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Why should they get to offer that service merely because they bought the land first? Why does the service of housing people need to be offered by private citize

Why should they get to offer that service merely because they bought the land first? Why does the service of housing people need to be offered by private citizens?

sokoloff 5y ago
What else would buying the land mean? Why do I get to use this laptop, eat this food, wear this shirt, or live in this [owner-occupied] house just because I bought it first? Housing could absolutely be provided by companies or governments. In the US, government has an absolutely horrible track record of providing desirable housing (except perhaps military base officer housing).
- machinebun 5y ago
  We don't have to have government take over housing, just relax the zoning regulation. The damn real estate owner's association has too much power - if we curb some of it, I will have no problem with privately owned real estate. Remove the carveouts against money laundering for real estate, the preferential tax treatment / mortgage interest deductibility for investment properties, things like that.
  - sokoloff 5y ago
    Business loans are tax-deductible because we have a tax system based on net income. Why should airlines or manufacturers or other businesses be able to deduct the interest on their loans, while one specific sector cannot?
    - machinebun 5y ago
      > Other business loans are tax-deductible because we have a tax system based on net income. I want to make a distinction between productive use of capital and rent-seeking. If you're getting a loan in order to buy an existing piece of property and rent it out - that is not productive, it is rent seeking (since you generate cash flow from just holding onto an asset and not doing anything with it). If you're building a new house or renovating/repairing the existing house with that loan, then the part that goes towards building/renovation is productive and the interest on that part of the loan should be deductible. The point is that people can make a lot of money by buying up real estate "portfolios" and simply sitting on them to generate cashflow, pricing others who want to buy a home out of the market. This would even out the balance a bit and make holding onto lots of investment assets more expensive but buying your first home [relatively] more affordable.

Why should they get to offer that service merely because they bought the land first? Why does the service of housing people need to be offered by private citizens?

sokoloff 5y ago

What else would buying the land mean? Why do I get to use this laptop, eat this food, wear this shirt, or live in this [owner-occupied] house just because I bought it first? Housing could absolutely be provided by companies or governments. In the US, government has an absolutely horrible track record of providing desirable housing (except perhaps military base officer housing).

machinebun 5y ago
We don't have to have government take over housing, just relax the zoning regulation. The damn real estate owner's association has too much power - if we curb some of it, I will have no problem with privately owned real estate. Remove the carveouts against money laundering for real estate, the preferential tax treatment / mortgage interest deductibility for investment properties, things like that.
- sokoloff 5y ago
  Business loans are tax-deductible because we have a tax system based on net income. Why should airlines or manufacturers or other businesses be able to deduct the interest on their loans, while one specific sector cannot?
  - machinebun 5y ago
    > Other business loans are tax-deductible because we have a tax system based on net income. I want to make a distinction between productive use of capital and rent-seeking. If you're getting a loan in order to buy an existing piece of property and rent it out - that is not productive, it is rent seeking (since you generate cash flow from just holding onto an asset and not doing anything with it). If you're building a new house or renovating/repairing the existing house with that loan, then the part that goes towards building/renovation is productive and the interest on that part of the loan should be deductible. The point is that people can make a lot of money by buying up real estate "portfolios" and simply sitting on them to generate cashflow, pricing others who want to buy a home out of the market. This would even out the balance a bit and make holding onto lots of investment assets more expensive but buying your first home [relatively] more affordable.