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Does neither political party in America do anything about corporations and foreigners buying up housing because they'd find a backdoor anyway?

Jason Warfield said:
They are aware of this, but the reasons are numerous and it doesn't have to do with political parties...it has to do with the American people.

We want to be able to sell to make a profit to anyone willing to pay. American banks want to give out predatory loans and go after folks who probably shouldn't be asking for loans (it's perfect for banks as they make money either way).

Neither group wants the government to interfere on this. So, for once, you have an unstated agreement between both parties to not interfere...because they want to get re-elected.

We get a lot of anti-China rhetoric on this forum and in politics. But when it comes down to getting paid for land...folks stop caring where the money comes from.
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If by American people, you mean older homeowners and corporate entities, real estate investment trusts, their shareholders and the people who staff them.

Sure, you've got the Boomer and older homeowner generation that benefit from high housing prices/refinancing their homes, but everyone else who isn't involved in the real estate industry or at least well-to-do is basically SOL and recognizes the housing crisis as the problem it clearly is; hell even existing homeowners do. In fact a supermajority of ~70%+ Americans in fact have serious concerns about housing affordability: https://www.housingfinance.com/news...ns-worried-about-lack-of-affordable-housing_o || https://www.cato.org/survey-reports...housing-69-worry-their-kids-grandkids-wont-be || https://today.yougov.com/economy/articles/45921-americans-say-difficult-find-affordable-housing

Though roughly 64% of the adult population happened to be homeowners as of 2019, the last time reliable data was collected, that number was steadily dropping.

In short, given the dearth of action and mention by our politicos despite this housing affordability being so clearly important to a vast majority Americans who recognize it as a problem, it's less that Americans collectively support the status quo and more that lawmakers simply aren't interested in pursuing and addressing the issue, likely because there are other elements holding their tongue, with lobbying and campaign finance being the most likely culprits.
 
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98166 said:
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?

www.pbs.org

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 www.pbs.org
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What a difficult worded question.

Please describe what a YES answer to your question would mean, and what a NO answer to your question would mean.

Give us a shot to understand what you mean.
 
AliHajiSheik said:
What a difficult worded question.

Please describe what a YES answer to your question would mean, and what a NO answer to your question would mean.

Give us a shot to understand what you mean.
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It's not that freakin complicated. Simply put if such a law was passed banning corporate ownership, would a corporation just launder the money to a private citizen and have them buy the property?
 
98166 said:
It's not that freakin complicated. Simply put if such a law was passed banning corporate ownership, would a corporation just launder the money to a private citizen and have them buy the property?
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Maybe you should put that in the title of the thread instead of all the nonsense about parties.

To answer you recent question. I suspect not since the major reason for incorporating is to shield the officers from liability.
 
AliHajiSheik said:
Maybe you should put that in the title of the thread instead of all the nonsense about parties.

To answer you recent question. I suspect not since the major reason for incorporating is to shield the officers from liability.
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The parties are an important point in here because, they both are big time influenced by corporations and if they were not, then they'd be more willing to take this issue on.
All I've heard though about this from either Major Republicans is nothing, from Major Democrats, almost nothing.
 
98166 said:
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?

www.pbs.org

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 www.pbs.org
Click to expand...
The Democrats in the House and Senate introduced a bill to prevent hedge funds from buying single family homes and the Republicans are blocking it. So one party does care. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/06/realestate/wall-street-housing-market.html
 
multivita-man said:
Paywalled.

I'm sure they've spoken about it, but maybe they need better messengers, then.
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"The End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act would mandate that hedge funds, defined as corporations, partnerships or REITs that manage pooled funds for investors, to sell off all single-family homes over a ten-year-period, and eventually prevent them from holding those properties completely."

Lawmakers introduce bill to ban hedge funds from buying houses

Democrats push bill to take Wall Street out of housing.
ny1.com ny1.com

Its been introduced in the House and the Senate.
 
98166 said:
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?

www.pbs.org

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 www.pbs.org
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It’s called the great replacement. The left discovered that suburban white Americans don’t like them and so they’re conspiring with foreigners to make a white middle class a small minority
 
bomberfox said:
Capitalism.
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Yep, and state/local governments like the resulting increase in property tax revenue. It seems that congress critters (other government officials and their families) own directly (or indirectly) more than their ‘fair share’ of rental and/or investment properties.

