Live data from Hacker News

Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

wired.com

31–40 of 72 posts

Re: Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

#31
post #17

> Now, Colossal Order says, it will be based on a household’s income: “Even if they currently don’t have enough money in their balance to pay rent, they won’t complain and will instead spend less money on resource consumption.” Good idea, negative reward for increased income. Sounds like a socialist utopia. I believe a better option would be to remove mortgages. I have a few reasons for this: 1. Houses are priced bas…

Mortgages are useful even if you don’t repay them. The mortgage gets settled upon death. And while alive it allows the lendee cash flow to live in a home.

It effectively becomes a shifted rent payment where instead of landlords, the person owns the house and services the interest.

I prefer this over the cash house method or just perpetual renting.

Mortgages are what allow the “middle class” to own homes, and not just royalty or rich.

Re: Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

#32
post #17

> Now, Colossal Order says, it will be based on a household’s income: “Even if they currently don’t have enough money in their balance to pay rent, they won’t complain and will instead spend less money on resource consumption.” Good idea, negative reward for increased income. Sounds like a socialist utopia. I believe a better option would be to remove mortgages. I have a few reasons for this: 1. Houses are priced bas…

> It doesn't add up. It adds up when you realise that the number of people entering the country (by birth or net legal/illegal immigration or asylum) is far higher than the number of new homes being built.

It's not working even where this is not true.

Re: Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

#33

Russia does not have landlords (as a medium business). Virtually all apartments available for rent belong to moms and pops who happen to have a surplus so they're renting out. They usually have just one property which they rent out. Add to that retirees who lend out their 2nd apartment to live off it. The prices aren't exactly low but the market is pretty durable as the result. Lots of offerings at any moment at comp…

What definition of landlord excludes people renting out surplus apartments?

None.

That’s the problem though because there is a meaningful distinction to be made between landlords renting out surplus space in their primary dwelling, and landlords who own dozens or more of properties which they rent out. Based on context I assume they were using the word landlord to exclusively refer to the latter, even though both groups would generally be called “landlords”.

Re: Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

#34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that there are a not insignificant number of people comparing this game to the real world suggests that basic economic education is severely lacking. There's actually this great book called Basic Economics, for those interested.

> The fact that there are a not insignificant number of people comparing this game to the real world suggests that basic economic education is severely lacking. Landlords aren't needed for a society to work. A lot of Eastern European countries have home-ownership rates way beyond 90% [1] - that allows the economies of these countries to be able to undercut Western European countries on wages despite everyday cost of…

Even large cities in Eastern Europe have shrinking or stagnant populations. I hear housing in West Virginia is pretty affordable as well.

Re: Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

#35
post #25

Russia does not have landlords (as a medium business). Virtually all apartments available for rent belong to moms and pops who happen to have a surplus so they're renting out. They usually have just one property which they rent out. Add to that retirees who lend out their 2nd apartment to live off it. The prices aren't exactly low but the market is pretty durable as the result. Lots of offerings at any moment at comp…

How is "person with a surplus who is renting out their 2nd/3rd apartment" anything other than a landlord?

They probably use the term "landlord" to refer to professional full-time landlords, sort of like how you wouldn't call a person a "carpenter" just because they made a table or a chair in their spare time (though personally, I wouldn't object to that person choosing to call themselves a carpenter.)

The person with one spare home that's renting it out is likely doing it as supplementary income, or might not even be turning a profit on it. They're basically just preventing the home from sitting empty, to try and get value out of it.

Naturally the renter would call them both landlords, but from personal experience the renting experience is also very different when you're renting somebody's second home vs when you're renting from a big corporation.

Re: Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact that there are a not insignificant number of people comparing this game to the real world suggests that basic economic education is severely lacking. Landlords aren't needed for a society to work. A lot of Eastern European countries have home-ownership rates way beyond 90% [1] - that allows the economies of these countries to be able to undercut Western European countries on wages despite everyday cost of…

The reason for this could be a lack of people coming into the country that need a home. If the number of people entering a country is minimal, the demand won't go up, and almost everyone can afford a home. If there are far more people entering then homes get chopped up into apartments and each rented out for the same price the whole house would've been rented for a few years ago. Landlords in this situation are just…

I’d have thought the pressure of immigration on housing needs is lower than the pressure of centralized wealth creation? I have no sources just an intuition. London and Amsterdam are a good example of this

Re: Cities: Skylines II Found a Solution for High Rents: Get Rid of Landlords

#39
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No but a decent solution would be to regulate landlords. Of course any blue blooded american will cringe at the R-word.

Really? Isn't it the republicans who are vehemently against regulation and not the democrats?

Looking outside in (from the EU), even the democrats are quite a bit further to the right than even some of the parties we label as "radical right" over here. Even Bernie Saunders (the most left-wing democrat I can think of off the top of my head) had standpoints on things like gun control and universal healthcare that would never fly here.
Post reply on HN