[quote=spdrun]CA-Renter — Landlords should have good access to credit, assuming the deals make sense. Perhaps via small business loans (after all, the gov’t subsidizes other types of business).
Honestly — most Americans have no business making a $100k+ investment, especially with gov’t money. I’d rather more property be in the hands of professionals and generally smart people.
Note that heavily non-owner-occupied markets like Manhattan and San Francisco actually held their value decently during the crash. I’d trust a person out for income (not a flipper) to make a rational property purchase a lot more than a first-time buyer who gushes about the kitchen tile.
Yeah, that’s an elitist idea. So sue me.[/quote]
The government might subsidize certain businesses, but that’s because they provide some kind of benefit to society and/or grow the economy (at least, that’s how it should be). Landlords of existing homes do neither. Most people would be better off owning their own homes (affordable, with no gimmicky loans). Now, if you want to *build* rental housing, which provides a new good/shelter that wasn’t there before, then you might have an argument for govt-backed loans, but to buy existing homes? No, that just takes properties off the market that could otherwise be owner-occupied.
