Like imagine a group of a few wealthy people buying a town’s supply of food then selling it back to the hungry residents at a 300% markup.
Okay, that’s clearly exploitative and unethical, but that’s not inherently what landlords do. Anyone who sells products or services can do it in a way that’s fair or is unfair. The mere act of selling something itself isn’t unethical. Look at the conversations we have about drug companies. I don’t think anyone argues that drug companies shouldn’t be able to sell medication, or even make some profit for their research investments. The problem is when they price their drugs way above what’s reasonable just because they know people are going to have to pay it.
Renting out a house isn’t different from renting out anything else. You go on vacation and you need a car while there, but you don’t want to buy one for a short time, so you rent one. The rental agency used their money to buy the car, then they rent it to you for something you’re willing to pay for a week, and they make a profit from all the people who rent the car over its life. You both win. Why is it any different with a house?
The problem is when they price their drugs way above what’s reasonable just because they know people are going to have to pay it.
This is exactly the problem with landlords. The argument for landlords being that some people can’t afford to own a home becomes a bit moot when landlords buy up all the houses and rent them back at unaffordable prices.
Why is it any different with a house?
Because you rent a car for, like you said, a vacation. That’s like renting a hotel room. You rent a home to live in. If you could afford a mortgage, you’d buy a home. But landlords basically go “hey, the bank doesn’t think you make enough money to make regular payments, so make those payments to me instead.”
This is exactly the problem with landlords. The argument for landlords being that some people can’t afford to own a home becomes a bit moot when landlords buy up all the houses and rent them back at unaffordable prices.
72.5% of single-unit rental properties are owned by individuals, while 69.5% of properties with 25 or more units are owned by for-profit businesses.
I don’t mean to minimize it as a problem - it’s a big one - but the vast majority of rental house landlords aren’t big corporations buying up all the available places and jacking up prices, it’s individual’s who decided to rent their place out instead of selling it.
The problem most people have is their credit, not the mortgage payments. Both my mortgages (I’m not a landlord, but I do airbnb 3 months out of the year) are $1500/month, and most people pay that and more just for rent.
Nevermind the fact that some people are eligible to buy a home, but think they won’t qualify so they dont try. I was in that group with a credit score of 680, which is acceptable for the first time home owners program. I was accepted, and now I own 2 homes.
I guess we just disagree. I’ve said why I think they can be providing a useful service and create a win/win situation, but you don’t see it that way. Good discussing with you.
By this reasoning, farming for anyone other than yourself is also inherently immoral.
Farmers exploit someone’s basic need for food for massive profit, keeping people trapped in the rental cycle as they are having to pay for food from the farmer to pay their business loan for them and so is much harder to save for their own farm.
I was just going to have a discussion about housing, but something in what you said made me curious about something else- Hopefully this isn’t too personal of a question, but do you make many friends with that sort of approach to conversation?
That’s what I’m not seeing. Can you explain what makes it inherently immortal?
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Okay, that’s clearly exploitative and unethical, but that’s not inherently what landlords do. Anyone who sells products or services can do it in a way that’s fair or is unfair. The mere act of selling something itself isn’t unethical. Look at the conversations we have about drug companies. I don’t think anyone argues that drug companies shouldn’t be able to sell medication, or even make some profit for their research investments. The problem is when they price their drugs way above what’s reasonable just because they know people are going to have to pay it.
Renting out a house isn’t different from renting out anything else. You go on vacation and you need a car while there, but you don’t want to buy one for a short time, so you rent one. The rental agency used their money to buy the car, then they rent it to you for something you’re willing to pay for a week, and they make a profit from all the people who rent the car over its life. You both win. Why is it any different with a house?
This is exactly the problem with landlords. The argument for landlords being that some people can’t afford to own a home becomes a bit moot when landlords buy up all the houses and rent them back at unaffordable prices.
Because you rent a car for, like you said, a vacation. That’s like renting a hotel room. You rent a home to live in. If you could afford a mortgage, you’d buy a home. But landlords basically go “hey, the bank doesn’t think you make enough money to make regular payments, so make those payments to me instead.”
You make it sound like that’s the normal case, but it’s just not so. Here’s a Pew research article.
I don’t mean to minimize it as a problem - it’s a big one - but the vast majority of rental house landlords aren’t big corporations buying up all the available places and jacking up prices, it’s individual’s who decided to rent their place out instead of selling it.
The problem most people have is their credit, not the mortgage payments. Both my mortgages (I’m not a landlord, but I do airbnb 3 months out of the year) are $1500/month, and most people pay that and more just for rent.
Nevermind the fact that some people are eligible to buy a home, but think they won’t qualify so they dont try. I was in that group with a credit score of 680, which is acceptable for the first time home owners program. I was accepted, and now I own 2 homes.
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I guess we just disagree. I’ve said why I think they can be providing a useful service and create a win/win situation, but you don’t see it that way. Good discussing with you.
By this reasoning, farming for anyone other than yourself is also inherently immoral.
Farmers exploit someone’s basic need for food for massive profit, keeping people trapped in the rental cycle as they are having to pay for food from the farmer to pay their business loan for them and so is much harder to save for their own farm.
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I was just going to have a discussion about housing, but something in what you said made me curious about something else- Hopefully this isn’t too personal of a question, but do you make many friends with that sort of approach to conversation?
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