar. Unfortunately, we are still 20 years away from this vision.

pjc50 9y ago
> home ownership goes away Home ownership is the only practical way in which the general public can access leveraged asset price inflation. There has to be big transformation in the economy before home ownership is seen as a cost centre rather than the most profitable investment most people will ever make.
- ghaff 9y ago
  And is also the only way that many people can have stability in where they they live and what they pay. Obviously different people make different tradeoffs but, for many (especially families), it's desirable to have a high degree of control over where you live.
  - pjc50 9y ago
    Aboslutely. Can you imagine having the Google "your account has been cancelled and we won't even say why and there's no number you can call" experience with your home rental service? Or your car service?
    - ghaff 9y ago
      In all fairness, there are tenant protection laws in presumably all states and they're quite strong in some. Nonetheless, if a landlord decides to sell the building or move into it themselves, you're likely going to have to move when the lease expires. And, of course, if you live somewhere that's popular and growing, you may simply be priced out.
    - toomuchtodo 9y ago
      This already happens when your Uber rating declines below a 4 or so (as drivers get to pick their riders by rating) and you can no longer get a ride.
      - UncleEntity 9y ago
        Too bad there aren't alternatives to Uber for people who can't manage to not piss off their drivers. They don't give a bad review unless you give them a really good reason because they're more worried about their stars than a little bit of unruliness on the part of passengers because, you know, dealing with stupid people is 99% of the job(err...side hustle). Sounds like the system is working exactly as intended to me.
        deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
        toomuchtodo 9y ago
        You can’t base a public transportation network on a reputation system no more than you can cut power and water off to people you don’t care for.
        UncleEntity 9y ago
        They aren't a public transportation network, they are a private business. I'm kind of curious what you were doing to the drivers since it's dog eat dog enough out there that drivers will pretty much take any fare that's semi-reasonable and they don't think they're going to die.
        toomuchtodo 9y ago
        Before switching to Lyft, I had a 4.4 rating with Uber, and sometimes had to try multiple times to get a ride. I had never been late for a pickup, was always courteous, and never did anything to warrant less than 5 stars. I don’t use Uber anymore, so it’s less of a personal issue and more of an overreaching policy issue as Uber attempts (poorly) to supplant public transit and personal vehicles with their product.
perseusprime11 9y ago
The lack of property tax deductions in the new tax bill could accelerate this vision.
newman8r 9y ago
That's an interesting thought on home ownership being disrupted. My vision for the future is that the combination of dropping solar costs, the ability to work remotely, and the high cost of home ownership will open up new areas of land for communities to develop where it was not feasible before. Combined with other trends like tiny homes, 'van dwelling', etc, it seems to make sense: people want to live high quality lifestyles without the high cost. I picked up 5 acres in the california desert for a few thousand dollars, I lived there in a trailer for a while and learned a lot - I'm convinced it will become more popular as people start to realize it's doable.
- diskandar27 9y ago
  with self driving car, ai and robot house automation fabrication + virtual reality ... will drive the cost of home ownership very affordable ... with virtual reality just like the real world ..people does not have to travel that far

pjc50 9y ago

> home ownership goes away Home ownership is the only practical way in which the general public can access leveraged asset price inflation. There has to be big transformation in the economy before home ownership is seen as a cost centre rather than the most profitable investment most people will ever make.

ghaff 9y ago
And is also the only way that many people can have stability in where they they live and what they pay. Obviously different people make different tradeoffs but, for many (especially families), it's desirable to have a high degree of control over where you live.
- pjc50 9y ago
  Aboslutely. Can you imagine having the Google "your account has been cancelled and we won't even say why and there's no number you can call" experience with your home rental service? Or your car service?
  - ghaff 9y ago
    In all fairness, there are tenant protection laws in presumably all states and they're quite strong in some. Nonetheless, if a landlord decides to sell the building or move into it themselves, you're likely going to have to move when the lease expires. And, of course, if you live somewhere that's popular and growing, you may simply be priced out.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    This already happens when your Uber rating declines below a 4 or so (as drivers get to pick their riders by rating) and you can no longer get a ride.
    - UncleEntity 9y ago
      Too bad there aren't alternatives to Uber for people who can't manage to not piss off their drivers. They don't give a bad review unless you give them a really good reason because they're more worried about their stars than a little bit of unruliness on the part of passengers because, you know, dealing with stupid people is 99% of the job(err...side hustle). Sounds like the system is working exactly as intended to me.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
      - toomuchtodo 9y ago
        You can’t base a public transportation network on a reputation system no more than you can cut power and water off to people you don’t care for.
        UncleEntity 9y ago
        They aren't a public transportation network, they are a private business. I'm kind of curious what you were doing to the drivers since it's dog eat dog enough out there that drivers will pretty much take any fare that's semi-reasonable and they don't think they're going to die.
        toomuchtodo 9y ago
        Before switching to Lyft, I had a 4.4 rating with Uber, and sometimes had to try multiple times to get a ride. I had never been late for a pickup, was always courteous, and never did anything to warrant less than 5 stars. I don’t use Uber anymore, so it’s less of a personal issue and more of an overreaching policy issue as Uber attempts (poorly) to supplant public transit and personal vehicles with their product.

perseusprime11 9y ago

The lack of property tax deductions in the new tax bill could accelerate this vision.

newman8r 9y ago

That's an interesting thought on home ownership being disrupted. My vision for the future is that the combination of dropping solar costs, the ability to work remotely, and the high cost of home ownership will open up new areas of land for communities to develop where it was not feasible before. Combined with other trends like tiny homes, 'van dwelling', etc, it seems to make sense: people want to live high quality lifestyles without the high cost. I picked up 5 acres in the california desert for a few thousand dollars, I lived there in a trailer for a while and learned a lot - I'm convinced it will become more popular as people start to realize it's doable.

diskandar27 9y ago
with self driving car, ai and robot house automation fabrication + virtual reality ... will drive the cost of home ownership very affordable ... with virtual reality just like the real world ..people does not have to travel that far