Binging your channel for 5 hours: cool lovecraftian story, sucks to be the protagonists. Watching John Oliver for 15 minutes: what's the point of living any more...
The landlord I rent from hasn't raised the rent on me at all in the last 4 years. I asked her once how she manged to stay afloat and she said that she attracts low-maintenance renters who stay long term and pay on time. I've never been more grateful -- especially since watching this video.
That's amazing! My complexes owners sold to an LLC last year and my rent went up 53%. I know there's still good and moral owners out there and they've got a golden ticket to heaven for sure.
@@daniellong3194 53%?! That's just evil. Yeah. I learned quickly in college that you'll get a far better deal renting from an individual vs a company. I moved to a small unit owned by a retired professor in my senior year and had none of the headaches from the previous year (where I rented from an LLC). I didn't get questions of 'is that person on the lease?' if I had a friend over for a week or get a $50 'late fee' for paying the rent half a day late. The current person I rent from (when I moved for grad school) didn't even ask for a credit rating. Just proof that I had a job, first and last month's security, and a promise that I wouldn't get a pet. That's it.
I have a good landlord too, they exist. It’s a retired couple, they rent me their cute garage apartment for literally half of what they could charge. But we can’t rely on people to just be nice. We need to legally protect housing as a human right and stop using housing as an investment opportunity.
@@daniellong3194 A good and moral landlord is like a good and moral slaveowner. Yeah, there's definitely a spectrum from abjectly cruel and evil to kindly and understanding, and it's a lot better for someone to be on the latter end than the former, but the entire institution they're partaking in is still fundamentally immoral just in itself regardless of how nice the people involved are.
An Old Adage: A poor man buys a pair of shoes 2x/year for 10 bucks each while a rich man buys a pair of shoes only once in their lifetime for 50 dollars. This is the nature of our bootstraps we pull on.
@@rochester212Homelessness is getting out of control because rent continues to skyrocket while wages stay the same. More and more people are being kicked out of their houses and moved to the streets.
There’s an elderly woman at my apartment complex battling cancer who told me she’s going to have to live with her son now because they’re raising her rent by $600. She’s not ready to give up her independence but there are NO other places she can afford to go to. She’s been here for THIRTY YEARS and a new corporation buys up the community this year and does this immediately. It’s just downright evil.
That's literally my exact situation. Except I have kidney cancer and I'm not exactly old ....I got backed up scripts I can't even get filled my water s off. And Ssdi is extremely slow due to the pandemic so I'm probably about to be homeless if it doesn't come thru and I have no friends or family besides my cat/roomate/BFF and it's literally all I think about it's scary
Neighborhood Mom & Pop landlords are always a mixed bag. Some are decent, some are aspiring villains with delusions of being millionaires. But one thing that holds true, always, is that the larger the landlord the more linearly awful they behave. Guaranteed.
Grandparents often live with their children in the Asian community and that may be another reason they're so successful. Grandparents can put that rent money towards the household.
And the #1, most expensive survival bill on everyone's list that they absolutely can NOT do without. America really puts the Lord back in Landlord. It's like having a license to hold the peasants hostage. Are we _really_ sure we aren't living in a Feudal system just because they don't flash the fancy titles in their names?
The more troubling thing is when you rewatch all his old episodes of serious problems we faced with solutions that we're still dealing with today, because a small amount of rich, bible thumping dicks call the shots.. Im not optimistic this is going to be addressed either
This is seriously some ruthless levels of totalitarian oppression of the poor and middle class, & yet they've managed to trick so many poor trump cultists into voting against their best interests and pro rich policies thinking one day it'll apply to them, its so stupid
the irony is this clown informs you on "current" topics. you will be repeating whole heartedly his words in conversations at work, with friends.. Olivers net is 35 million? colbert 75, Trevor 100.. you are a lemming.
This is the story I've been waiting him to to report on since the show started. And he didn't disappoint. It was a nightmare finding affordable housing even as far back as the early 2000's for me. In the end, even with two incomes, me and my girlfriend could only find housing supplied by slumlords. I'm now 48, work full-time, and with topped out pay working for a huge company, and have lived in my family's tiny apartment living room for the past TWELVE YEARS because that's all I can afford. Everyone else at my job is paying 50% (OR MORE) on rent alone! You know what's sadder? My family doesn't want me to leave because they can't afford rent without my help. I hate working and living in America. Hate hate hate hate HATE it. This country has made it very clear it simply doesn't want me, but I don't know where else to go.
