#tax-free property
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Dubai's Property Boom: Time to Buy a Villa in Dubai Your Piece of Paradise?
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#buy villa Dubai#Dubai Investment Property#Dubai lifestyle#Dubai property boom#Dubai real estate market#Dubai rental income#Dubai villa for sale#Dubai villa investment#invest in Dubai now#tax-free property
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I am so unbelievably pissed off. FUCK HOAs
Oh, my trash/recycling bin can't be visible except on pickup day? Ok whatever fine I hate you but I can deal with this
Weekly inspections?????? FU FU FU FU FU
SECOND NOTICE ALSO WE'RE CHARGING YOU MONEY TO SEND YOU CERTIFIED MAIL OF THIS TOTALLY LEGIT TOTALLY SECOND NOTICE OF WHAT IS ACTUALLY A VIOLATION cue me: checks notes. Hmm. My recycling bin was. on the curb. on recycling pickup day. You know. The day it has to be out. The day it is motherfucking ALLOWED TO BE FUCKING OUT AND VISIBLE.
so. 1) not a violation
I have sent them the trash AND recycling pickup schedules, which are DIFFERENT, btw
I have disputed the fact of the violation
I have disputed the linking of this "violation" to a previous violation MONTHS AGO--their "first notice" in this case was a "Courtesy Notice" LITERALLY 5 MONTHS AGO and they've done so many inspections since then and my bin CLEARLY WASN'T OUT IN THOSE INTERVENING MONTHS so WTMFH
So I am posting like a crazy person here instead of sending the absolutely deranged email I almost sent (I did send a slightly less deranged version with the disputes, and requesting a hearing)
OMG. It has been. Less than one hour since I learned this fun fun news. My bin was out YESTERDAY, y'all. YESTERDAY. I am going to blow a gasket
#it's a relatively privileged problem to have (omg i have a home truly i am grateful) but it's still a goddamned problem and i'm allowed#to fucking complain about it#in case it needs to be said#*rolling my eyes*#i advocate for free/actually affordable housing for everyone who needs it because we ALL deserve a safe secure stable home#whatever type of home that may be#it is absolutely goddamned ridiculous that megacorps can buy all the housing#rent it out at extortionate rates and evict people willy nilly#and we're talking about a “housing crisis” and not a “STOP LETTING CORPORATIONS AND BILLIONAIRES HOARD ALL THE HOUSING” crisis#goddamn.#ha elect me president (ahaha don't do this i am not a good public speaker) and I'll push congress to pass some really neat legislation#hey be more direct: elect me to congress (ahaha don't do this) and i'll WRITE some goddamn nifty legislation and yell about it as long and#as loud as i can until people start to just fucking say yes to make me shut the fuck up#(i know that's not how it works. again. don't actually elect me to a government position)#exemplia gratis:#No individual person shall own more than 6 homes UNLESS they pay a Housing Market Shrinkage Fee for removing viable housing from the market#why 6 and not 2? 2 is a lot! it's excessive! but having A vacation home shouldn't be a crime. Having 5 vacation homes is ridiculous and#awful and whatever but it's not likely to be the source of all our greatest “housing shortage” problems. no. I'm aiming for the absolutely#monstrously greedy and egregious motherfuckers who---ok#hang on. how many homes does the average min and max homeowner own? I would like to see data on that. but anyway#the next part of the legislation:#Homes owned >6 shall be charged X% Housing Market Shrinkage Fee UNLESS they are rented for affordable (15% or less than renter net income)#housing and are actively occupied by said renters. Rented out and charging more than 15% of renter's net? still gotta pay up.#EMPTY housing >6 shall be subject to an additional Y% Housing Market Shrinkage Fee (tax? should I call it a tax?) which increases with ever#month that the housing goes unoccupied. no one living in it? sell it rent it or pay the fuck up. and still pay the fuck up if you rent it#for way too goddamn much money#but like. less. we only REALLY hate you if you sit on empty houses that you don't even let anyone use#ok that's individuals. now onto BUSINESSES#ok so immediately it gets a little complicated cuz like presumably there's rental management businesses that don't own the rental propertie#that they manage BUT there are also companies that just outright own a shitfuckton of housing and THIS is the truly egregious monstrous sid
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Your tax dollars hard at work
#Your tax dollars hard at work#property taxes#us taxes#death and taxes#filing taxes#taxes#tax#tax dollars#israel#israhell#palestine#gaza#rafah#free palestine#freepalastine🇵🇸#ausgov#politas#auspol#tasgov#taspol#australia#fuck neoliberals#neoliberal capitalism#anthony albanese#albanese government#free gaza#gaza genocide#gaza strip#gazaunderattack#all eyes on rafah
