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jttIII t1_ivf32kv wrote

Reply to comment by Anima_EB in Springfield renters and landlords, what are your thoughts/opinions on how so many landlords/rental companies want potential tenants to have income that is equivalent to 3x monthly rent? by Snoo_84090

Are you saying Profit itself is immoral or are you saying that the amount of profit pulled in on average from the average landlord/tenant relationship is immoral?

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Kabosh668 t1_ivf9szm wrote

profiting off basic human needs always seemed immoral to me

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Anima_EB t1_ivfd56p wrote

As Kabosh said. I don't believe things such as farming to be amoral or anything. Farming is very hard work and very very rarely are they taking advantage of people's needs. Landlording however is easier than ever with the constant usage of property managers etc. Buying tons of land from out of state or country just to profit off the local of wherever your property resides. Driving prices upwards to the point of being unachievable for many.

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jttIII t1_ivftk0b wrote

and this is a good faith question, Why should I NOT take a profit if I am taking on all the risk of buying a property and filling it with someone who doesn't have the risk associated with owning a housing asset?

I mean a fair amount of people rent as a stepping stone to ownership but many rent precisely because they don't want to assume the risks and responsibilities associated with home ownership.

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Anima_EB t1_ivgcqgk wrote

I understand. From a practical stand point that's the only reason to invest, with any investment comes an amount of risk. It's not that I want people to pay the way for others, I work 60 hours a week and have two skill sets. I also own my own home, but when your profit is levied against the lives of your neighbors it's not super cool. If neighbor Joe is having extreme hardship you have to choose between your investment or helping your fellow man.

Some people choose to help Joe. But overall the perspective is "nothing personal it's just business." To Joe it's his life and very personal. I also accept some people choose to rent. I purposefully included "90% of landlords." It's inevitable some of them provide a service to that small subsection of people who want to rent or choose to help Joe. But as you stated the vast majority of people want to own.

Foreign and local investors swooping in and buying properties for 70k over asking price skews the market constantly. Many millennial and those of younger generation are going to have a steeper incline to climb to get to the same spot as somebody who was in a position to invest in bloodsucking at an earlier time.

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jttIII t1_ivgf70m wrote

First and foremost, I'll lay my ignorance on the table as I'm nothing more than an armchair economist... more educated than most on the subject but nowhere near an expert.

You'll also get little argument from me that large foreign ownership of US properties presents a whole host of challenges from a market security and even national security lens... IE if I was China and wanted to play the long game and had the capital I'd absolutely inflate the assets that are housing then attack currency to create a recession where people lose jobs and cant pay for the inflated asset then cascading to a depression. tin foil hat...

I genuinely do feel for people who are stuck renting. I bought in 2014 and my mortgage today on a 3 br 2 ba house couldn't pay for an unfurnished studio in most cases.

So what's your suggestion?

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Anima_EB t1_ivhz11i wrote

I wouldn't be surprised China would be doing things like this. Especially given the financial situation between the U.S and China at the moment. They've also admitted to taking their salami slicing warfare tactic to the extreme in this way. Confucius Academys in college were under attack (still are and rightfully so) for spreading Chinese propaganda under the guise of raising awareness of their culture.

Anyway sorry for ranting. I'm not actually seeing a question in your response. What would my suggestion be to invest in outside of real estate?

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jttIII t1_ivi2hlc wrote

What would your suggestion be in regards to the tension currently between pragmatic landlords who had the capital and risk tolerance to buy real estate and rent their properties for what the market will bear and their prospective tenants that you believe are being overpriced?

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