Maybe you've been looking for housing in the wrong places. I only had to show up one time to get an apartment. I was able to lower my rent. Oh wait, I don't live in the US.
at what point will the UN let us move under the status of "refugees". when does the political opression/ environmental/ man-made disaster status kick in? im starting to think the UN will not actively challenge the way the US currently treats its most vulnerable citizens.
My boyfriend and I own a rental property- we bought it 3 years ago. A single mom, her kid, and her disabled mother lives there. We've installed handicap updates and done some much needed foundation repairs. It's a large 3 bedroom home. She pays $800 a month- the same price she was paying when we bought it. We REFUSE to raise her rent when we have the ability to eat these cost increases a little better than she does. I don't understand how people can be so cold hearted and greedy.
Just in case no one has said it to you lately, thank you for that kindness. I live in Austin and its stupid rare to hear about a landlord having that kind of consideration for their tenants.
I had an absolutely wonderful landlord before I bought my home (I'd probably never have been able to purchase a home had he not been a kind and reasonable person). It's refreshing to see there are some good landlords out there, and I comment you for treating your tenants with kindness.
"We are clearly willing to prioritize housing in the budget but not for the people who need it most" covers almost all public policy in the US. Privatizing the gains and socializing the losses for the wealthy and saying fuck off for everyone else is what the US does best.
Not only for the US, it is how democracy works after ww2 imo. You allow concentration of wealth to spiral out of control, that wealth then needs protection from the poor and the only way to solidify it is to legalise it through changing the legal framework (ie buying politicians). They become a tool for the wealthy, just like the houses and cars they buy.
If eviction were made illegal it would make the economy work for everyone Ultimate privatization means each family owns the home they are in and that’s it
@@letmewatchmyshows How would you decide which families get which homes? Some are nicer than others. And what about homes that people build for themselves? Would you have to give away a home that you built?
The hilarious part is that the politicians and other people fighting against a cap on rent are the same people complaining about the increase in homelessness.
Politicians and lobbyists want to subsidize high rental costs and profit off of it through investment in rentals, rather than actually addressing the problem by capping the amount of profit that can be taken in rent above cost to own, bringing rents back down to reasonable levels.
the head-in-the-sand illogical fairy tale model (Pleasantville) is what drives American culture. So many people believe that if they believe it, then it must be real. They don't want to know facts or help solve problems. Pretending they don't exist is so much easier. That's how these govt. paradoxes become reality.
Because if there's anything worse than people whose existence you disapprove of camping in your neighborhood, it's having them for neighbors 😱 At least in the minds of many 🤏🙄
The worst thing about this is that rent prices NEVER go down. Home prices fluctuate, so people can sometimes afford them if they wait, but rent will never ever decrease once it is raised. So if you're stuck in the renting cycle and the rent raises, you can't even save a dime, as your rent keeps going up so you'll never be able to afford a home and these investment buyers are purposely making that the future so they can continue to get your money for life.
Well, when people left SF in large amounts during the pandemic rent prices did actually go down in a lot of the city. It went from "Are you insane!" to about "Really? Holy crap I guess".
No it does not. My wife and I moved into our apartment in Nov of 2012 for $1090 a month. It is now $1910 and we've outgrown it so we're moving a new one which is $2750. OUCH!!! We are unable to buy a house because we've only been given a mortgage loan of $392,000, which can't get us anything of value.
@@JoeSimonsen and that's only because the pandemic forced them to lower it🥲. Without the buffer of the pandemic, renters have no more protection in place to keep us housed if we're forced out of the market. At least home owners can remain in the properties that have foreclosed on for the next year, maybe 2.
I'm a legal aid attorney that gives advice to tenants facing eviction in Cook County, IL and just wanted to comment that this show did a remarkable job of hitting just about all of the issues that tenants encounter on a regular basis as well as identifying some of the most hopeful solutions. Great work! It excites me to see how well you did this, thinking that I can rely well on your research to educate me on subjects I'm less familiar with. And make me laugh.
@@pavelimani There's nothing worse? How about a landlord that doesn't want to understand that people's lives sometimes turn around unexpectedly? What if your tenant can't pay because of a sudden cancer? You're going to evict him/her, right? Money over human lives. What you should do is give the tenant a time limit to start paying again and collect the unpaid rent as if it was a loan, with a reasonable interest if you want. But not evict them the first month, give people a chance, god damnit. We should help each other out.
