Should America regulate investors buying up homes for rentals like they do in Europe?

[American]

Investors in America are buying up almost 30% of our homes and turning them into rentals. Many people are being priced out of buying the American Dream. They claim you can now "rent" the American dream. Do you think this is a good thing, or a bad thing?

Most investors don't even look at the homes they buy, and come in with cash and close in two weeks, very enticing for the sellers. This leaves people looking for a home out of luck if they don't have enormous amount of free cash, and let go of inspections, etc.

I'm unsure how I feel about this. Doesn't seem to be great for Americans, especially those just starting out, but it's really making a few very very rich.

Do you think this is just good ole' American business, or will we be screwed down the pike? Would you sell to an investor because it's such a quick and easy sell?

US market braces for ‘rapid’ rebound of Chinese home purchases in 2022

Chinese demand for US property is growing and expected to expand rapidly throughout 2022, especially if pandemic-related travel restrictions are eased.

www.scmp.com

 

[American]

Oh please…flippers and investors have been around for decades and became more popular with tv shows on every DIY network making it seem “easy”.

No one cried when these people lost their shirts in 2007-2008 when the last housing bubble popped and no one will care when the next one pops.

If you want a house…save up and buy one. No one is guaranteed a 3 bedroom with a picket fence by age 28 or 30 simply because that’s what they want.

If you can’t afford to buy where you WANT to live, then reevaluate.

These investors lay out money and often do a great deal of renovations to property. They aren’t walking in and buying the top of the line houses in a neighborhood, they’re buying the ones that need work. Sometimes a LOT of expensive work.

And if people didn’t buy houses at insane rates or pay insane rents, then houses wouldn’t cost what they do - and rent wouldn’t be as high as it is in some places.

I read an article where the white picket fence house is not longer the real American Dream like it was for my parents and me.

 

[Ginger Ale]

I’ve always thought the solution is to steeply progressively tax rentals. Like the first is regularly taxed, even multi unit. But the next is much more and the third prohibitive and a fourth no profit at all. Or some variant that allows for a retirement income property but discourages corporate ownership.

That's interesting, and would allow small investments without large corps stomping on home ownership or small business.

 

[Ginger Ale]

I read an article where the white picket fence house is not longer the real American Dream like it was for my parents and me.

That's the thing, what's good about America if you can't sell the allure of owning your own little place, and being able to run a business without getting both bought out from under you by those with a ton of foreign investments.

I would think we'd want to protect that dream because we have nothing else to sell America on. We don't run like European countries where you have quality of life benefits, we make our own quality of life. So, it's food for thought for sure.

 

[Ginger Ale]

Oh please…flippers and investors have been around for decades and became more popular with tv shows on every DIY network making it seem “easy”.

No one cried when these people lost their shirts in 2007-2008 when the last housing bubble popped and no one will care when the next one pops.

If you want a house…save up and buy one. No one is guaranteed a 3 bedroom with a picket fence by age 28 or 30 simply because that’s what they want.

If you can’t afford to buy where you WANT to live, then reevaluate.

These investors lay out money and often do a great deal of renovations to property. They aren’t walking in and buying the top of the line houses in a neighborhood, they’re buying the ones that need work. Sometimes a LOT of expensive work.

And if people didn’t buy houses at insane rates or pay insane rents, then houses wouldn’t cost what they do - and rent wouldn’t be as high as it is in some places.

I work with a lot of flippers, and they actually do a lot of good for the neighborhood. But these are really large corps, and foreign investors who are buying up 60 to 70 thousand homes and making them rentals with not even looking at them. They aren't making them better, they're just making money. They're efficient and they will soon price out those small flippers from making money bettering the area. Residential rental rates went up 15% this year. That's huge, and with inflation so high I'm wondering if room sharing will increase.

So what do you think this will do to the market?

It's a bigger problem then DIYers on HGTV, or people who flip for a living. It will also get rid of them. They can't compete with those large conglomerates with endless money.

