What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks • Hacker News Board

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#21

Post by dylan604 » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:18 PM UTC

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #16

Shacklz wrote: post #14

The US are such a weird country... on one hand, Silicon valley et al, producing the coolest tech & the shiniest toys, and on the other hand... people who can only afford to live in trailer parks, even with a full time job. It never ceases to amaze & depress me simultaneously.

It's the same reason those same Silicon Valley companies hire security guard companies at $15/hr and have the security guards take the food to the dumpster, and lock it. That security guy probably could use that food more than the dumpster.

At $15/hour, that security guard is probably close to double the income people living in trailer parks earn.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#22

Post by FooHentai » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:18 PM UTC

black_puppydog wrote: post #10

> The financial industry[...] is undermining one of the country’s largest sources of affordable housing. 1. Yeah, I made an opinionated omission there. Sue me :D 2. That last part (the country’s largest sources of affordable housing) is even more damning than the rest. :( In a country that big, and that rich, with a frontier ethos like that, how the f*k does anyone think this is acceptable?

Acceptable that trailer parks are the country's most affordable housing, or that it's being allowed to be squeezed for profit?

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#23

Post by CalRobert » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:19 PM UTC

black_puppydog wrote: post #10

> The financial industry[...] is undermining one of the country’s largest sources of affordable housing. 1. Yeah, I made an opinionated omission there. Sue me :D 2. That last part (the country’s largest sources of affordable housing) is even more damning than the rest. :( In a country that big, and that rich, with a frontier ethos like that, how the f*k does anyone think this is acceptable?

Building a basic house is pretty simple. Larry Haun put out a great book with Habitat for Humanity to do it for about $40,000, and irishvernacular.com/ outlines how to do it for €25,000. But we induce scarcity in the housing market because if everyone had a comfortable, decent home, they might not work so hard, would they? Imagine how much less value would be created for assetholders, how much less stuff we would make, if families felt free to survive on one income.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#24

Post by matheusmoreira » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:19 PM UTC

zionic wrote: post #8

stormqloud wrote: post #2

Who knew "own nothing and be happy" involved crushing rental fees to wall street.

They said you will own nothing, not them. They also said "and you will be happy", which was an order.

At some point revolution will probably become inevitable.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#25

Post by WrtCdEvrydy » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:21 PM UTC

dylan604 wrote: post #21

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the same reason those same Silicon Valley companies hire security guard companies at $15/hr and have the security guards take the food to the dumpster, and lock it. That security guy probably could use that food more than the dumpster.

At $15/hour, that security guard is probably close to double the income people living in trailer parks earn.

Adjusted for cost of living, that security guard is poorer than the person living in a trailer park or very close to it.

There's been a large rise in people living in campers in California due to high rents.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#26

Post by CalRobert » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:21 PM UTC

BitwiseFool wrote: post #12

How can individuals compete against institutional money? Housing prices are skyrocketing in my area and there are stories on the news about investment firms buying up homes and putting them up for rent. What's to stop these well financed institutions from buying up more and more real estate and forcing more people into renting?

The removal of rules making it impossible to create more housing would be a start.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#27

Post by knowaveragejoe » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:22 PM UTC

BitwiseFool wrote: post #12

How can individuals compete against institutional money? Housing prices are skyrocketing in my area and there are stories on the news about investment firms buying up homes and putting them up for rent. What's to stop these well financed institutions from buying up more and more real estate and forcing more people into renting?

Localities can fight back by reforming zoning laws & applying land value taxes instead of property taxes.

In many areas of the country it is illegal to build anything but a single-family home. To people familiar with supply & demand this should be an obvious problem.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#28

Post by quickthrowman » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:22 PM UTC

CalRobert wrote: post #23

black_puppydog wrote: post #10

> The financial industry[...] is undermining one of the country’s largest sources of affordable housing. 1. Yeah, I made an opinionated omission there. Sue me :D 2. That last part (the country’s largest sources of affordable housing) is even more damning than the rest. :( In a country that big, and that rich, with a frontier ethos like that, how the f*k does anyone think this is acceptable?

Building a basic house is pretty simple. Larry Haun put out a great book with Habitat for Humanity to do it for about $40,000, and irishvernacular.com/ outlines how to do it for €25,000. But we induce scarcity in the housing market because if everyone had a comfortable, decent home, they might not work so hard, would they? Imagine how much less value would be created for assetholders, how much less stuff we would mak…

> Building a basic house is pretty simple. Larry Haun put out a great book with Habitat for Humanity to do it for about $40,000

Sure, if you have free labor. I’d guess 99%+ of houses were built by a paid crew, so uh, it does not cost just 40k for a house. It costs $200/sq ft to build a house (in a midsize metro area of 3 million), without buying land.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#29

Post by fiftyfifty » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:22 PM UTC

CalRobert wrote: post #23

black_puppydog wrote: post #10

> The financial industry[...] is undermining one of the country’s largest sources of affordable housing. 1. Yeah, I made an opinionated omission there. Sue me :D 2. That last part (the country’s largest sources of affordable housing) is even more damning than the rest. :( In a country that big, and that rich, with a frontier ethos like that, how the f*k does anyone think this is acceptable?

Building a basic house is pretty simple. Larry Haun put out a great book with Habitat for Humanity to do it for about $40,000, and irishvernacular.com/ outlines how to do it for €25,000. But we induce scarcity in the housing market because if everyone had a comfortable, decent home, they might not work so hard, would they? Imagine how much less value would be created for assetholders, how much less stuff we would mak…

Well there's the cost of the land the house is sitting on, in many places with a high cost of living the land is the scarce part.

Re: What happens when investment firms acquire trailer parks

#30

Post by starpilot » Tue, Mar 09, 2021, 9:22 PM UTC

markbnj wrote: post #20

Shacklz wrote: post #14

The US are such a weird country... on one hand, Silicon valley et al, producing the coolest tech & the shiniest toys, and on the other hand... people who can only afford to live in trailer parks, even with a full time job. It never ceases to amaze & depress me simultaneously.

For what it's worth my in-laws specifically chose to buy a second home in a mobile home park. I don't know all their reasons but the low cost of the land was part of it. I've seen their "trailer" and it's quite nice, so I wouldn't necessarily assume everyone who lives in one of these places does so out of desperation or lack of choices. People have different needs and wants.

A lot of the California ones are pretty decent. I dated a girl who lived in one. I also stayed in an Airbnb that was in one. The owner, who lived there, was a woman with a Stanford degree. They're cheap and reasonable places to live with a lot of stigma. The ones I saw around me growing up in Virginia were... shitty.