@@snorch6697 It is not a landlord's responsibility to look after your life. Landlords provide a product and incur costs. If you don't pay for the product then landlords are paying for your costs.
@@pavelimani A home is not just a product like jewelry or a restaurant meal, it's a basic human need. That's why I believe that if you rent homes, you have to be flexible. You are like the Rush guy in the video. Don't be evil, have compassion. In general a person will pay his rent, always, it's only when they are drowning in life issues that they don't pay rent. And then it's when a simple flexibility on rent payment is needed and what landlords should do.
as a student in denmark, i spend a little over 50% of my income on rent, taxes etc. but unlike in the US, my only other expense is food and the occasional rolle of toiletpapier. i have around 10-20% of my income left, to put in my savings each month. i really feel for the people who struggle so much, i hope it gets better.
I'm 24 years old. I've worked full-time since age 18 and done my best to save my money and spend responsibly, and yet I still live with my parents. The cost of rent for some of the cheapest places in my area is still over half of what I make in a month. I love my family and I'm so grateful for them and that my parents are able and willing to continue to let me live at home, but it still sucks to be a grown adult who can't afford to leave their parents' house.
@@tv92taylor Ahh spoken like someone who's not done that shit themselves and got their decent paying job because daddy knew someone. Because that's how fucking jobs work... It doesn't matter what you know, it matters who you know nowadays, that's just the reality.
@tv92taylor People who have trade skills and/or college degrees can have trouble finding affordable places to live. Both things can be true simultaneously. Everyone needs a clean, affordable place to live. It doesn't matter what job or education you have.
I was in that same situation a few years ago (30-ish years old) and my solution was roommates. I moved out with my bro and nephew (one a professor, the other a college student) both of whom are super cool and supportive. Bonus, their rent went down and we could move some place a little nicer with a little more room.
Got a 1.5% raise, cost of living raised 6%, my rent was raised 8.7%.....what am I to do? Oh and then the landlord just decided to not renew my lease so he can get more from a new person. Yep you got it I actually lived in a "low income" housing unit, but now I can't afford "low income" housing.
"They shouldn't sign the contract if they're too stupid to represent themselves in court" Honey, that has nothing to do with intelligence. Not everyone goes to law school. Whether I study quantum physics or flip burgers I need a lawyer the same way I need a doctor. I'm not gonna perform heart surgery on myself. Some people have truly rotten souls.
My thought when I saw that part was, “Yeah, because single parents with multiple children working more than one job are going to have the time or resources to do all the research they’d need to.” This guy learned what he needed to in school, on the job, and over time. Most don’t have that ability.
Their contempt for their fellow countrymen and women borders on pathological. The US military probably treats the people of occupied countries with more respect. I don't want to imagine what this country will look like in another twenty years if we continue on this trajectory.
As someone who is in law school and has taken Property and Contracts, American property and contract law is *complicated*, and it's understandable that people don't understand everything about them. That's what lawyers are for. Fuck the guy who said that in the video.
It is even worse than that. Those contracts are written to be intentionally confusing. I remember a story from some years ago, a guy who worked in a legal department printed up the Multi-Story (thing was like 15 to 20 feet long) terms and services for a digital app, and when he carefully read through it... there were spelling mistakes. Because the point wasn't to make a coherent legal document, but to make a document so impenetrable no one would bother to even read it. So, really, what he is saying is "you are too stupid to not be confused when we are intentionally trying to confuse and mislead and even just flat out lie to you." Which... is really telling, ain't it?
Ah the good old "well you should know what your rights are!" Argument coming from a lawyer, a person who studied law for half a decade full-time, and has a full-time job in the same field, telling others, with completely different day jobs, they should be able to do the same things he does. It never gets old, does it? 😒
Yeah like as someone who got a law degree i was dumbfounded at this guy. Like we go to law school for three years of the most intensive study of our lives and then have to pass a two day long exam to get licensed. And this guy thinks a layman should be punished for not knowing rights that it took him three years of school to learn? Like yeah I get that once you understand contracts they can seem really simple but damn don't forget the work it took to get to that point. like bro if anyone could do that shit it wouldnt require a specialized degree and years of schooling rigorous enough to push some people to the breaking point.
I feel like just saying "Well if everyone should know their rights before signing contracts then why are landlords allowed a lawyer?" would take all the wind out of his sail.
