Earlier quoted context omitted.
The government could build affordable housing and rent it out at a reasonable price. "Council houses" as they are called in the UK are built very well. They are often ugly, but I'm sure that these days they can be built well, cheaply and made to look OK.
When I visited a friend in England I accidentally stayed at a council estate that someone put up on AirBNB illegally. While it wasn't a slum, it definitely wasn't "just OK". I suspect the reason why that particular unit didn't look like a slum is because the owners were renting it out and doing their best to keep it nice. Not a single bit of that place was built well. Maybe it was cheap. Looked OK from the outside bu…
Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
411–420 of 595 posts
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#412Earlier quoted context omitted.
What counts as a handout these days? A tech job that pays $50k-$100k over productivity? ("The company has been losing money since its founding, but we need a rockstar engineer so we can survive long enough to get bought by Facebook.") I'm not sure we have any idea of the real value of things these days, including what work is worth. Credit has distorted the system; just because someone who is work full-time (however…
That is actually the literal definition of a handout.
It's not charity, it's account-settling.
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#413Earlier quoted context omitted.
Daily deaths are decreasing while daily new cases are increasing. The areas where most of the new cases are being recorded are rapidly changing, and I think a lot of people aren't paying attention to that. In quite a short time, the western European countries are not at the top of the list of countries with the most new cases, and similarly within the US, NY and NJ are behind Texas, California, Illinois, etc. Maybe d…
>Daily deaths are decreasing while daily new cases are increasing. But, as I originally stated, there are a lot more tests being done now, and that could explain why the number of confirmed cases is increasing. Some weeks ago they only tested those requiring hospitalization, and as time went on now anyone can get a test. It would be nice if there were weekly samples of 20k people to serve as a valid week-to-week meas…
Conversely, the places that were hardest hit in the first wave are also having more tests done than previously, and at least before full reopening, are not yet having cases jump up.
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#414Earlier quoted context omitted.
These stories that come out of the woodwork every time tenants are mentioned are why I’ll never be a landlord.
I have one way worse. My Dad rented a couple houses for extra income when I was a kid. One tenant was evicted for reasons I cant remember. To get revenge they spread bird seed or grass seed all over the living room carpet and then turned the sink on and stopped the drain. When my dad came into the house later the seeds has sprouted and were growing out of the wet carpet.
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#415Earlier quoted context omitted.
At the same time maybe it's time for landlords who have been sitting in armchairs swimming in cash to start giving back to the people who haven't been able to afford to live here?
I want to agree but I’m not sure landlords are exactly to blame for high rent. There are many people and players involved-like the willingness of people to pay so much of their income to housing. Part of why you can’t find a better deal is everyone else willing to take the higher price.
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#416Earlier quoted context omitted.
> when things come easy to people I think you have a very misguided idea of what it's like to live in poverty.
I think you have a very misguided idea of what it's like to be a landlord....and perceptions of who/what 'landlords' (a very unfortunate term) are from some tenants... no good deed goes unpunished etc. Plenty of great people around but you have to be very careful who you rent to...
No offense but bullshit.
In my experience most people serve their own interests. Commercial enterprises in fact select for those who serve their own interests over morality because those parties are most likely to succeed.
In America you are lucky if your interests coincide sufficiently with the owner class that you can both get along productively. Expecting beneficence as well is unproductive.
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#417Earlier quoted context omitted.
The largest insurance claim I've had was for a little over $5k for a vehicle repair after collision while avoiding a pedestrian in the street. I'm not sure if you think that's "large" but it was very painless to do IMO.
I wasn't able to collect on insurance for “damage not due to a collision” on my motorcycle when it blew over in strong wind, because the insurance agent said, “There was a collision. When your motorcycle fell over it collided with the ground.”
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#418Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, most of the US is one medical emergency from absolute financial ruin. It's amazing to see how disconnected the economy is from the lived experience of the majority of people.
> Yeah, most of the US is one medical emergency from absolute financial ruin. Most Americans have health insurance of some form.
1. Insurance only pays some fraction of what can be very high bills, and providers notoriously send bill-like invoices trying to get you to pay for things which were paid in full by your insurance company. Many people will be pressured to pay things and uncomfortable standing up to a huge provider’s legal department.
2. Many employers have favored plans which increase deductibles, and the people with the worst plans are also paid the least and so will struggle to have enough cash in reserve for those larger payments.
3. Hospitals commonly have unrelated specialists show up for a couple minutes to add billable consultation hours. If one of those doctors isn’t covered by your plan, you get the bill even if the hospital itself is in network or you were, say, unconscious at the time or unaware that you could turn down their “help”.
4. Insurance is tied to employment: if you have a medical emergency which affects your ability to work, guess what happens to your coverage?
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#419Earlier quoted context omitted.
Litigate against the tenant? You're probably right. But insurance? Maybe.
Every time I see comments like this, and no direct offense intended, It always strikes me as coming from somebody who has never filed large insurance claims before. Been seeing this so much with riots lately, "oh you have insurance right, why you mad about your business getting destroyed?". If only it was that simple.
Re: Millions of Americans skipping payments as wave of defaults and evictions looms
#420Earlier quoted context omitted.
Last time I rented from a private person, they asked me for some basic information. I sent them my last 3 pay stubs and a credit check in a short email. They accepted me on the spot, and said most people can't even manage to write a proper email.
What rental market is this? In big cities where the majority professional class rents competition has been stiff. I had to meet and interview with my last landlord about my career and income.