Can home ownership make you a bad person? Or a better person? … #99

#homeowner #backwards #odd

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Every once in a while you see an article that, if nothing else makes you think. I happened to find this one on Vox, and I wanted to go over it because I think it is useful.

Thoughts

1. Is homeownership bad and why? would be the better title of the article. As it reads, we are somehow supposed to be upset that we will change with homeownership, but that’s part of growing up in my opinion.

2. Homeowners, who pay the majority of taxes for education, public services, and transit, may be opposed to new programs where the beneficiary is unclear….they may oppose bus lines, homeless shelters, which this author labels as “progress and change” Does anyone think that the need for more homeless shelters, bus lines, etc. is progress? That is, shouldn’t we want people to not be homeless and not have to depend on public transportation?

3. “Homeownership is supposed to mean security, opportunity, and a sense of investment in your community. But often, the pressure of tying your family’s financial security to one asset incentivizes homeowners to behave selfishly and antisocially, opposing important public works that could provide significant public benefits.” So the argument here is that even though you pay property taxes and desire to maintain a certain standard of life that you literally paid for, you should instead be energized to spend more $$ on public works than yourself. Could some public works projects be beneficial? Of course. Are all? Nope

4. “Unlike many things, the value of a home is largely dependent on subjective evaluations of things outside of the individual homeowner’s control. An individual can’t control for school quality or the crime rate or whether homebuyers will find their neighborhood aesthetically appealing. But all those things will affect how much they can sell their home for.” ….. So to hedge against the possibility that changes in the neighborhood could harm the value of their largest asset, some homeowners will use whatever local levers they have available to them to block change in their communities, whether it’s new housing, homeless shelters, transit, or Covid-19 testing centers.”

This is exactly correct. We are invested in homes, it’s our greatest asset…and when people might do harm to our home, we fight. The people that don’t get stuck paying property taxes and don’t care if your property values go down often like to tell others what to do….but they own nothing.

5. That is, purchasing the home and seeking to protect its value may drive people to become more involved in local politics. I’m confused, is being involved in local politics a bad thing, or only if it’s not your politics?

6. “No one knows exactly who will be the direct beneficiary of a new home or a new bus line, but the people who might be annoyed by construction or have the value of their homes impacted are a distinct class. And that means they advocate and organize as a group in a way that the beneficiaries of these policies cannot.”

The beneficiaries of these policies have government paid charitable organizations that advocate on their behalf. Professionals…much more so than homeowners.

7. It’s somewhat important to see how others view homeownership. Even if you disagree on the majority of the article, there are some points made, likely by accident, that make you aware of different viewpoints.

Sources: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22597947/homeowner-nimby-affordable-housing-local

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