My dad has owned a trailer park (with 2 apartments attached to his home) since the 70s. He worries a lot about raising the rent because he's afraid people can't afford it. We had to raise the rent this year though just to cover the increased costs of the insurance and taxes. The rent is still about half the price of the market and just barely breaks even (except in years with big repairs), but the tenants have been there forever. My dad ended up homeless as a teenager in the 50s and ended up living in the car wash where he worked until a little old lady offered him a room in her boarding house in exchange for helping her mow the grass and keep the place tidy. He's 81 now and is baffled by this housing bubble.
your dad is a hero. I work as a housing specialist for low income families and you have no idea just how much your dad’s lack of greed has improved his tenants life, mental health, and security. I don’t use the term hero lightly, his actions can really go a long way.
Oh goodness, however could your saintly landlord father be rid of the accursed insurance and taxes? By...not owning those homes? By...selling them to other folks who would then pay those taxes (oh wait, the tenants already paying those taxes, they're just paying through your father). Your father is making money, or he wouldn't be doing it.
@@mnschoen My dad owns ONE home, his home. He gets offers from slumlord investors weekly. If he sells, he'd have to move out of the house he's lived in for 50 years, leave his friends and neighbors, and none of those investors are going to keep the rent reasonable for the tenants. He's actually a part of HIS community. And do you want to see his taxes because for YEARS he's been subsidizing the rents with his social security income. Raising the rent only makes him break even UNLESS there's a major repair and then he's still subsidizing it. So no, he's not making any money on it, but that's his home, his community and his neighbors.
Good info except I think a court filing does not stay on your "record", but an actual eviction (Writ of Possession by judge & removal from property by Sheriff) may? Please provide your source ASAP. I'm trying to help a renter who feels intimidated by your possibly false statement. Thank you.
One wonders what kind of incompetent do-nothing government allows this sort of idiocy to go on and on, while having the balls to describe itself as a 'democracy.'
Mostly all of these episodes pertain to us in some way, but often distantly. Today this one just made me want to cry. I'm tired of moving every. single. year. desperately trying to find somewhere to live.
You can’t move some place cheaper if you don’t have the money to give up your job, set aside a portion of your income to see your friends/family, or get the transportation to move somewhere else. And if every area is unaffordable then there is no where to go.
Thats how capitalism, you buy product and you sell for highest price or outsource, you can't mention socialism/communism around these folks. I would hate to buy property/home to rent out, cause you'll have crybabies on the other end, expecting a free cheap handout lol; plus you have to deal with the mental rejects which will damage your property, which I seen plenty of, which I been around almost killed.. That christian is what you call a religious fascist, following supply side jesus; hes a good example of these grifters that follow prosperity gospel..
Every now and then I get hit with the realization that I'll never be able to afford a home of my own like my parents did, but now I'm thinking I'll never afford rent for an apartment on my own, no matter how hard I work. Luckily, I have a good relationship with my parents and I'm allowed to keep living at home, but it would be nice to live independently.
Me too. I'm priced out. The lowest rent where I live is over 1000 and that includes no utilities or additional fees and charges. God forbid you want to live somewhere without roaches.
My husband and I are in the same situation. We moved back in with my parents last year. We're in our mid-30s and trying to start a family, but there's no way we could live on our own. Very thankful my parents not only are willing to let us stay but actively want us to.
You might be priced out in your state, I know I am....but you might consider owning investment property you can afford in another state while you live at home.....that's my plan.
The comments for this video where people share their personal experiences and views from all over the world has been one really good learning experience Thank you!
I work with homeless families and it’s a lot easier to get an individual landlord to give people a break than a property management agency. Individuals tend to just ask for a deposit and first month’s rent. Those rental agencies do a credit check, want 2x the deposit, and require your income to be 3x the monthly income.
That’s what happened when my friend and I were looking. Because it was run by a corporation even though we could reliably pay, they said we didn’t make enough.
@@allison257 unfortunately these types of “love letters” swaying landlords or sellers often result in discrimination, either through conscious or unconscious bias. For example another family could have loved the place just as much, but if they didn’t speak English as their first language, they might not be able to express it in a letter the same way.
Landlords do that as well. Mine did, but rented to me regardless of the fact I don't make 3x the rent. We talked about it and they liked me. I haven't failed them and I won't because they took a chance and treated me like a human being rather than a dollar sign.
