71–80 of 216 posts
....well when I say lived there, my grandparents were caretakers so they lived in the basement.
This was back in the 1960s mind, but even back then Belgravia was an extremely affluent area, with Lords, major industrialists etc living there.
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This is why it should go viral. Wealthy individuals/ buying houses in droves to sit empty does not benefit anyone in the long run. What happens when the bubble pops?
What happens until the bubble pops I think is the question. To quote the OA... "In the evenings an eerie stillness settles on [the area]. That’s because these new owners are so rich in both money and global property that their London addresses frequently sit empty, functioning more as dust-sheeted deposit boxes rather than actual homes." This is not why we have cities. We have cities to allow interaction. Look where…
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They don't want to make a few percent on their capital?
They probably don't want any more of a paper trail leading back to them than they have to.
How exactly do they pay utilities/etc without anyone noticing their transfers? But I don't believe they are successfully hiding anything in any case, governments want everyone to be guilty of something so they can achieve whatever political outcome they need through selective enforcement.
I walked from Kings Cross to Marylebone at dusk recently - half way, I took the road up from the main Euston Road - walking through mostly residential - barely an apartment window with a light on - it's just money parked in property - the parks don't have kids playing in them any more The recent Vancouver tax changes have worked, I suspect/hope we'll start seeing that repeated in every city thats had it's life sucked…
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This is why it should go viral. Wealthy individuals/ buying houses in droves to sit empty does not benefit anyone in the long run. What happens when the bubble pops?
I think they should be allowed to buy the homes, but then face stiff property taxes (with a homestead exemption for actual residents). The property taxes on Billionaire's Row in NYC are often absurdly low: http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/05/why-billionaires-dont...
The whole tax penalty is thwarted that way
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Not sure if you are being sarcastic. The buyers driving up prices don't live in London. From the article: "Today, 60 percent of properties for sale in this part of London go to international buyers."
Can't we solve this problem with virtualization? Build houses in the middle of nowhere, but assign a central London address.
On a more serious note, maybe banks could offer some sort of investment vehicle made up of homes in a certain area. The homes would then be rented out for revenue, and foreign buyers could have an equivalent financial position without driving away actual residents.
What bothers me is that price rises but those are the same crappy apartments. When a flat costs millions I'd expect it to be absolute marvel of modern technology.
So, if you find some property in downtown London that just has a crappy shack on it, it'll still be highly valuable just because of the location. A wealthy buyer can purchase it, then raze the shack and build something better there.
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I think his point is that if commutes were quicker then regular people could move away from the city but still work there. Billionaires could still sell real estate to each other then without hurting lower incomes.
I like living in the city. I would prefer to live in one. Denver housing isn't so crazy yet that I can't afford to live here, but it's pretty close. I make a pretty damn good salary and would struggle finding a house that doesn't require significant rennovation in the city. Yes, I could move to suburbia - I could commute slightly further, etc, etc. I would prefer not to. I would prefer that my neighbors are people an…
I'd bet once a decent public transportation system is inline, the termination points of the larger trains will become as much city-like as the center, but much more affordable.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is why it should go viral. Wealthy individuals/ buying houses in droves to sit empty does not benefit anyone in the long run. What happens when the bubble pops?
What happens until the bubble pops I think is the question. To quote the OA... "In the evenings an eerie stillness settles on [the area]. That’s because these new owners are so rich in both money and global property that their London addresses frequently sit empty, functioning more as dust-sheeted deposit boxes rather than actual homes." This is not why we have cities. We have cities to allow interaction. Look where…
I'm going to throw out Nashville as a thought for musicians, and maybe Pittsburgh for tinkerers.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What happens until the bubble pops I think is the question. To quote the OA... "In the evenings an eerie stillness settles on [the area]. That’s because these new owners are so rich in both money and global property that their London addresses frequently sit empty, functioning more as dust-sheeted deposit boxes rather than actual homes." This is not why we have cities. We have cities to allow interaction. Look where…
Where is it today? I hear Liverpool is having a bit of a renaissance.