 

[Ginger Ale]

I bought the bare land initially, and as soon as I sunk a well and built the septic system the value of the land instantly tripled in value. The value of the home, however, has not been increasing nearly as quickly. For which I'm grateful. Alaska may not have any State sales or income taxes, but I'm paying 18 mills on my property.

There are places in Alaska where I could move that have no property taxes, but they are too far away from the salmon laden rivers that I have come to depend upon.

Don't underestimate the ingenuity of today's youth. There are creative ways to buy property, and it will always be a struggle for every generation. When my parents bought their home in the 1950s it cost less than the price of a car today. My own home cost more than a decade of my father's peak income. Future generations can expect even more difficulties because the population continues to increase and that means more resources are required.

That actually sounds awesome. I'd love to live on some Alaskan land. Must be beautiful.

 

[Ginger Ale]

This is what happens when you have massive inflation for investment assets specifically due largely to equally massive and sustained QE and historically low interest rates for over a decade that puts absolute tons of money overwhelmingly into the hands of rich people chasing a return (video title refers to 'hyper' inflation of investment assets, not recent inflation in consumer staples; that is largely a consequence of corporate gouging/abuse of pricing power):

How the Federal Reserve’s Monetary Policy Drives Housing Inequality - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

While there are many drivers of the national crisis of housing affordability, one criterion that gets too little attention are Fed policies that inflate housing prices.

nonprofitquarterly.org

Thanks for the video. Ugh, yeah, I'm just looking toward the future wondering what the hell will happen with these ingredients.

 

[American]

That's the thing, what's good about America if you can't sell the allure of owning your own little place, and being able to run a business without getting both bought out from under you by those with a ton of foreign investments.

I would think we'd want to protect that dream because we have nothing else to sell America on. We don't run like European countries where you have quality of life benefits, we make our own quality of life. So, it's food for thought for sure.

Those things take massive taxes, something that was to be avoided by the Founders. We've lost sight of that.

 

[Lursa]

I'm not sure, maybe a certain amount of rentals in a neighborhood? I know there is something like that set up for new builds. You have to wait a period of time before you can make them rentals.

They already do that in Seattle.

England has rent control, so that they can't price out renters, and leave them homeless.

There are controls on rent here on how much a landlord can raise rent per year...so a renter knows how much they can afford when they move in and then the potential raises for the future. I think it's that a landlord cant raise the rent more than 10% per year.

So again, I dont see that as an excuse. Of course anyone can lose their job, etc but landlords deserve their income also.

But I really haven't a clue. I just watched this and thought, wow, what does that leave out there for first time home buyers. I'm even in the business, doing plumbing for flippers and investors but I felt sort of conflicted watching how many people are getting rich doing this, and how hard it is in some places to find a home to buy if you're just a normal person.

It's very hard for anyone to buy a home here because housing prices are so high, period. So those with more $ can outbid people. I know people that have given up and gone back to renting, I know people that have moved farther out into rural areas...which is now made easier due to more remote working. THere are a lot of high tech workers here.

 

[Lursa]

If you did sell, could you afford to buy in that kind of market?

Hell no, but I dont want to. I'm retiring to AZ where housing is hugely less expensive. And I have acreage and horses...they're dying to get their hands on it. No way could I buy the same thing here except much farther out from the metro area.

My house has quadrupled in the last 10 years but I find that so has everyone else's. And, like they mention in the video, these investors come in with full cash offers, and no inspections or anything. It's hard to beat that if you're just a couple wanting a home.
My concern is that since it's becoming quite lucrative for large companies to do this, what will that translate to down the road? Only renting the American dream, with a rented white picked fence?

I'm not sure a lot of people realize what the upkeep is like on owning a home. A townhouse is one thing but a house with a yard is something totally different. I feel the constant work and upkeep of my property daily. I knew it coming in, having had a house before but still. It's a huge time commitment and $$ commitment.