@@1987Liono aware USA can give everyone medicare+lower inflation so wages regain value but need to punish all those whom want to stay in Syria like Schiff/pelosi? afterall print money endless just to remain illegally in iraq-syria print money to sponsor artificial civil- direct wars so hillary/albright get cheap gold oil invest in Libya/iraq caused hyperinflation. george bush 14 years ago said he wants ukraine in nato foreshadow f word 2014 coup ua-cam.com/video/nTQ3D1a-j20/v-deo.html wesley clark foreshadow reveal 2000 to 2012 all rig for kill iraq to syria ua-cam.com/video/_mrJRHwbVG8/v-deo.html dnc kill 50 in vegas/portland, thugs attack with stand down cops san jose/charlotte, burn loot several months, sabotage afgan withdraw using russia bounty smear to give taliban equip, blm crash car in to wisconsin parade thanks to nbc follow jury bus smearing ritten house too ua-cam.com/video/UxoL8tHSa7g/v-deo.html The Army Corp of Engineers estimated the cost of fixing the entire water system of Flint, Michigan was between $1-1.5 billion. That was 8 years ago.
That attorney who screams about people not knowing their legal rights should get disbarred. It's literally your job as an attorney to inform people of their legal rights, and not scream why they haven't been to law school before.
"These people that are "too stupid" to have gone to law school? Fuck 'em!" Good LORD, what a goddamn asshole. Never mind that a lot of these people probably WOULD have *LOVED* to go to law school, but literally couldn't fuckin' AFFORD it because those rents are too goddamn high!
thats like me (an engineer) complaining about people not knowing how to design circuits when designing the circuits and explaining whats happening is literally one of the main things about my job lol.
It's actually plain and rude manipulation. While "Ignorance of The Law" is no excuse it hardly applies to *every* law, some reasonability is supposed to be involved. Then state of free legal representation in civil cases is neither common nor can be derived, and quite logically people that cannot afford to pay their rent (including: "because of its exorbitance") cannot afford paid lawyer too... Returning to what the guy have said: he provides "a reason" (or at least words sounding as one) and he act angry (appearing legitimate and warranted) both a psychological tools that reinforce own standpoint regardless of its validity. I mean seriously, that guy is accusing people of being too stupid (and not sufficiently legally competent) to do business with him and his clients, which is also coincidentally number 1 preferred excuse of swindlers and scammers of every variety...
I love that John is being real with us about how he can benefit from the program but doesn't need to be. How often do we hear someone in the spotlight say this? Not very often... we need more people in the spotlight to be this truthful with us.
@@mmerrill5 Good point, but I don't think his point was that the deduction is a bad idea, just that we are capable of supporting the well of with housing so we can also support the needy.
I'm a public school teacher. I was bringing home about $3,000/month this past year, after deductions. I could find no affordable 1-bedroom apartment in town. Yet, there were abundant luxury apartments being built EVERYWHERE. Rent for them was upward of $1,500. I ended up living in shared housing the whole year, living in an Airbnb with five other people who likewise could not find an affordable place. This was one reason I left my job there and am moving elsewhere in the country this year. It's an area with a very strong NIMBY persuasion, which basically eliminates affordable housing in this town. Not a single teacher I know from my school could afford their own place in town: they either shared with housemates, were married to someone who made more money, or drove in from far away. Other places in the country are hemorrhaging teachers too, for similar reasons. Teacher pay is a different conversation for another time, but my point here is that I am comparatively fortunate in this -- and yet I was struggling. If I, with no dependents, on a professional salary, could not find housing, people, people with less privilege and more dependents (spouses, kids, parents, etc.) have it even worse, and I am angry on their behalf.
@J F Funny. You mean in the evening when they are cleaning, grading and making new lessons ? Or when their families need them? What spare time do you mean? Some do have extra jobs, but not because there is an abundance of extra time but in spite of not having it.