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shop restock and a little halloween sale are coming. then a big preorder in november i hope yall r excited
#i say it every time but this is my one source of income so it means a lot that yall are there for it!!! love u all#we dont have any conventions lined up for nov/dec so i gotta come up with something and we gotta pay this years property taxes still aough#i think ill try and do a lot of giveaways again this time cus they do well for promoting stuff#i dont see them a lot from artists i like so i feel yucky guilty about doing them but im just not really on the ball when it comes to#like makin a brand or a following or posting consistently or anything so my shop launches are pretty quiet if i dont do something gimmickyy#but i like giving away free stuff so its sorta okay
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the berkeley 70-year-old white millionaire hippie coalition is really good at greenwashing their blatant nimby bullshit and it makes me so unfathomably angry
#my:poast#uspol#stop adding taxes to prevent people from building housing in order to get free money from yhe govt to increase your fucking property values
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is anyone else in a field that feels like climbing up a falling ladder?
went to school for MIS (computer science but less programming more business) graduated 14. First job 15-18, another 19-20, and then 21-23. every time I job hunt I see positions that I had seen before but the amount they offer seems so much lower than they had offered? sysadmin seems like a position I could have sword was averaging 120k/year in 18, and now I'm seeing a listing for not even 60k.
I know every job is working their employees to the bone for as little as they can get away with while the world burns down but god you do everything right- go to school, go local to keep loans low, get a degree in something that can pay you instead of something you like- and you still get screwed
we need universal healthcare, ubi, and a fix to the housing crisis, as well as making all jobs 30hours 1.5x for any hours post that, and capping maximum pay (15x the lowest paid employee's salary is extremely generous. 30k for employees? You still get almost half a mil a year you greedy fucks)
#give everyone a snap card for at least 100/person/week#minimal taxes on first personal property#30% taxes on a secondary#increase % by at least 5 for each extra property#force all modern 'tech disruptors' to be painfully transparent about their profits#so they end up shut down because none of them are profitable and they have only fucked shit up for your avergae person#public transport for most of the country is. complicated#but bullet trains cheap between all major and minor cities is not#also just make public transport free#'oh but how would we pay' the military budget. calculate how much you owe the people you got to sign up per your bs little promises#and then keep maybe 20% and put the rest towards your fucking citizens#'what about immigrants' what about them they're citizens too open the damn borders#take in refugees help them you weird hateful fuckers#this country sucks but if it's better for others let them in#obviously make abortions safe and legal#decriminalize sex work and drugs#take the money you keep throwing at the cops and put it into your communities#blah blah blah#all this shit is so fucking easy it just requries the people in power to not be in the pockets of shitbags#and that won't stop until we limit campaign spending and provide housing for politicians#since their pay is Fine enough but for dc? ehhh#they need to be taken care of enough by their jobs to not be suceptiable to the wine and dine bs
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Call me for a free consult.
#free consultation#consulting#tax deductions#property taxes#income tax#money#taxes#financial#irs#us taxes#passive income#cash#savings#how to earn money
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Property Tax Calculator | Cut My Taxes
Use our free property tax calculator now to estimate your annual property taxes and potential savings. Visit https://www.cutmytaxes.com/
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Tax-Free Allowances on Property and Trading Income
New Post has been published on https://www.fastaccountant.co.uk/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income/
Tax-Free Allowances on Property and Trading Income
While the thought of tax-free allowances may be as appealing as a cool glass of lemonade on a scorching summer’s day, navigating the complexities of property and trading income allowances can feel more like a trek through a desert.