A lot of people might be better off renting and some of my friends my age are selling their acreage to get rid of the work, boarding their horses, and moving into townhouses or nice houses in developments.

It's very possible that the 'owning your own home' dream could be outdated and not even true. Or, start with a single-wide trailer or fixer upper and work your way up. Choose to live somewhere else It is possible

 

[Lloyd Christmas]

Yup, every problem in this country is largely the fault of greedy scumbag taking all the wealth and our govenrment being bought and paid for them. Investor jacking up pricing and availability to make money and people cna' even afford to buy a house or even afford the insane rents do to this.

And we will have idiot conservatives come here whining about regulations,because they are brainwashed assholes. Europe government works tot protect the people. They have other consumer protections as well, like companies can't make billions sharing your privacy with everybody. But here, they can track everything and sell it to marketers becuase its all about money, profit at all costs. And idiot conservatives worship that greed

 

[EMNofSeattle]

Investors in America are buying up almost 30% of our homes and turning them into rentals. Many people are being priced out of buying the American Dream. They claim you can now "rent" the American dream. Do you think this is a good thing, or a bad thing?

Most investors don't even look at the homes they buy, and come in with cash and close in two weeks, very enticing for the sellers. This leaves people looking for a home out of luck if they don't have enormous amount of free cash, and let go of inspections, etc.

I'm unsure how I feel about this. Doesn't seem to be great for Americans, especially those just starting out, but it's really making a few very very rich.

Do you think this is just good ole' American business, or will we be screwed down the pike? Would you sell to an investor because it's such a quick and easy sell?

I mean we probably should regulate the institutional investors, but that’s not the real problem. The problem is the left allowing mass immigration into America which increases demand for housing and depresses the wages needed to buy such housing. It’s likely that America is overpopulated by at least 150 million people because of the 1965 immigration act so if you want to bring housing prices under control the first step is severely reduce immigration start canceling green cards and sending non citizens home.

The American population has slowed and is leveling off and is only supported through mass immigration, if we stopped accepting new immigrants, oh and we accept legally between 1 and 1.5 million a year, imagine building a new Manhattan every 3 or 4 years just in foreign arrivals, or reduced immigration to like 250,000 or less then housing prices would start going down.

 

[Lursa]

I mean we probably should regulate the institutional investors, but that’s not the real problem. The problem is the left allowing mass immigration into America which increases demand for housing and depresses the wages needed to buy such housing. It’s likely that America is overpopulated by at least 150 million people because of the 1965 immigration act so if you want to bring housing prices under control the first step is severely reduce immigration start canceling green cards and sending non citizens home.

The American population has slowed and is leveling off and is only supported through mass immigration, if we stopped accepting new immigrants, oh and we accept legally between 1 and 1.5 million a year, imagine building a new Manhattan every 3 or 4 years just in foreign arrivals, or reduced immigration to like 250,000 or less then housing prices would start going down.

What's the difference between adding more immigrants and adding more births from citizens? You are discussing numbers. Why does it make a difference where the numbers come from?

 

[EMNofSeattle]

What's the difference between adding more immigrants and adding more births from citizens? You are discussing numbers. Why does it make a difference where the numbers come from?

A baby born today will not demand resources like housing or employment for at least a decade and a half if not longer, if you have predictable growth from a native population long term planning is easier.

A 25 year old immigrant needs these resources much faster. And multiple that by millions and you have a system of perpetual shortage.

In addition America had very little immigration from 1920s to 1960s, then we suddenly went to admitting millions, then they have kids, they attract relatives to live here illegally, and they have kids who have to be given citizenship (an issue we need to correct) then ethnic advocacy groups pop up demanding more immigration from their preferred ethnostate.

 

[Lursa]

A baby born today will not demand resources like housing or employment for at least a decade and a half if not longer, if you have predictable growth from a native population long term planning is easier.