It’s a shame. My family has been teachers for generations and wholeheartedly believed for a long time I was destined to be a great teacher as well. But given how teachers are falling further and further into the lower class I just can’t. Education is declining every year and it’s sad. Capitalism is ruining our society
It is absolutely horrifying to think and realize that even with a full time job, you are still on the cusp of being homeless. It's frankly a miracle that the country hasn't collapsed yet under this Investors Hierarchy
Yeah, no one should be struggling to get by in any area of life if they’re working full time. You should, at the very least, be able to cover the basics. But god forbid we raise wages
I’m a US Army veteran who served in Iraq twice. After my second deployment I came back ill, so the Army sent me packing with medical retirement. The base I lived in allowed me to stay in military housing even after retirement. The rent was now paid with my disability compensation, which after a couple of years got cut due to one of my children becoming an adult. I called housing to ask them to give me some time to get the money together. Instead, I got served with an eviction filled federally. I was homeless for almost three years. I tried to get help from the VA, but I didn’t qualify because of being 100% disabled , which means a bigger check supposedly. They didn’t understand that it wasn’t about the money. It was about my record being tarnished. I got hospitalized for suicide ideation after I saw myself alone with my dog in my car with nowhere to go. The system is disgusting and it’s meant to set us up for failure. It doesn’t even matter that at some point I proudly served my country. I was useless to them once I got sick.
Thank you for your service. After dutifully serving your country, making sure you don't end up homeless is the least your country should do for you... it's a travesty.
So sorry, and yes, it's all rigged !!! We're no where near a democracy or meritocracy... capitalism is stopping us from moving forward. It used to help but no longer, pretty much most of our problems are lack of funds.
Here in Sweden we have a renter's union. They provide legal help, negotiate rents, provide information and can even help people financially. We'd probably be fine without it due to other regulations, but it certainly helps a lot of people.
@@annri8248 I don't know where you live mate, but it doesn't seem to be Sweden. The idea of partially removing rent control was debated here a year ago and ended up with the prime minister being ousted.
Huge issue is the delay in getting security deposit back when switching rental homes. You have to pay the new security deposit before you get the previous one back. I have friends who simply can't move because they can't afford $2-3k security deposit while their rent continues to rise.
Since WHEN do you get a security deposit back? I've been ripped off by my landlord EVERY SINGLE TIME I've moved and there's NOTHING you can do about it. A deposit is nothing but a BRIBE to the landlord to let you sign the lease. After that, you can kiss it goodbye. Tennants have NO rights, none.
@@lorraineclark4413 You have no clue what you’re talking about. Assuming you didn’t trash the place you’re security deposit is returned at least in my State. Maybe try standing up for yourself or read your lease contract before spreading misinformation.
@@lorraineclark4413 well tenants definitely have rights but I agree with your sentiment. Always do full video inspections with the landlord present upon move in.
It's far more than the security deposit. On the month that you move, you have to pay: - Your current rent (even if you leave early) - The first month of your next - Potentially also the last month - All of the costs associated with packing and unpacking all of your stuff. - The traditional moving day bribe of pizzas for friends/family - Renting storage trucks and/or hiring a moving company and/or all the gas costs from a dozen round trips in basic vehicles. - (And then of course, whatever hit comes to your security deposit bullshit, if you paid one. Otherwise, you will inevitably receive a bill loaded up with fraudulent charges that will be cheaper than what the lawsuit to challenge those fees would cost.)
I literally brought my mom out to TN from CA to get her to a place where she could afford housing without needing to worry about insane rental prices. Within the last 6 months, she had to find a new place after her apartment decided not to renew her lease (that way they can push out lower income tenants to get in new ones at a significantly higher rate) and found ourselves sifting through property rates that matched the CA prices I brought her out here to avoid, prices she couldn’t afford is despite the fact she has an income that is literally double the minimum wage for the state. How is it a minimum wage to live if it’s literally impossible to live off double it?
All the minimum wage means is “If I could pay you less, I would”. They want your mom to pull herself up by her bootstraps and get a second or third job. That’s what’s great about Murica, is if you need the money, you can work yourself to death and then not have to worry about it.
Because they don't care, and if they _do_ care, it's only because they're sadists who actually _enjoy_ the suffering they cause. If you'll excuse me for giving a literal answer to a rhetorical question.
I think that's what people should do and I respect you for getting your mom out to TN. Rents are high in CA because it's a popular place to go, especially for people that have a lot of money to pay those high rents. If you want lower rents just move somewhere cheaper. The only way the prices will go down is when demand goes down from people deciding to leave.
That's because all of this bullshit is working as intended, those with power and wealth juicing any person they are willing to dehumanize because of their income or race, or both.
This story highlights another important issue we have with our legal system. It’s predatory, assuming, and loaded with arbitrary rules, which you must invest large sums of cash to play by.
@@nunyanunya4964 it's not just the supreme Court it's the entire federal court system has been hopelessly corrupted and it is going to keep getting worse.
