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My job is to watch dreams die (2011)

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Re: My job is to watch dreams die (2011)

#181

Post by BehindBlueEyes »

hervature wrote: post #104
Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you have some insight over something that's always confused me. During the 2008 crash, I heard of a lot of people seeing their home value plummet, end up underwater on their mortgage, and decide to just abandon it. I've never understood why someone would do that, rather than ride it out and keep paying while the value recovers? I could MAYBE understand going "Nope, I'm out" if you had an adjustable-rate mortgag…

@dreadmorbius already mentioned nonrecourse loans but even recourse loans it should be obvious that if something made your property worth $0 (say Chernobyl real estate) then paying any amount of money to the bank is just a waste. Now, it may not be worth it to declare bankruptcy to absolve yourself of the loan, but the example is meant to illustrate that if the value loss is large enough, the recovery slow compared t…

> if something made your property worth $0 (say Chernobyl real estate) then paying any amount of money to the bank is just a waste.

depends why the value goes down too: chernobyl real estated has a cost on health probably giving it a negative value, whereas if the economic value drops but the place doesn't actually poison you, the house is still the same house to live in. That's not value of 0 regardless what the price tag says.

The problem there is we use housing as an investment which is at odds with basic needs of having a roof over one's head/a safe place to live.

Re: My job is to watch dreams die (2011)

#182

Post by BehindBlueEyes »

jolmg wrote: post #83
coding123 wrote: post #9

There needs to be some standard addendum attached to homes as an option that anyone selling a home can attach to the sale. Something like: This house cannot be used as an investment vehicle. It cannot be sold by a real-estate agent with a contract of more than 1%. It cannot be used as a rental. It cannot be sold for more than inflation would allow. Anyone found violating this addendum may be sued. All proceeds from t…

> It cannot be used as a rental. It's not just the home-buying market where prices are high. It's also the home-rental market. > so that no one has to be homeless anymore. People that can't buy may no longer be able to rent either because of the supply you constrained. Homelessness would probably go up.

Yeah I agree with this.

Rental is not necessarily the problem compared to leaving houses empty because they're worth more as investment than putting in the work to rent them out. And the number of Vacation rentals in my area is a bigger issue than rentals or empty houses. Why house community members for $2000 a month when you can charge that per week to tourists part of the year and make more money, right?

Re: My job is to watch dreams die (2011)

#183

Post by BehindBlueEyes »

pfdietz wrote: post #174
fragmede wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which, like, subsidies for building housing is the way out.

No, just getting rid of obstacles. Zoning is a cancer.

zoning has uses, like avoiding cancer causing industries in the middle of residential areas. It's just used to support housing as an industry. It could be used to increase housing affordability, reduce urban deserts requiring long drives to the nearest grocery stores etc... if it was wanted.

Re: My job is to watch dreams die (2011)

#184

Post by BehindBlueEyes »

coding123 wrote: post #103
coding123 wrote: post #9

There needs to be some standard addendum attached to homes as an option that anyone selling a home can attach to the sale. Something like: This house cannot be used as an investment vehicle. It cannot be sold by a real-estate agent with a contract of more than 1%. It cannot be used as a rental. It cannot be sold for more than inflation would allow. Anyone found violating this addendum may be sued. All proceeds from t…

I love how no one replied to the last sentence, almost like that doesn't matter, the part where you restrict my right to rent matters more than anything.

I don't have a magic bullet solution to what a home renaissance could look like. In some ways it might require re-thinking what home is. Maybe taking inspiration from indigenous long houses with 10 families sharing a space would be a good step forward. It could be more sustainable in terms of energy requirements, solve for some of the loneliness issues that are prevalent nowadays, as just 2 top of mind things.

But our culture is very individualistic and values greed and puts exploitation of others on a pedestal. I don't believe this would really work with the predominant mindset of meritocracy or even be appealing to most as we feel entitled to our own space, ways of doing things, property etc.

We see community and the related obligations as a burden and put the individual at the top. I think changing this would be a preliminary requirement to solving homelessness.

Not that I have thought this through from all angles, but I believe this is a major blocker.

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