You’re likely aware that these allowances let you earn up to £1,000 tax-free from both property and trading income, but did you know the restrictions and regulations around them? It’s not as simple as it sounds.
The journey to understanding the intricate nuances of these allowances is filled with twists and turns, but don’t be deterred. Stick with it, and you’ll find a wealth of knowledge waiting at the end.
Understanding Property Allowance
If you’re earning from land or property, you’re entitled to a tax exemption known as the property allowance, which can save you up to £1,000. This tax break is designed to simplify your tax arrangements if you have small amounts of property income. However, keep in mind that property allowance doesn’t apply to income you receive from letting a room in your own home.
Each owner of a jointly owned property can claim this tax benefit, meaning if you co-own a property, both of you can avail of the allowance. This can significantly reduce your tax liability.
However, it’s important that you inform HMRC if your property income exceeds £1,000. If it’s over £1,000 and up to £2,500, the tax office needs to know. If it’s more than £2,500, you’re required to do a self-assessment tax return. Failing to inform HMRC can lead to penalties.
Restrictions on Allowance Usage
While you might be eager to make the most of your property and trading allowances, it’s crucial to know that certain restrictions apply to their usage. For starters, these allowances can’t be used if your income is from a company, partnership, or employer. That’s right, they’re strictly for personal income.
Also, the property allowance can’t be claimed if you’re also claiming tax relief for finance costs or deducting expenses from letting a room in your own home. It’s a one or the other situation.
On the bright side, if you’re starting a new self-employed business with income below £1,000, you mightn’t need to register for Self Assessment. That’s a bit of paperwork you can skip.
Believe you’ve overpaid tax due to not claiming the property allowance? You can seek overpayment relief within four years of the end of the relevant tax year.
Importance of Record Keeping
Even though you’ve navigated the complexities of allowances and their restrictions, it’s equally important to stay on top of your record keeping to ensure compliance with HMRC requirements. You’ll need to maintain accurate records, such as invoices, receipts, and bank statements, particularly if you’re utilizing the property or trading income allowances.
There’s more to it than just compliance, though. Proper record keeping can also help you determine the most tax-efficient option between using the allowances and claiming actual expenses. It’s about making your money work best for you.
But here’s the thing, HMRC doesn’t mess around when it comes to incomplete or inaccurate records. They can impose penalties that could put a dent in your finances. So, it’s not just about staying on the right side of the law, it’s about protecting your bottom line.
Moreover, accurate record keeping is necessary to determine your entitlement to benefits, credits, and to rectify any tax-related issues. It’s more than just paperwork. It’s about financial clarity, control, and peace of mind. So, keep those records tidy, and you’ll keep the taxman happy.
Contacting HMRC for Queries
If you’ve got questions or need further clarification about tax-free allowances on property and trading income, don’t hesitate to reach out to HMRC. They’re there to help and guide you through any complexities or uncertainties you may encounter.
You can contact HMRC in several ways: by phone, post, or online. If you’re more comfortable with a phone conversation, you can call their general enquiries line. It’s open Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm. The staff are trained to handle a wide range of issues, including those related to tax-free allowances.
Alternatively, you can write to HMRC. Although this might take longer, it can be a good option if you prefer to have written records of your communications.
Lastly, you can use the online services. The HMRC website provides a variety of resources, including guides, forms, and online chat. The webchat service is especially useful if you need a quick response.
Conclusion
You’re entitled to a £1,000 tax-free allowance on property and trading income each. If your income exceeds £1,000, you must inform HMRC. The allowances can’t be used for income from companies, partnerships, or employers.
It’s crucial to keep accurate income records. The property allowance can’t be used if your income qualifies for relief under the rent a room scheme.
If you’ve got queries, don’t hesitate to contact HMRC.