In general, members of Congress and their senior staff members are not allowed to earn more than $29,595 in income outside their federal salary. But rental properties are exempted from these limits, as are certain other earnings including from stock trades and book deals.
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www.businessinsider.com

When a lawmaker is your landlord: Capitol Hill is packed with senators, House members, and senior staff who rent out property

There is no limit, under current law, on how much money members of Congress can make as landlords.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com
 
multivita-man said:
In the past, Democrats would have been able to speak to this kind of issue, but for whatever reason, they haven't. I don't know whether they're unaware of the growing housing affordability crisis, or whether they just haven't figured out how to deal with it.

I keep hearing Biden's supporters in the pundit-sphere and in the media talk up Biden's economic numbers, and they're bewildered why a lot of people aren't buying it. This topic is a good example of why working class or distressed households aren't feeling too excited about this election.

This economy has been great for investors and people with relatively high incomes, but for people at or below median income levels, particularly if they have children, and especially if they are single parent households, the last 3 years have been rough. And if they're old enough, they probably had to survive the Great Recession.
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Does anyone think Trump would be able to bring down housing prices? Absolutely no more than Biden can, which is nada. Too many people think changing presidents is going to be some miraculous wand waving and everything is going to be all rosy. It's not. Elect Trump and all you'll see is more breaks for the wealthy and no change for the rest.
 
Helix said:
All I can say is that I feel for the kids who are coming up now and that I'm glad we bought years ago. We're kind of interested in moving again at some point, but no ****ing way at these prices.
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Lol.. we bought our house 7 years ago for 235k. It's worth around 750k right now. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Until you realize that all the other houses went up in value like crazy too... lol... kinda makes those gains seem a little insignificant.

At least we'd have less of a mortgage, i guess... but we locked in our interest rate four months before everything went nuts. I'm not looking forward to our next renewal!
 
OlNate said:
Lol.. we bought our house 7 years ago for 235k. It's worth around 750k right now. Sounds pretty good, huh?

Until you realize that all the other houses went up in value like crazy too... lol... kinda makes those gains seem a little insignificant.

At least we'd have less of a mortgage, i guess... but we locked in our interest rate four months before everything went nuts. I'm not looking forward to our next renewal!
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What do you mean by your next renewal? I'm not familiar with that term unless you mean that your interest rate is not locked in? If that's the case, what's the cap on the interest rate?
 
trixare4kids said:
What do you mean by your next renewal? I'm not familiar with that term unless you mean that your interest rate is not locked in? If that's the case, what's the cap on the interest rate?
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The United States has a unique mortgage system where you can get a fixed rate for the lifetime of the loan. Most other countries don't offer that, so everyone is on variable rates.
 
The AntiDonald said:
Does anyone think Trump would be able to bring down housing prices? Absolutely no more than Biden can, which is nada. Too many people think changing presidents is going to be some miraculous wand waving and everything is going to be all rosy. It's not. Elect Trump and all you'll see is more breaks for the wealthy and no change for the rest.
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I don't disagree, I just think that the administration and his supporters have (at times) maybe come across as tone-deaf. I'm not saying the economic conditions are his fault at all, but they've struggled to articulate a message that below-median income households identify with. I think he's done the right thing by supporting unions more visibly - that's good.
 
trixare4kids said:
What do you mean by your next renewal? I'm not familiar with that term unless you mean that your interest rate is not locked in? If that's the case, what's the cap on the interest rate?
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Every five years we have to renew our mortgage. We go with fixed rate, so we can plan - I'm no gambler... and this time it definitely paid off.. hehe

But that gets adjusted with every five year renewal, so whatever the going interest rate for fixed rate mortgages is at that point, that's what we'll pay, no cap. If it's 50% next time, we pay 50%. (Extreme example, definitely not anticipating that).

Right now i believe we're locked in around 4% - we just got in before the interest rates went bananas.

To be perfectly honest, I'm terrible with this stuff, i just go with what my bank tells me and play it as safe as possible. I'm definitely not a subject material expert on mortgages.
 
OlNate said:
Every five years we have to renew our mortgage. We go with fixed rate, so we can plan - I'm no gambler... and this time it definitely paid off.. hehe

But that gets adjusted with every five year renewal, so whatever the going interest rate for fixed rate mortgages is at that point, that's what we'll pay, no cap. If it's 50% next time, we pay 50%. (Extreme example, definitely not anticipating that).

Right now i believe we're locked in around 4% - we just got in before the interest rates went bananas.

