I had an idea that would allow people to buy their own homes that they are currently renting:
- Every home gets appraised to determine what it would sell for. This is done by the county and is used for property taxes too.
- Every renter is allowed to buy a percentage of their primary residence from the owner. The owner has no choice in this. It’s a requirement for being able to rent a property. Edit: Since people are confused about this, the renter is not required to buy anything. They have an option to buy.
- Renters can pay as little as $100 extra per month and the county puts their percentage ownership on the deed. If the home is sold, the renter can’t be kicked out involuntarily. If they do leave, they get the percentage of home value they own.
Pros:
- This would avoid the issue of high interest rates hurting primary homeownership.
- This would blunt the impact of corporate landlords having a monopoly where they refuse to sell. They are forced to sell at a fair price.
- This would create a simple decision between owning their home and spending money on luxuries or eating out.
Cons:
- This would hurt small landlords who would have their property bought out from under them. This is actually a good thing because the benefits of rising property values are now shared.
- The implementation is hard. This is actually a good thing because bad landlords would sell property they didn’t want to manage, lowering prices for renters who want to buy.
- It would cost the county money to hire appraisers. But this could be paid for by increased property taxes due to better appraisals.
- Property taxes would go up for landlords. But this would be good, as it encourages them to sell the property. This appraisal process and increased property taxes wouldn’t affect people who just lived in their home without charging rent.
It’s an option to buy, not a requirement for the renter.
And the landlord has already made their choice for someone else to live in the home. They are being fairly paid for the property. They can always use that money to buy another one.
Isn’t that what landlords tell renters? If you don’t like it, just buy another one?
I don’t know what you mean by " If you don’t like it, just buy another one." I’ve rented many times and no one has ever said that to me. I don’t understand the context.
I think you have a narrow view of people who rent out homes. Not everyone is a corporation looking to make millions of dollars. Many are just trying to cover the cost of the home temporarily while they deal with life. My mom sold her home and bought a smaller house a year before she retired. She rented the new home until she was ready to retire and move in. When she had to move to an assisted living apartment, she rented her home to cover the mortgage so she could pay for care. She didn’t sell as she hoped to be able to return to her home. Now that she’s passed, I’ve inherited the home. I’m renting it to cover the mortgage while we make decisions about our own retirement and where we want to live.