#Tax Allowance on Property#Tax-Free Allowances#Tax-Free Allowances on Property#Tax-Free Allowances on Trading Income
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"Do you pay your taxes to kill us?"
A Palestinian child shows an American-made munition used by Israeli tanks to destroy Gaza, addressing Americans whose government sends their tax money as weapons to Israel to assist in killing Palestinians.
#property taxes#death and taxes#filing taxes#us taxes#taxes#tax#videos#video#palestine#free palestine#freepalastine🇵🇸#ausgov#politas#auspol#tasgov#taspol#australia#fuck neoliberals#neoliberal capitalism#anthony albanese#albanese government#free gaza#gaza strip#gaza genocide#gazaunderattack#gaza#all eyes on rafah#free rafah#save rafah#rafah under attack
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Tax-Free Allowances on Property and Trading Income
While the thought of tax-free allowances may be as appealing as a cool glass of lemonade on a scorching summer’s day, navigating the complexities of property and trading income allowances can feel more like a trek through a desert. You’re likely aware that these allowances let you earn up to £1,000 tax-free from both property and trading income, but did you know the restrictions and regulations…
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#Tax Allowance on Property#Tax-Free Allowances#Tax-Free Allowances on Property#Tax-Free Allowances on Trading Income
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I wish I knew exactly what Colleen said to sophia to make Sophia almost terminate Erandi that one time and
#how do i stress to Sophia that#i hate it though i couldn't live with doing it i don't want anyone to lose their job but i also#like he actually yelled at me for adjusting his journal entries#we fought over the pen and yeah sure i yelled back but#ok I'm going to make my lunch for tomorrow#I've said too much#please don't tell my boss#i wish Woolworths guy would go away as well#that's it#everyone else is fine#oh and make sophia stop telling me to bill the client who's general interest charges we remitted#do other accounting firms bill clients for remitting the GIC??????#is this normal?????#Just seems so odd#like they can't pay an extra $1000 in tax but they can pay $200 plus GST to us oh maybe that's a good deal#is it#we're billing for those dreaded land tax forms now though#$400 plus GST for us to fill them out lmao I've done two of them free of charge#The ATO are cracking down on trusts that have rental properties obviously#The rule in 2005 to not pay the surcharge in land tax seems to be no more#i wish i could find those letters that they did back then#why couldn't this have come up while Jenette was working there
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Yandere Headcanon: Worship
Yandere Forgotten God (tentacle monster) x GN Reader
TW: Tentacles, teratophillia, gore, dubcon, and yandere themes
He was an ancient chaos god, one that was once revered amongst humans a millennium ago. But over time he had been forgotten when his fishing village had become a city. Now he was nothing more than a tall tale. A god with no name. He no longer had a humanoid form but was now a blob of black tentacles. It was shameful how far he had fallen from grace from his own pride. He should have made sure he was never forgotten.
The god shouldn’t have been so cocky to believe that monk couldn’t seal him away but alas, this was the punishment he deserved for his insatiable greed.
So when you arrive to his shrine and accidentally break the millennium old ward, he’s shocked. Have his own prayers finally been answered? Has someone come to free him from this lonely existence?
“I’ve heard there was once a god of chaos here so I have come to pray to you… please hear my plea.” You then bowed down in respect to the shrine and cried a bit. “I do not wish to be married off to some senile, corrupt man. Please god, if you hear me, save me.” You cried before him. You wanted to be saved before married you off to some old nobleman. You shared your woes of how this man made your city nearly inhabitable with his high taxes and of his salacious behavior. How could he not be swayed? He felt obligated to help you.
And so the god did what he did best, he wreaked havoc. He used his supernatural abilities to cause a landslide onto that nobleman’s home, killing him instantly. Now you no longer had to worry about being a stupid old man’s property. You could continue on with your life worshipping him! Your god!
