- Joined
- Mar 9, 2017
- Messages
- 22,396
- Reaction score
- 13,835
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Progressive
We refinanced when the pandemic brought mortgage rates here down to around 2.5%. We locked that in but due to the increase in the value of the property, we have to pay more for insurance. We also went ahead and added extra to our payment to go towards principle so we pay the same or right around it but hopefully will be paid off sooner.
Our taxes went up too.Interesting, your insurance went up... we haven't had that happen yet, outside of the usual early increase. We have an epic insurance company though... we had a fire the first year we lived here, had around 75k worth of damages. Not only did the insurance not go up, they waived the deductible and suggested work that wasn't related to the fire. We'll never leave them... hehe
Taxes going up is my concern. We pay a crazy amount of property tax, more than they pay in the city, and there's a subdivision coming to the land behind us (a true heart breaker, what's there now is a mini horse sanctuary, our view is going to change drastically, my wife insisted we install a cedar hedge in protest.... lol) that will no doubt drive up our taxes, and that one that's going to sting.
The biggest single issue driving up the costs of mortgages is not the corporations buying up homes. They are just taking advantage. The real issue is the same that led to the mortgage market crisis in 2006, when they pushed banks and mortgage companies to provide loans to low income families who did not qualify on credit ratings and points. Those loans were guaranteed by quasi government mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Too many of those loans went south That is where the inflated prices came from. As for high rent prices, you can blame well intentioned but misguided rent control laws in many areas in the 1970s on. The landlords with the monopolies simply request approval for raising the rent on a regular basis and have enough politicians in their pockets to get the raises approved. Same actually occurs with Obamacare.This is a huge problem and 1 reason why the cost to rent or get a mortgage is basically the same today. Foreigners (mainly from China) and Corporations buying up homes and now even trailer parks and letting them (often) sit empty, or do a major renovation to them which drives up rents for everyone where now in America, the average rent for apartments is around 1500 per month. This includes 2 plus bedrooms but still.
Is there no crackdown because they know that if Corporations were officially banned from buying more than a few houses they would just find say some guy, to buy it for the corporation instead?
Rents spike as large corporate investors buy mobile home parks
The parks, which for decades were mostly owned and operated like small businesses, have proven an attractive investment for private equity firms and large real estate companies.www.pbs.org
It costs us less to stay in our current home than it would to move. We are happy with where we live and we like our home, though we would like something smaller.
This isn’t even civilized. I mean again, 10 years from now the average rent could be 3k if things continue at this pace and 1/4 of American Metro Areas will have average home prices of over 1 million
Foreigners and Corporations buying up houses is a major reason why this is happening,
It's in Los Angeles.
Ha Ha I don't think it's just "older" politicians. Our system is corrupted with corporate money and it affects politicians of all ages. In our system politicians need money to run and get re-elected. Guess who has the deepest pockets?As with a lot of things, Them political contributions grease the Screw-Us wheels.
As I preach> Many older people in politics have this thought> "What the hell, by the time that the rubes catch on, I'll be long gone or dead"
Stop electing older people. Sad but sometimes true. Wish it wasn't.
Let me fix this for you:"Average rent' is meaningless, when you can buy a 1000 square foot home for under $100k in many places.
We actually have the most affordable housing of any wealthy country on earth: Affordable Housing by Country 2024 (worldpopulationreview.com)States in America are passing bills to ban foreigners buying land: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/03/state-laws-china-land-buying-00150030
Most notably Texas.
They ban foreign land ownership in China and India, you can't run a business either. While I think that's going too far, it does prevent predatory multinational corps from buying up loads of land - which they are doing in America, in some cases buying up masses of water rights too and denying whole towns water. I think a fair balance needs to be struck between preventing predatory multinationals - and billionaires - homegrown and foreign - from buying up too much land, while also not becoming too Communist in approach and preventing foreign land ownership at all.
It's causing a housing crisis. It's not just in America, look at this, a corporate lawyer and junior investment banker can't afford a house in London:
That's ridiculous. If they can't earn enough to afford a house, who can? And the problem is even more acute here in America.
Actually, Pres. Biden has talked about this somewhat, and his Administration is trying to find multiple ways to bring down the cost of housing and rents as this Fact Sheet outlines.I am very surprised that this topic has received so little air time by any major politician.
I see that you are concerned about "Foreigners (mainly from China) and Corporations buying up homes and now even trailer parks" and that is quite understandable.This is a huge problem and 1 reason why the cost to rent or get a mortgage is basically the same today. Foreigners (mainly from China) and Corporations buying up homes and now even trailer parks and letting them (often) sit empty, or do a major renovation to them which drives up rents for everyone where now in America, the average rent for apartments is around 1500 per month. This includes 2 plus bedrooms but still.
Is there no crackdown because they know that if Corporations were officially banned from buying more than a few houses they would just find say some guy, to buy it for the corporation instead?
