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> If they do not own where they live (and chose to rent) then they don't OWN their home and in turn have no right to live there. I don't know if this is an Ame

by tinco 13y ago

> If they do not own where they live (and chose to rent) then they don't OWN their home and in turn have no right to live there. I don't know if this is an American thing or not, but to a Dutch person this remark is rather revolting. In The Netherlands, if you pay for your home it is your right to live there, regardless of how you finance it. Home owners are not somehow more privileged than renters are. > no one near Chicago wants to waste their money living in the city unless they want to be in the heart of the city and enjoy the scene. As I understand it, the problem in San Francisco is not just about the city center, it's the entire 40 miles radius around the Google campus and other SV hotspots where rents and housing prices have increased so much young adults can't afford in the areas they grew up in anymore. > If you can't afford that, then perhaps you didn't make very good choices in your life You are a disgusting person. > you should try and find a way to achieve that goal without inflicting pain (stress, wasted time, etc.) on others This would be nice in an ideal society, but in a liberal society like the U.S., this simply isn't an option for many people.

druiid 13y ago
Sadly many homeowners in the US look down upon renters. I have personally encountered this at least a couple times in my life. Generally it comes with situations where a neighborhood sees a mix of homeowners and renters, which is generally things like town-home or condominium developments. I even once had a shouting match with an 'owner' which ended with them saying I didn't deserve to live their because they were an owner and I was 'just a renter' (Note: I was in the right in this argument).
- boon 13y ago
  Most of the owners of rental property I know are usually very happy with, and encouraging of, the renters of their units. One of the issues with renting is that you DO end up paying for the owners property taxes, not directly, but it is factored into the cost of running the rental. If the local government decides to increase property taxes, or housing appraisals increase in the area, then rent may increase. This is often seen as "bad" by the renters, but really there is nothing an owner can do about it.
boon 13y ago
"I don't know if this is an American thing or not, but to a Dutch person this remark is rather revolting. In The Netherlands, if you pay for your home it is your right to live there, regardless of how you finance it. Home owners are not somehow more privileged than renters are." Can you elaborate on this more? Does a tenant have the right to force an owner to extend a lease, perhaps? From my experience, an owner does have more rights to the property and its use, purely because they are the owner. If a lease ends, they can increase the lease payment[1], and if the current tenant cannot afford it, they have to move. Is this not how it works in your country? [1] Many (most?) places here do have a limit on how fast you can increase rent prices to help alleviate the problem of kicking someone out by pricing the unit out of their reach all of the sudden.
- tinco 13y ago
  > Can you elaborate on this more? Does a tenant have the right to force an owner to extend a lease, perhaps? What is a lease? In The Netherlands a tenant has a rent contract with the owner, which by law may not be restricted in term, and which the owner can not break the contract. (the tenant can break it unwillingly by failing to pay rent of course). There's a small exception for when there is a bigger interest, for example, if you rent a flat, and the entire building is scheduled to be demolished. But still the owner is then obligated to either compensate you or find you a new comparable home. It is also not allowed to increase the rent more than some number having to do with the inflation rate (I believe it's 2-5% per year). I know a person who lives in the 'Oud-West' district of Amsterdam for 500 euro per month, just because he started renting over 30 years ago. The owner has offered him thousands just to move out so he can rent the place out for the ~2000/m that location usually fetches.

by tinco 13y ago

druiid 13y ago

Sadly many homeowners in the US look down upon renters. I have personally encountered this at least a couple times in my life. Generally it comes with situations where a neighborhood sees a mix of homeowners and renters, which is generally things like town-home or condominium developments. I even once had a shouting match with an 'owner' which ended with them saying I didn't deserve to live their because they were an owner and I was 'just a renter' (Note: I was in the right in this argument).

boon 13y ago
Most of the owners of rental property I know are usually very happy with, and encouraging of, the renters of their units. One of the issues with renting is that you DO end up paying for the owners property taxes, not directly, but it is factored into the cost of running the rental. If the local government decides to increase property taxes, or housing appraisals increase in the area, then rent may increase. This is often seen as "bad" by the renters, but really there is nothing an owner can do about it.

boon 13y ago

"I don't know if this is an American thing or not, but to a Dutch person this remark is rather revolting. In The Netherlands, if you pay for your home it is your right to live there, regardless of how you finance it. Home owners are not somehow more privileged than renters are." Can you elaborate on this more? Does a tenant have the right to force an owner to extend a lease, perhaps? From my experience, an owner does have more rights to the property and its use, purely because they are the owner. If a lease ends, they can increase the lease payment[1], and if the current tenant cannot afford it, they have to move. Is this not how it works in your country? [1] Many (most?) places here do have a limit on how fast you can increase rent prices to help alleviate the problem of kicking someone out by pricing the unit out of their reach all of the sudden.

tinco 13y ago
> Can you elaborate on this more? Does a tenant have the right to force an owner to extend a lease, perhaps? What is a lease? In The Netherlands a tenant has a rent contract with the owner, which by law may not be restricted in term, and which the owner can not break the contract. (the tenant can break it unwillingly by failing to pay rent of course). There's a small exception for when there is a bigger interest, for example, if you rent a flat, and the entire building is scheduled to be demolished. But still the owner is then obligated to either compensate you or find you a new comparable home. It is also not allowed to increase the rent more than some number having to do with the inflation rate (I believe it's 2-5% per year). I know a person who lives in the 'Oud-West' district of Amsterdam for 500 euro per month, just because he started renting over 30 years ago. The owner has offered him thousands just to move out so he can rent the place out for the ~2000/m that location usually fetches.