You visited his shrine daily and left him small offerings. Ones that he would have rejected in the past but was positively thrilled to have now. The god began to love you. How could he not be drawn to your genuine gratitude? He couldn’t remember the last time someone had been this thrilled with him… it must’ve been over a thousand years ago now? He didn’t know…
What he loved most about you was your smile. It warmed his heart and he adored it. You were his world and he wanted to be more humanoid for you…
When your visits became less frequent, he used that time away from you to try to shape his body once more. He wanted to be with you. To hold you. To touch you, but he couldn’t do that as a shapeless blob of tentacles… but he could if he was more humanoid.
And so here he was with a mostly humanoid body with functioning male reproductive organs… save for the tentacles that remained attached to his back. His face was picturesque but his extra limbs weren’t… it didn’t matter. He would do so much for you, more than any human man. You didn’t entirely have a choice.
The god diligently worked on his shrine to make it more inhabitable for you as well. He needed it to be perfect so the two of you could be here for all eternity together. Him and his savior! His beloved devotee!
When you returned to his shrine after a week of not seeing him with bruises on your face, he was livid. Who had harmed you? Why would they hurt you? Hurt his destined spouse? How dare they… how dare they.
You shared your woes and prayed for salvation once more, this time from your family. They believed you to now be bad luck due to the nobleman’s sudden death and began to verbally and physically abuse you. You looked so miserable… just like him. His poor, precious worshipper didn’t deserve such treatment. No. They deserved to be worshipped.
The god now had enough power to leave his shrine due to your generous offerings. Your worship gave him the power to become a great chaos god once more.
And the god once more inflicted his wrath upon your enemies. This time he tore them apart limb from limb, starting from their mouths to their hands and eventually to their feet. He wished to start out by ripping out the tongues that spat venomous words at you. To break every bone in their hands and feet for the pain they inflicted on you. For every sin committed against you, he would inflict it back tenfold.
This is the first time you were able to see his true form as well… you were so silent the entire time of his massacre of your family. Was he so gorgeous that you were speechless? How cute his darling was!
You began to sob when he held your face between his blood coated palms. The smell of iron was too much for you that you began to retch but he was oblivious that he was the reason of your disgust and fear. Those damn humans must be too much for you to be around… perhaps he should whisk his spouse away?
So he did just that. His arms and tentacles tightly wrapped around you as he whisked you off to your new home together. The revamped shrine. He hoped you’d love it since he worked so hard on making it habitable for the two of you!
You struggle in his grip but he doesn’t relent. You must be shy… how cute!
You try to push the tentacles from you, but they merely wrap around your form to gently massage you. He needed to calm you before you hurt yourself… it was okay!
“Be not afraid, my dear.” His voice made you jump in surprise but he chuckled. “I’m not going to hurt you… you’re my beloved after all. My savior.”
“You’re the god of this shrine…” you whispered softly, which made the god eagerly nod. “You’re Xeros.”
Yes! That was his name! The one he had forgotten over the years. You were so sweet to remember his name…
You don’t even have time to protest before his tentacles wrap around your body in an enticing manner. The extra appendages slip into the waist band of your pants and tease your tight hole. You whine at the sudden touch but more tentacles wrap around your arms and legs to keep you in place
“Your offerings were wonderful but I need a better offering since I eliminated your problem…” Xeros smiled down at you with his hauntingly beautiful face. “I demand you as my offering. You will be my eternal spouse.”
“But I’m just a human- ack!” You gagged on the tentacle that was suddenly shoved into your mouth. Your eyes welled up with tears as the god beamed at you.
“It doesn’t matter to me what species you are. I’m a god. I will always get what I want.” Your back arched when one of his slimy tentacles finally breeched the tight ring of muscles and wriggled inside of you. You moaned loudly at the overwhelming sensation of pleasure that overcame you.
“See? Why would you resist such pleasure?” Xeros leaned to whisper, his hot breath tickled the shell of your ear, “I’m far better than any mortal lover. Don’t you think so?”
Your mind is too cloudy to form a coherent reply, your eyes rolled back in you head as his black tendrils ravish you. The tentacle in your mouth soon replaced with his tongue.
