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Landlords are to blame for squeezing people like lemons (which extracts a lot money from software engineers and the like while leaving lower classes without dec
by Twixes 7y ago
Landlords are to blame for squeezing people like lemons (which extracts a lot money from software engineers and the like while leaving lower classes without decent housing), but the underlying problem is indeed insufficient supply. But what's really being done about either of these things?
- justinzollars 7y agoNo they are not. You could become a landlord and find out for yourself. Or you could simply do the math. Mortgage plus Insurance plus Earthquake insurance plus upkeep plus taxes. Costs are incredible. The only way to bring down rents is to increase supply. Everyone else is lying to you.
- generalpass 7y agoI suspect you are being down-voted because a lot of landlords are renting out their first home while they have moved out and into a newer, nicer home and are now just exploiting the underclass. Presumably the mortgage on the first home is quite far below current market prices, but this is not enough to drive the landlord to offer a price that is necessarily in line with rents at the time the home was purchased. The mortgage interest is no longer tax deductible, so effective cost of ownership is higher than when compared to someone paying a mortgage on a home they live in. The profit from renting is compared against profit from selling. If the rental price is driven too low, the owner will prefer to sell and collect the profits (and the home will likely be taken off of the available rental inventory, which will further drive up rents).
- justinzollars 7y ago> and are now just exploiting the underclass. The only people exploiting the underclass are politicians that make building housing impossible. This dynamic is only possible through their help. A price is set by what the market - not by landlords.