• zalgotext@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    So they’re losing the same amount of money either way.

    But if they own the property, they can potentially get that money back as the value of the property increases. Property is an appreciating asset, at least in the current US housing market, which is the frame of reference I’m coming from.

    And how would they be building wealth through property, if the property value doesn’t rise?

    The property value almost certainly will rise, as long as the property owner maintains it properly.

    I think you’re assuming that I would be paying off a loan with their rent?

    I was assuming that, yes, but it’s sort of besides the point. The fact remains, any money a renter puts in, they can’t ever get back. The property owner however, being the one in control of the appreciating asset, can grow the money that they collect from the renter by investing it back into their property, increasing the rate at which it appreciates.

    Edit: in the imaginary scenario where property value never changes, the tenant is still paying all the costs of homeownership, without the benefit of homeownership, ie, owning an asset which has value and can be sold. In this scenario the landlord is simply a middleman who is hoarding an asset.