This was the way you should always be. You deserved every orifice of your body to be stuffed to the brim with him. To cry and whine in pleasure that ascends human comprehension. To be his spouse and to lay his eggs.
You deserved to be worshipped as his deity
#yandere#yandere fic#yandere imagine#yandere stories#yandere obsession#yandere god#yandere monster x reader#monster yandere#tentacles#t#terat0philliac#monster fudger#monster fucker#TW.tentacles#reader x monster#monster x reader#gender neutral reader#gender neutral s/o#gender neutral imagine#yandere oc#yandere original character#obsessive yandere#yandere eldritch#eldritch#eldrich horror#eldritch monster#delusional yandere#tw.dubcon#yandere headcanons#yandere oneshot
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Things to consider before hiring a business attorney in Dallas
Before hiring a business attorney in Dallas, it's crucial to be informed. Don't make a hasty decision that could impact your business's future. Consider these vital factors: their experience in business law, track record of success, client testimonials, and their understanding of local regulations. Ensure a smooth legal journey by making an informed choice. Protect your business - choose wisely!
#free legal consultation texas#civil attorney dallas tx#property tax attorney texas#dallas business litigation attorney
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Everyday homeowners are human shields for Wall Street’s Internet of Shit slumlords
The American Dream, such as it is, used to be two dreams, one based on work and solidarity, the other on asset appreciation and disconnected individualism. We killed the first one.
As the New Deal gave way to the post-war social safety net, Americans discovered two paths to social mobility: they could join a union, and they could buy a home. Joining a union meant that your wages would rise with productivity, and that the democratic ideal that you were meant to approach once every two years at the ballot-box could follow you into the building you spent more waking hours in than any other: your jobsite.
Labor unions used their political power to win labor rights, so that even workers who weren't a union couldn't be arbitrarily fired, or maimed on the job with impunity, or harassed or abused. And while the labor movement was mired in the same racist legacy that every American institution brought forward out of genocide and slavery, where racialized people started unions of their own or demanded representation from the unions who nominally represented them, they thrived.
Then there were houses. On the one hand, owning your home insulated you from the petty tyranny of the landlord, the threat of eviction, rent hikes, indifferent or dangerous building maintenance, and all the other miseries that arise when you think of a building as your home and someone else thinks of it as an asset, and the board is tilted so that they win every argument.
But homeownership wasn't just sold as a way to get out from under scumbag landlords: it was primarily sold as a way to build intergenerational wealth. Your house wasn't just a place to live: it was an asset, and it appreciated.
And if the dividends of labor protection were unevenly distributed between white people and racial minorities, the dividends of home ownership were almost entirely hoarded by white families. Federal policies – redlining – combined with racist lending at the local level, meant that Black families and other racialized groups were stuck in tenancy, while white families build wealth thanks to federal subsidies:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170220005558/https://www.demos.org/sites/default/files/publications/Asset%20Value%20of%20Whiteness.pdf
Those were the two American dreams: a good job and your own home. We killed the first one, and the second one devoured us whole.
Without a strong labor movement, wages stagnated. Corporate power waxed, and with it, the power to pollute, to poison, to maim and to defraud. The labor movement wasn't strong enough to stop Reagan from killing free UC tuition when he was governor of California. It wasn't strong enough to hold back spiraling health care prices. It wasn't strong enough to block the business lobby from neutering antitrust and ushering in four decades of market concentration, market capture and corruption. Workers couldn't save their defined benefits pension and were railroaded into market-based 401(k)s, forcing them to play the stock casino against their bosses, ever the sucker at the poker table.
With stagnant wages and out of control medical, educational and end-of-life bills, homeownership – the thing you do as an individual, where your gain is someone else's loss – became the American secular religion. Your house wasn't just a place to sleep and keep your photo albums: if it appreciated enough, you might be able to liquidate it on your deathbed and pay off your eldercare, your healthcare, your kids' college debt, and leave enough left over for your kids' downpayments.
