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QueenOfQuok t1_j2nbgpc wrote

Vermont needs to severely restrict or completely ban Airbnb

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foxinHI t1_j2nicgt wrote

This is a great point that really needs to be taken more seriously and it goes way beyond just Airbnbs and VT. What needs to be strictly regulated is rich people and private businesses buying up all the single family homes at a premium (so no one can compete with them) then renting them back to the would-be homeowners and Airbnbers at inflated prices. It's not just VT either. It's the whole fucking country minus the shitty places no one wants to live in anyway.

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Cormyll666 t1_j2nokp1 wrote

This this this this. It’s not just VT it’s everywhere. Venture capital buying up single family homes should terrify every American.

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captainogbleedmore t1_j2o42b8 wrote

Start making second home owners pay for education taxes on their property tax bill. This will fix a couple of issues.

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bluecoffee22 t1_j2odqpp wrote

School taxes are paid regardless of occupancy in VT just an FYI.

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captainogbleedmore t1_j2ofwhv wrote

Is it the municipal that they don't pay then? The point regardless is if they paid a full tax bill then they might not be able to afford all the properties they are buying.

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[deleted] OP t1_j2qc03q wrote

As much as I want to see AirBnB collapse, I’m not sure that would solve the problem at this point. AirBnB is a criminal enterprise at its core. They will just “innovate” around the regulations or bans, and create a black market for short term rentals. This has played out across the world with this organized crime group and its local syndicates. Stop thinking of them like a company, and start thinking of them like a mafia. Real estate has always been a mafia favorite, after all.

You don’t solve a mafia problem by banning the product they’re pushing, or playing whack a mole with the groups. You solve it by beating them at their own game, or destroying their market for harmful goods.

The carrot: flood the market with higher quality goods at a lower price that only the government can provide, and the mafia goes away. Provide a public option for housing.

The stick: Restrict the number of homes one person can own. Make property taxes punitive for property hoarders, so they could never possibly be profitable. I think a 15% annual tax on homes that aren’t primary residences sounds right to me.

I’d also really like to see a government agency crawl so far up the asses of these AirBnB owners and find all the mortgage fraud, code violations, PPP fraud, and tax fraud that’s undoubtedly lurking below the surface. Bury them in audits and inspections, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. None of these people are innocent. Give me a man and I’ll find the crime. Then use those convictions to build a RICO case against the head of the beast. Scorch Airbnb and salt the earth so VRBO can’t grow from the ashes.

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