Comments

1

How are people with no money supposed to pay rent?
How are people with no money supposed to pay mortgages?

What do landlords and banks believe is going to happen when hundreds of thousands of people are pushed out into the streets - jobless and now homeless during a pandemic?
Are people going to rush to rent that apartment or buy that house?

The level of delusion, denial, and destruction happening in this country is astronomical.
When will people wake up? Trump and his minions do not care how many die or how massive the economic destruction is. He and the GOP have decided to let the country burn to the ground.

In a country where a handful of people have more wealth than the rest of the country and most of the world, you would think we would be leading the world with how to handle this pandemic. But no. We've opted for the slow motion zombie apocalypse.

It's not bad enough that over 40 million people have lost their jobs.
It's not bad enough that 126,00+ and counting people are dead.
It's not bad enough that the long term health effects of the virus are not even fully known - but are appearing to be worse than ever imagined (neurological problems, lung, heart, and kidney damage, blood clots, strokes, and ???) and that huge swaths of the idiots in this country believe this is a hoax.

NOW the people have decided to make this horror show infinitely more horrific by shoving hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, out on the to the streets with nowhere to go. How exactly will this be good for anyone?

If people are forced into a position where they are hungry, homeless, jobless (and also sick), what exactly do those in positions of power think is going to happen?

Trump won't be the only one hiding in a bunker.

2

Pity the poor landlord. Where is ownership for the Renters? Their credit rating prevents them from ownership, so some schlub of a landlord can have extra income without adding labor to the equation.

Landlords hold all the power, and in this upside down world the poor downtrodden exploiters of others desires pity and relief.

It's obvious you would never grant relief to your tenants without the law forcing you to do so. Why should they sympathize with you?

3

Not true at all. Not every landlord is a billionaire. Sime people worked and saved to be able to rent out their home to afford some moderate income during retirement. Buying low and paying off my mortgage after thirty plus years. Just trying to get by like everybody else, only I put my money in real estate instead of the stock market. I don't have a retirement -- my house was supposed to be my retirement. I'm not saying to pity me. But I don't think people are really thinking about reality. Most people are just reacting out of fear.
So while I fully sympathize with renters (I was once one) I don't think this solution was really well thought out. And THAT'S the problem today. Everybody wants simple answers. I don't want people on the street but I can't afford to not have rent for six months. I'll be the street.

4

“As a modest property owner, I can't possibly be expected to pay a mortgage without rental income.”

What a shame that you can’t use other people’s income to pay your rent.

5

Love a rant about unfairness from a person who admits their renters are the ones directly paying their mortgage. If you’re actually about fairness, your renters, who are paying the property’s mortgage bills, should be the ones reaping the benefits from having an ownership in your property, and you as an unnecessary middleman should be the one questioning the system and people you’re hurting.

6

I'm sad. Pretentious vegan is angry. Apparently people don't know how to have a conversation anymore. Just because somebody is giving me money doesn't mean I don't earn it, deserve it, or have my own liabilities that put me at risk too. If you can't find any middle ground to understand that position of owners, why should owners bother to help you? You can't meet half way? Go back and read my statement. Everybody wants all or nothing which is killing our country. Instead of waiving ALL rent or postponing it, why not allow owners to collect some part of it, or else offer relief to owners as well.

7

Ah yes, the pandemic induced housing crisis. Saw this coming from day 1 of lockdowns. How do people pay rent when they don’t have jobs because the economy isn’t functioning? Let’s get this straight: 1) this is an economic crisis and a health crisis at the same time. 2) this is happening across the world, not just in the US, and not just because of Trump (although he has offered terrible leadership). This is just the beginning. The longer this goes on, the more stress it is going to put on the current economic and political system. It may even break the existing system. We’ll have to figure out new ways of doing things. Maybe there is UBI. Maybe the government pays rents? Maybe the govt takes ownership? Maybe all loans have to get renegotiated and repriced? The shit storm is upon us and we’re going to have to figure it out.

8

SoundColor my question to you is do you believe you will be able to rent if you evict a renter who can't pay? Nearly 50 million people have lost their jobs. If you have a choice between allowing someone to remain housed and receive no rent vs. having an apartment empty and receive no rent, which do you choose? This is an unprecedented situation, wholly created by lack of leadership by the federal government. All of the catastrophic loss this country is and will experience is 100% on Trump and the GOP.

There are also numerous actions being taken by banks (and states) to prevent foreclosures for those who cannot pay their mortgages. They may or may not be as tenuous as eviction moratoriums for renters. They are worth looking into, however (and easily found via Google).

There are people who can and are paying their rent (including my household). My mother is retired, thankfully, and her pension (from a private sector job) pays the rent. We are fortunate. We don't take that for granted. We donated the stimulus check entirely to charity.

Those who cannot pay their rent are not doing it to make your life miserable. They are doing it because they cannot pay it! People who have NO INCOME cannot pay their bills. They are stressed out to the hilt themselves and making them homeless will not make that any better, only worse.

We have nearly 100 million people going to food banks or relying on food being given away in their neighborhoods (World Central Kitchen is feeding hundreds of thousands of people, if not tens of millions, every single day in this country).