Rents spike as large corporate investors buy mobile home parks
The parks, which for decades were mostly owned and operated like small businesses, have proven an attractive investment for private equity firms and large real estate companies.www.pbs.org
Many places? Technically yes, but, they are most likely in Rural America with 35k per year jobs being the norm."Average rent' is meaningless, when you can buy a 1000 square foot home for under $100k in many places.
Ha Ha I don't think it's just "older" politicians. Our system is corrupted with corporate money and it affects politicians of all ages. In our system politicians need money to run and get re-elected. Guess who has the deepest pockets?
Got an axe to grinds against us older folks?
We actually have the most affordable housing of any wealthy country on earth: Affordable Housing by Country 2024 (worldpopulationreview.com)
Countries where housing is the hardest to afford include Australia, Canada, the United States, China, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
If you look at the link, the United States is more affordable than any Western or Northern European country, Canada, Australia, Japan, or South Korea. Of our actual peer nations, we have the most affordable housing.Your own link says, and I quote:
Your own link says that Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE etc have the most affordable housing on earth.
I guess as a percentage of the skewed incomes there, but that doesn't show anything when there's millions of (largely undocumented) slave labour some of whom have their passports confiscated in those countries - and again your own link says those countries' housing is more affordable than in the USA.
Well that was a completely ridiculous assertion given I pointed out they confiscate people's passports and use slave labor.If you look at the link, the United States is more affordable than any Western or Northern European country, Canada, Australia, Japan, or South Korea. Of our actual peer nations, we have the most affordable housing.
If you would rather live in a totalitarian country like Saudi Arabia just so you can get subsidized housing, then go ahead.
If they don't care who comes across the border, why would they care about who buys our land?
The biggest single issue driving up the costs of mortgages is not the corporations buying up homes. They are just taking advantage. The real issue is the same that led to the mortgage market crisis in 2006, when they pushed banks and mortgage companies to provide loans to low income families who did not qualify on credit ratings and points. Those loans were guaranteed by quasi government mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Too many of those loans went south That is where the inflated prices came from. As for high rent prices, you can blame well intentioned but misguided rent control laws in many areas in the 1970s on. The landlords with the monopolies simply request approval for raising the rent on a regular basis and have enough politicians in their pockets to get the raises approved. Same actually occurs with Obamacare.
The industry wants Federal Housing Administration financing made available to residents, many of whom rely on high-interest loans to purchase homes that cost on average $81,900. They also want the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to allow housing vouchers to be used for mobile homes.
The guy posting who said "Makes perfect sense to a Democrat: import more poor people who’ll make demands on public services, while kicking wealthy foreigners who want to invest their money in this country and pay taxes in the teeth." doesn't even realise it's Red States who are banning wealthy foreigners from buying land.This issue goes beyond Democrat and Republican in the USA - it's a problem for ordinary house buyers nearly everywhere in the Western democracies and especially in the UK.
Salaries have not kept up with house prices and in our major cities / capitals many newly built housing developments and apartments are snapped up by faceless buyers who can afford the ridiculous prices who then pass on astronomic rent charges to workers trying to make a living.
Exactly. And what do the morons supporting federal subsidies for REITs and LLCs so they can buy mobile home parks want? More subsidies, this time for the old folks living on fixed incomes who want to buy their homes and live in them on rented lots in those parks:
Rents spike as large corporate investors buy mobile home parks
The parks, which for decades were mostly owned and operated like small businesses, have proven an attractive investment for private equity firms and large real estate companies.www.pbs.org
There is a pattern here. Pretty much everything the federal government subsidizes is more expensive than it would be without the subsidies, whether it be the cost of housing, a college education, medical care, food, or EVs. Notice that Tesla slashed prices for its EVs and reduced its 40%-plus margins on them after federal tax credits for its vehicles ran out. Why are taxpayers now subsidizing expensive electric Beemers and Volkswagens instead? It’s a stupid policy.
This is a silly argument. The link showed that people in the US pay, per-median income a significantly lower percentage of their income for housing than in any other wealthy country, other than some of the gulf states. I pointed that out, because you claimed it was worse here than in other countries.Well that was a completely ridiculous assertion given I pointed out they confiscate people's passports and use slave labor.
You obviously didn't read your own link or your own post, where you said "We actually have the most affordable housing of any wealthy country on earth".
Wealthy countries include Saudi Arabia etc, so you were flat-out wrong weren't you? Now you seek to shift goalposts and double down with some ridiculous "why don't you move there if you like it so much?" rhetoric when I specifically critiqued Saudi Arabia.
I can see debate is not wasted on you..
PS: Try doing it per capita, you might find the USA has less affordable housing per person than many Euro countries with much smaller population ( = more affordable housing per person instead of using totals).
This issue goes beyond Democrat and Republican in the USA - it's a problem for ordinary house buyers nearly everywhere in the Western democracies and especially in the UK.
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