And so every American who had a home became the enemy of every American who didn't – including one another's children. Every home built threatened your own property values. The racist, batshit American school funding formula, which sees schools funded out of property taxes, meaning the richest kids get the best schools, turned out to be a great way to increase your property values.
Protections for tenants, meanwhile, threatened the entire American way of life – the American dream itself. Every protection a tenant got – protection from eviction or rent hikes, the legal right to a safe and well-maintained home – reduced the value of every home in town.
After all, the better a landlord has to treat their tenants, the less money a landlord can make from a rental property. The less money a landlord can make from a rental property, the less they'd bid on a house like yours if it went up for sale.
And since anyone planning to buy your house to live in it has to outbid a landlord who might want to rent it out, giving tenants any protection threatened everything – the one asset you owned, which was your plan a, b and c for paying off all that health, education, and assisted living debt:
https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/06/the-rents-too-damned-high/
Today, the house-as-asset scam is breathing its last. There are millions more people who need homes than there are homes available. Sure, homelessness is a fantastically complex problem, but you could address every aspect of it – addiction, mental illness, joblessness – and millions of people would still be homeless, because there aren't enough homes for them to live in:
https://headgum.com/factually-with-adam-conover/myths-about-homeless-people-with-dr-margot-kushel
70% of all inflation in 2024 came from the cost of housing; a quarter of that came from illegal collusive behavior by landlords to hike rents:
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/up-to-a-quarter-of-rental-inflation
Wall Street landlords have raised gigantic war-chests and are buying up homes at a rate never before seen, converting every available single-family home in many cities from an owner-occupied home to a rental. Private equity and hedge fund landlords have elevated charging junk fees to an absurdist theater project: you pay a "convenience" charge for paying your rent in cash. But also for paying your rent by direct transfer. Oh, and also for paying in cash. When Wall Street is your landlord, your home is a slum, dangerously undermaintained, sometimes lethally so:
https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords
Capitalists hate capitalism. The best thing to sell is something your customer can't live without, and that no one else has for sale. That's why "the market" loves private prisons so much:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/02/captive-customers/#guillotine-watch
The vast sums Wall Street is putting into buying up all of America's available housing stock is a bet that they can establish regional monopolies over having a home, and charge all the market can bear.
That's the plan at Invitation Homes, a company that was just targeted by the FTC for a slate of eye-watering crimes against the tenants in the 80,000 single-family homes they've acquired:
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/09/ftc-takes-action-against-invitation-homes-deceiving-renters-charging-junk-fees-withholding-security
Invitation Homes purchases homes as they come on the market, and they're also a leading customer of the "build-to-rent" housing industry, a fast-growing segment of new housing starts.
Writing about the FTC's enforcement action against Invitation Homes, Matt Soller brings in Starwood Capital Group, who manage Invitation Homes properties, and own 14,000 more homes in the sunbelt. Invitation and Starwood hate the anti-monopoly movement, and Barry Sternlicht, Starwood's billionaire CEO, really hates FTC Chair Lina Khan:
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-corporate-slumlords
The FTC complaint lays out a suite of just comically sleazy things ways that Invitation abuses its tenants, starting with false advertising. The company lists its houses at relatively low rents, then charges a large fee to apply to live there. When you pass the application process, you're told the rent is actually much higher, and if you walk away from the deal, you forfeit your application fee. That scam's netted Invitation $18m since 2019.
Stoller really hates junk fees, calling them "convenience fees without any convenience, service charges without any service performed." He lays out Invitation's long list of junk fees, which honestly sound like a list that Chatgpt would spit out if you prompted it for fifty junk fees that wouldn't pass the giggle-test: "utility management fees" "Lease Easy bundle fees," "air filter delivery fee," "smart home technology fees," etc etc.
"Smart home technology fee?" Yeah, Invitation's gone in hard for Internet of Shit smart home tech. The SVP who oversees Invitation's smart home fee program was ordered to "juice this hog" (you guys, juice doesn't come from hogs).