(full disclosure - my mother was a landlord for 13 years - in a building in which she lived, with initially 2 rental units and then just one - and when she bought the building she literally had no money, so she needed the rental income, and when she no longer relied on it, she used her position as a landlord to help people, by charging less than market rate rent and working with tenants when times were rough).

9

“If you can't find any middle ground to understand that position of owners, why should owners bother to help you? You can't meet half way?”

I understand where you’re coming from about people meeting you halfway. Being in the middle is the lifestyle you are most familiar with as an owner who admits your renters are making your mortgage payments.

10

@6 - you made an investment. The investment isn't as "solid" as you thought it was. Now it's losing money. Bummer for you. The free market maketh, and the free market taketh away.

If you can't afford to lose the money from your investment. Sell it. What? No one will buy it? Lower the price. What? No one wants to buy the place with a renter who isn't paying rent?

Gosh that Land Lord dream you had was a nightmare. Shame you can't wake up from it.

How many months of rent paying tenants will it take for you to recoup your loss?

I'm still bored, please whine some more. Or, practice the golden rule. Work with your tenants and help them help you. The economy is going to take years to rebound, flu pandemics usually run a couple of years, and only then will the true recovery begin. If you were renting from you and lost your job, how would you want to be treated? Act accordingly.

11

Perhaps you should have prepared better, socked away a nest egg to draw upon on a rainy day.
That's what I keep hearing landlords and others living off their investments saying to poor and working class renters, despite the fact that it's virtually impossible to do when half or more of your income is going to pay RENT.
Maybe those at the top (relatively speaking) might need to take some of the hit that those at the bottom take every damn time the economy falters.

12

How dense are all of you? What do you think happens to that house when the rent isn't paid? The mortgage doesn't get paid. Know what happens when you dont pay your mortgage? The bank takes your house. Know what happens to the renter when the house is taken back by the bank? They no longer have a place to live. I rent because I haven't saved enough to buy a house yet. Renting puts a roof over my head and allows me more freedom to live in different parts of the city.

That landlord you're ragging on? who foots the bill for the water heater when it craps out mid Jan? Who gets a repair person in the same day to fix the AC when it stops working on a 100deg day? Certainly not the renter.

I really like not having to worry about shelling $10k out to fix something in the house I rent. I also like that Im not financially tied to a huge immobile asset.

As is typical of Portland, we have a bunch of entitled people whining about not getting a handout they feel so deserving of.

THE WORLD OWES YOU NOTHING....grow up.

13

@12 says "As is typical of Portland, we have a bunch of entitled people whining about not getting a handout they feel so deserving of.

THE WORLD OWES YOU NOTHING....grow up."

The federal government, specifically the president of the United States and his administration are 100% responsible for the current mess we are in and this is NOT about Portland. You can paint everyone as entitled whiners, that does not change the fact that there are tens of millions of people out of work and tens of millions of people who cannot pay their bills BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO INCOME. Even if they all had emergency funds of six months, those would be gone by the end of August which is only two months away and this pandemic is not ending anytime soon.

Pushing everyone out on the street and making them homeless in the midst of pandemic is not at all reasonable no matter what you or anyone else believes.

As a society we are in wholly uncharted territory. Our society has no idea how to navigate this disaster. Our refusal to acknowledge what is really happening and recognize what is really going to need to be done to change the way we live our lives, if we want to continue to have lives to live, is our biggest collective obstacle right now.

The mayor, the governor, state legislatures, senators, congressmen, and yes, even the president and his administration need to change course and start facing reality and working on solutions that have nothing to do with "getting back to normal." Banks, landlords, employers, educators, business owners, basically every single person living in this country is going to have to get a grip and change their mindset.

This is an extremely contagious and deadly virus for which there is no treatment and no cure. Even if herd immunity is possible (and it is not at all even remotely considered possible), 224 MILLION people in this country would have to have had the virus (and how many dead would that mean). And that's only using the 70% model. Due to the total and complete disregard for human life exhibited by Trump and his administration, this country and it's level of delusion, denial, and destruction due to this pandemic could be the cause of catastrophic loss that affects every single person in the country. We don't even have a concept of how to mange it or deal with it or what it is going to look like when it is, if it is ever, over.

Moving forward, the future is all about something we have never seen. There is no going back. And no amount of name calling, whining, complaining or denial will change that.

14

Recently passed by the Oregon legislature (email from my representative): It's a start, but will most likely not be a final solution.

Housing Protections

The legislature passed two important bills that provide relief to both renters and homeowners. It is critical to help people stay in their homes as we fight this pandemic.

We extended the moratorium on both commercial and residential no-cause evictions through September 30th and created a six-month repayment grace period after the moratorium ends for tenants to repay their back rent accrued during the moratorium.

We protected residential and commercial mortgage payers from foreclosure by deferring payments until September 30th if a borrower is unable to pay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Deferred payments would be due at the end of the loan, unless the borrower and lenders determine alternate, agreeable terms.

15

@Christina Rae -- Thank You!
Always appreciate your PSAs!

your clarity of vision as well.
thank you.


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