$150 Million Apple Fund Launches With Goal of Building Affordable Housing in California Bay Area

[CarlJ]

In part it’s prop 13 which effectively shifts the tax burden to new home buyers.

This is an ongoing problem here - Prop 13 was/is great, for those who bought before it and still own the same property (as time goes by, this ends up helping long-established businesses more than individuals, if I recall correctly). For those who haven’t owned the same house for decades, it’s the opposite of helpful. It creates two unequal classes, which is a bad thing.

but everything you said is spot on. I think people who live out in the middle of the country with miles of empty land around think “well just go a little further and build more”. In cities that’s not always possible.

 

[cmaier]

This is an ongoing problem here - Prop 13 was/is great, for those who bought before it and still own the same property (as time goes by, this ends up helping long-established businesses more than individuals, if I recall correctly). For those who haven’t owned the same house for decades, it’s the opposite of helpful. It creates two unequal classes, which is a bad thing.

Yep. Add in the tax “cut” (that increased taxes here), and there is a disincentive to sell your starter home and trade up as your income rises. Doing so would mean your property tax jumps disproportionately, and you can’t get the full mortgage deduction. So the “more affordable” houses don’t come on the market unless people are moving out of state.

 

[Rojaaemon]

If those companies moved, wouldn't it just be a matter of time until those states begin to have housing problems?
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Are there vested interests who want to keep housing scarce so they can continue to profit from skyrocketing home prices? For example, people in certain communities voting against building more single or multi family homes there.

I also hear the argument "what about the people who (over)paid top dollar for houses that would surely go down in price if more affordable housing was available?" How is their situation any different from people who lost big in the stock market? As certain people like to point out, "It's a free market", "buyer beware", etc. So why should we have any sympathy for real estate speculators who contributed to the housing problem?

Also, how many Costcos, Walmarts and giant shopping plazas do we need in a single city?

Good questions! I don't know the laws and restrictions in Apple Town. Ever wonder why the interest paid on mortgages is tax deductible? Who benefits from that besides homebuyers [or Who lobbies for that in Congress?]? What effects does it have on the market? Why should homebuyers and lenders be subsidized?

 

[Apple2GS]

Hong Kong has high rise buildings with over 4000 people in each. 2 of these would house all the homeless in San Francisco. Of course, people will come up with thousands of reasons that this is a bad idea without proposing a solution that will work, so nothing gets done.

 

[cmaier]

Hong Kong has high rise buildings with over 4000 people in each. 2 of these would house all the homeless in San Francisco. Of course, people will come up with thousands of reasons that this is a bad idea without proposing a solution that will work, so nothing gets done.

Of course high rise buildings in an earth quake zone, given the geology of San Francisco, are a bad idea

A settlement was just reached over the 58-story skyscraper in San Francisco that's tilting, sinking, and making residents' condos 'worthless'

Millennium Tower is a luxury residential high-rise in San Francisco that has sunk 18 inches and tilted 14 inches toward the north-west.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[firewood]

Hong Kong has high rise buildings with over 4000 people in each. 2 of these would house all the homeless in San Francisco. Of course, people will come up with thousands of reasons that this is a bad idea without proposing a solution that will work, so nothing gets done.

Various cities have tried creating very low income and welfare housing by building groups of high rise buildings, and many of those housing complexes eventually turned into high crime rate tenement tear-downs. How do you propose to prevent that?

 

[Apple2GS]

Various cities have tried creating very low income and welfare housing by building groups of high rise buildings, and many of those housing complexes eventually turned into high crime rate tenement tear-downs. How do you propose to prevent that?

Laws, police, and drug rehab programs. Build the housing then outlaw tents and other makeshift housing. This shouldn’t be an impossible problem to solve given the great wealth of these cities.