After decades of recruiting everyday American homeowners to demand anti-tenant policies that benefit giant corporations, American tenants have few rights on paper and even fewer in practice. That's left the door wide open for Invitation to abuse their tenants in a myriad of dismal and unimaginative ways: stealing their deposits, trashing their credit reports to retaliate against complaints, illegal evictions, busted appliances, mold, vermin, insects – the whole slumlord playbook.
As Stoller writes, there's a twist: "this landlord isn’t just a random slumlord, it’s one of the biggest Wall Street players in housing."
There are vast fortunes to be made in converting the human right to housing into an asset class, but those fortunes end up in the hands of a very small number of billionaires. On their own, they wouldn't have the political power to dismantle protections for tenants.
Realistically speaking, most kids who grew up in their parents' owner-occupied homes are going to end up tenants, thanks to undersupply and housing inflation. But those kids' parents have spent decades demanding policies to make their homes as valuable as possible – including mortgage tax breaks (but not rent tax breaks!), looser eviction laws, and less enforcement of what few protections tenants have.
Middle class homeowners are the useful idiots and human shields of the billionaires who are determined to force every American under 40 raise their kids in a rented slum full of spiders, ratshit and black mold, which will still cost 60% of their take-home salary.
That's why the FTC's action against Invitation Homes is such a big deal. And as Stoller points out, Chair Khan is really just implementing Kamala Harris's campaign promise to get Wall Street out of the landlord business.
Wall Street's raid on your bedroom and kitchen has inspired a generation of "finfluencer" copycats who buy and flip apartment buildings, sucking ever-larger amounts of cash out of them until they're unfit for human habitation, with mountains of rat-infested garbage ringing their crumbling walls:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/22/koteswar-jay-gajavelli/#if-you-ever-go-to-houston
Any future worth living in is going to get housing right. We need to stop thinking of housing as an asset and realize that it is, first and foremost, a human right. That's the premise of my 2023 solarpunk novel The Lost Cause, which just came out in paperback:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865946/thelostcause
You can't protect yourself from rising seas or rising healthcare bills through individual home-ownership. Solidarity – the kind of solidarity that once powered the union movement, and that is powering it again – is the only way to defeat the housing profiteers. The New Deal wasn't perfect, which is why whatever we do next has to be bigger, further reaching, and more inclusive than what FDR did almost a century ago.
The only minority that should be excluded from the next New Deal is billionaires.
Tor Books as just published two new, free LITTLE BROTHER stories: VIGILANT, about creepy surveillance in distance education; and SPILL, about oil pipelines and indigenous landback.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/01/housing-is-a-human-right/#rentier-tech
Image: Sam Valadi (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/132084522@N05/17086570218/
Carlos Delgado (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wall_Street_-_New_York_Stock_Exchange.jpg
CC BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
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A reminder of the allegations against Neil Gaiman, as shared by Hire Survivors Hollywood, a non-profit group who support survivors of sexual assault. These survivors aren’t just “the victims”: they have names and stories, and their voices deserve to be heard.
Scarlett, who worked as a nanny for Gaiman’s children, revealed that he sexually assaulted her in 2022 when she was 22 and he was 61, initiating an ongoing non-consensual sexual relationship.
K, who met Gaiman at a book signing in 2003 when she was 18 and he was in his mid-40s, describes a similar pattern of rape and sexual assault after they began a sexual relationship two years later.
Caroline Wallner, who worked on Gaiman’s property, revealed that he coerced her into sex by threatening her job and housing, and that he used explicit images and sexual demands to exert control over her.
Julia Hobsbawm was forced to fight off an assault by him in her London home in 1986.
Claire, who came forward anonymously in a podcast series, shared that Gaiman assaulted her during a book tour in the US in 2013. Gaiman took her to a room on his tour bus, got on top of her, kissed her, and groped her under her dress. In a 2022 phone call recording, Gaiman can be heard apologizing for his behavior, and offering $60,000 as a “tax-free gift” to cover the cost of a decade of therapy.
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