A 25 year old immigrant needs these resources much faster. And multiple that by millions and you have a system of perpetual shortage

I disagree, since the addition of a baby and the growth of a family, generally requires moving from a dwelling a 25 yr old immigrant would have to a larger home/apt.

 

[EMNofSeattle]

I disagree, since the addition of a baby and the growth of a family, generally requires moving from a dwelling a 25 yr old immigrant would have to a larger home/apt.

You disagree because you’re a leftist and immigration is necessary to keeping your preferred party in power.

This is a silly argument because whatever unit the family leaves in a closed population cicruit has to be taken up by another citizen and not be an immigrant who was brought in from outside.

California’s population was 11 million people in 1950, now a greater population exists in LA county and a substantial portion of the growth is from foreign migration. There is no non-migration Scenario for that type of growth.

 

[Napoleon]

Yup, every problem in this country is largely the fault of greedy scumbag taking all the wealth and our govenrment being bought and paid for them. Investor jacking up pricing and availability to make money and people cna' even afford to buy a house or even afford the insane rents do to this.

And we will have idiot conservatives come here whining about regulations,because they are brainwashed assholes. Europe government works tot protect the people. They have other consumer protections as well, like companies can't make billions sharing your privacy with everybody. But here, they can track everything and sell it to marketers becuase its all about money, profit at all costs. And idiot conservatives worship that greed

Millennials did this to themselves.

 

[Lursa]

You disagree because you’re a leftist and immigration is necessary to keeping your preferred party in power.

LOL I disagree because I am able to use facts to support my argument.

This is a silly argument because whatever unit the family leaves in a closed population cicruit has to be taken up by another citizen and not be an immigrant who was brought in from outside.

Since when? Who says? That's BS. They can buy or rent.

California’s population was 11 million people in 1950, now a greater population exists in LA county and a substantial portion of the growth is from foreign migration. There is no non-migration Scenario for that type of growth.

That doesnt refute anything in my previous post.

 

[Slyfox696]

Oh please…flippers and investors have been around for decades and became more popular with tv shows on every DIY network making it seem “easy”.

I don't think that's exactly what is being discussed here.

No one cried when these people lost their shirts in 2007-2008 when the last housing bubble popped and no one will care when the next one pops.

I felt bad for the people who got suckered into it. And some people did get suckered into it, through only minimal fault of their own.

If you want a house…save up and buy one. No one is guaranteed a 3 bedroom with a picket fence by age 28 or 30 simply because that’s what they want.

Why not? If you work hard for years and save your money, why shouldn't you be able to buy a modest three bedroom home? Why should a person have to forgo their dream of owning a home because someone who was born into a much better situation decided they shouldn't?

If you can’t afford to buy where you WANT to live, then reevaluate.

I live in one of the lowest cost of living areas in the country. House prices have skyrocketed the last couple of years. Various factors causing it (not just this), but it's true nonetheless.

These investors lay out money and often do a great deal of renovations to property. They aren’t walking in and buying the top of the line houses in a neighborhood, they’re buying the ones that need work. Sometimes a LOT of expensive work.

A) And a lot of them aren't and B) There's nothing wrong with that, if their goal is to turn around and sell the remodeled house. But that's not what is happening.

And if people didn’t buy houses at insane rates or pay insane rents, then houses wouldn’t cost what they do - and rent wouldn’t be as high as it is in some places.

House prices go up for a variety of factors. People have to have places to live, this is inevitable. Again, there are numerous factors which affect these prices right now, but I find it hard to believe putting a significant percentage of living quarters in the hands of a very select few is a good thing overall.

 

[JMB802]

Investors in America are buying up almost 30% of our homes and turning them into rentals. Many people are being priced out of buying the American Dream. They claim you can now "rent" the American dream. Do you think this is a good thing, or a bad thing?