To be perfectly honest, I'm terrible with this stuff, i just go with what my bank tells me and play it as safe as possible. I'm definitely not a subject material expert on mortgages.
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You have enough equity in your home to qualify for a fixed rate for the life of the mortgage. Maybe you could refinance to something like this and lockin before the five year renewal provided the interest rate is more like what you have right now.
 
trixare4kids said:
You have enough equity in your home to qualify for a fixed rate for the life of the mortgage. Maybe you could refinance to something like this and lockin before the five year renewal provided the interest rate is more like what you have right now.
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Ugh... you're making me research mortgages, my ADHD is flipping you the bird. ;)

So, i looked it up, and it's a little different up here. You can lock in for 25 years, but it's usually at a much higher interest rate. I'd have to look into why that is, but i expect it has something to do with the banks always looking after themselves first... hehe

After 7 years were down to 144k, we've almost got half of it paid off. Another thing that happens at renewal time is that you can put down lump sums without penalty, so we try to do that as much as possible.

We're very fortunate, we know folks in Toronto, where this same house would be well over a million, who had to give up their homes because of the interest increases that have happened over the last couple years. For us it sucks, but it's doable due to the scale - a 5% increase on 150k is a lot different than on 1.5M.

Our next renewal is in three years, hopefully things will have simmered down, but if not, well, we'll go to two nights of macaroni and cheese a week instead of one... hehe And be very happy that we decided to live in the country in a reasonable house we can afford, rather than shooting for a McMansion in the city. :) I like looking at trees better anyway ... thank God for remote work opportunities.
 
OlNate said:
Ugh... you're making me research mortgages, my ADHD is flipping you the bird. ;)

So, i looked it up, and it's a little different up here. You can lock in for 25 years, but it's usually at a much higher interest rate. I'd have to look into why that is, but i expect it has something to do with the banks always looking after themselves first... hehe

After 7 years were down to 144k, we've almost got half of it paid off. Another thing that happens at renewal time is that you can put down lump sums without penalty, so we try to do that as much as possible.

We're very fortunate, we know folks in Toronto, where this same house would be well over a million, who had to give up their homes because of the interest increases that have happened over the last couple years. For us it sucks, but it's doable due to the scale - a 5% increase on 150k is a lot different than on 1.5M.

Our next renewal is in three years, hopefully things will have simmered down, but if not, well, we'll go to two nights of macaroni and cheese a week instead of one... hehe And be very happy that we decided to live in the country in a reasonable house we can afford, rather than shooting for a McMansion in the city. :) I like looking at trees better anyway ... thank God for remote work opportunities.
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You could always sell it before the mortgage renews, and with the windfall you make from the sale buy a less expensive home with a higher downpayment. Then, you would qualify for a more favorable interest rate. Just throwing ideas out there. Don't want to give you a headache, with your ADHD. ;)

You're right though. It's much different in Canada than it is here. Our interest rate is 3% locked in for the life of the loan.
 
trixare4kids said:
You could always sell it before the mortgage renews, and with the windfall you make from the sale buy a less expensive home with a higher downpayment. Then you would qualify for a more favorable interest rate. Just throwing ideas out there. Don't want to give you a headache, with your ADHD. You're right though. It's much different in Canada than it is here. Our interest rate is 3% locked in for the life of the loan.
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Hehe, well, if we sold we'd be faced with all the other houses that have increased exponentially in value during the same time period. Your house tripling in value isn't as big a windfall when every other house has done the same.

I see the logic in what you're saying, a bigger down payment would definitely lead to a smaller mortgage payment, but there's more to it than that for us. We really love our home. :) Its humble, but it's got a gorgeous maple tree in the front yard, and lilacs in the back. Our neighbors are great and my son's buddy lives a stone's throw down the street. My wife does a great business out of the hair salon she has in our walkout basement.

Nah, we're really fortunate, in terms of our timing, and have no desire to trade up. More square footage means more floor to clean... hehe I pay around 950 Canadian (so like, 25 cents American... lol) a month to live here, which is amazing in this market. Hopefully it stays that way. If not, well, i guess we'll look at our options then. It's good to know we have some. :)

Thanks for the advice, though, Trix, i appreciate the effort and thought expended.
 
98166 said:
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?

www.pbs.org

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 www.pbs.org
Click to expand...
Guess where the Main Party gets a lot of their monies from.

This is a problem, but the R's and D's are getting paid, so it will remain a problem.
 
OlNate said:
Every five years we have to renew our mortgage. We go with fixed rate, so we can plan - I'm no gambler... and this time it definitely paid off.. hehe

But that gets adjusted with every five year renewal, so whatever the going interest rate for fixed rate mortgages is at that point, that's what we'll pay, no cap. If it's 50% next time, we pay 50%. (Extreme example, definitely not anticipating that).

Right now i believe we're locked in around 4% - we just got in before the interest rates went bananas.

To be perfectly honest, I'm terrible with this stuff, i just go with what my bank tells me and play it as safe as possible. I'm definitely not a subject material expert on mortgages.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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