Most investors don't even look at the homes they buy, and come in with cash and close in two weeks, very enticing for the sellers. This leaves people looking for a home out of luck if they don't have enormous amount of free cash, and let go of inspections, etc.

I'm unsure how I feel about this. Doesn't seem to be great for Americans, especially those just starting out, but it's really making a few very very rich.

Do you think this is just good ole' American business, or will we be screwed down the pike? Would you sell to an investor because it's such a quick and easy sell?

What often happens is that the process gets exploited by the greedy and the government has to step in and clean up the mess. Subprime mortgages were intended to help increase minority homeownership, student loans were intended to make college affordable for low-income people.

I sense the same thing happening with this process. What will happen when investors move on to the next money-making scheme and unload the properties from their portfolios?

TLDR - Something ain't right. I said the same thing in 2006.

 

[What if...?]

They already do that in Seattle.



There are controls on rent here on how much a landlord can raise rent per year...so a renter knows how much they can afford when they move in and then the potential raises for the future. I think it's that a landlord cant raise the rent more than 10% per year.

So again, I dont see that as an excuse. Of course anyone can lose their job, etc but landlords deserve their income also.




It's very hard for anyone to buy a home here because housing prices are so high, period. So those with more $ can outbid people. I know people that have given up and gone back to renting, I know people that have moved farther out into rural areas...which is now made easier due to more remote working. THere are a lot of high tech workers here.

Income doesn’t go up 10% a year for most people. But housing does. So if you stay for five your rent goes up 50%. Not likely your pay did, though. So now you have even less to save to buy your own.

I have a big problem with feeding enterprises. Where folks just insert themselves between necessities and those who need them to extract profits. It’s always far more beneficial for the former than the latter.

 

[Arlette]

Investors in America are buying up almost 30% of our homes and turning them into rentals. Many people are being priced out of buying the American Dream. They claim you can now "rent" the American dream. Do you think this is a good thing, or a bad thing?

Most investors don't even look at the homes they buy, and come in with cash and close in two weeks, very enticing for the sellers. This leaves people looking for a home out of luck if they don't have enormous amount of free cash, and let go of inspections, etc.

I'm unsure how I feel about this. Doesn't seem to be great for Americans, especially those just starting out, but it's really making a few very very rich.

Do you think this is just good ole' American business, or will we be screwed down the pike? Would you sell to an investor because it's such a quick and easy sell?

I'm embarrassed to say I didn't watch the 60 Minutes video. How does it work out for the Europeans?

 

[RetiredUSN]

Why wouldn't it?

I mean......democrats are for the working class.......right?

 

[What if...?]

Hell no, but I dont want to. I'm retiring to AZ where housing is hugely less expensive. And I have acreage and horses...they're dying to get their hands on it. No way could I buy the same thing here except much farther out from the metro area.



I'm not sure a lot of people realize what the upkeep is like on owning a home. A townhouse is one thing but a house with a yard is something totally different. I feel the constant work and upkeep of my property daily. I knew it coming in, having had a house before but still. It's a huge time commitment and $$ commitment.

A lot of people might be better off renting and some of my friends my age are selling their acreage to get rid of the work, boarding their horses, and moving into townhouses or nice houses in developments.

It's very possible that the 'owning your own home' dream could be outdated and not even true. Or, start with a single-wide trailer or fixer upper and work your way up. Choose to live somewhere else It is possible

Possible, but harder every year.

 

[Napoleon]

Income doesn’t go up 10% a year for most people. But housing does. So if you stay for five your rent goes up 50%. Not likely your pay did, though. So now you have even less to save to buy your own.

I have a big problem with feeding enterprises. Where folks just insert themselves between necessities and those who need them to extract profits. It’s always far more beneficial for the former than the latter.

Millennials are the rental generation and I knew that would come back to bite us in the backside when people finally started accepting that paying the equivalent of a home mortgage to rent a one-bedroom apartment is stupid.