@@nunyanunya4964 Unless we fire the five lawyers who lied in their job interview--the confirmation hearings, about their specific views on Roe. All five lied. It's on tape. They should be kicked out. Who can or should be trust in a Justice who has been caught lying in a big way? The dumb thing is they didn't even need to lie.
Let's give credit to the writers for their amazing "Great Big List of Sad Things" (18:21): • Getting evicted during chemo • Dog deaths • First ten minutes of Up • Doing improv in your thirties • Getting dumped by a DJ • Losing your wedding ring • When a bird hurt!!! • The music video to Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” • The state of Ohio • Losing your wedding ring at a Medieval Times • The thought of Ben and J.Lo breaking up again • When your kid calls the babysitter “mama” • Trying on jeans in the store • Finding your wedding ring at Medieval Times, but now you have to joust for it • Reality television stars unverified on Instagram • Landlord doesn’t get rent • Celebrity tweets about a shitty airline experience • White guy not allowed to rap all the lyrics
I'm dead at the jousting thing. btw, some lady posted a trail review and mentioned she lost her earring on a hiking/mtn biking trail and every time I go up on it I try to look for it. I feel bad. But you also shouldn't be wearing good jewelry while biking? but still... I have a conscience. I'm not going to yell at her lol
I actually went through a nightmare l last December. I got a notice from my landlord of 11 years on the 8th asking me to be out by the 30th. She didn’t even try to give me the full 30 day notice, until I pointed out that that was against the law. We had the most stressful time to be looking for housing near the holidays. The sad thing is that even though I never missed rent (even through COVID) & didn’t have an eviction, landlords ASSUMED that we were suspicious because we were in a hurry. Not only that, but because I have two cats, I got turned away from so many properties. At the end with barely any time left (& a letter of recommendation from my employer) we found a house that was $600 more expensive. I ended up taking my ex landlord to court for not returning my deposit. I won the case, but haven’t gotten it back yet because it’s so difficult and expensive to file paperwork to get the my money back. I hope that I actually end up getting my deposit back sometime this year.
If you have a judgment, take the judment to the court house and get a lean for your landlords bank accounts if you know where he banks take the lean to them and they'll give you all the money in the account up to the amount owed you. And this usually only cost 25 to 50 bucks to get the courts to sign off on one.
@@MrSlicky77 Thanks for the tip! I’d been told to get a writ of execution and have the sherif go out and asses personal property. I’d have to pay $500 for that 🙃
@@DosGatos95 ohhh, yeah that's a little more strong arm than just the lean. That permits you to enter their business and if they're not an llc you can even go to their homes and start taking their personal belongings. I would do the bank lean a couple of times before going that route
A huge thanks to this show, for addressing an issue that has been a nightmare for my family. It's ridiculous that someone who works 40+ hours a week can't afford basic life necessities.
I'm sitting here watching this in the home I just bought, and it makes me want to cry. I felt like a slave the entire time I rented, and now, for the first time in my American life, I feel like I have some level of control and freedom in my life. I am no longer working long hours to pay my landlord's mortgage and feed their kids. I pay $200 less a month for this house than I paid renting a house that was so dilapidated that my mom (who raised me in a trailer in the poorest county in the US) gasped and couldn't believe I was living like that. My neighbor who shared the duplex actually fell through his floor, and the place was covered in black mold. It was also costing me an extra $150 a month to wash laundry and get a gym membership so I had a place to shower (the bathroom was in far too bad of a condition and I was worried about the mold and the tub falling through the floor.) I'm saving over $350 a month living in a great house that just needs a little TLC, and I have the freedom to actually give that TLC to it. I can finally have a garden and pets, an awesome river runs through my backyard. It's all I've ever wanted, and my heart goes out to all the people still being enslaved by landlords.
I've been trying to do that for a while now, but the down payment and closing costs are just ridiculous. The actual payments are basically nothing compared to rent, but getting passed that initial "no poor people allowed" hump is extremely difficult. For contrast, my boss is trying to go the opposite way since owning a home is too expensive for her with all the maintenance she doesn't know how to do herself and the high cost of gas to get too and from work or her kid's school. But she can't move because there's no place to rent that she'd be able to afford.
Congrats! But it's not over. Get ready for shady property tax assessments (that will favor the county and are usually backed by a state equalization board) if you do improvements. Even if you get to a point down the road where you own your home free and clear you're still paying thousands of dollars a year to your county in overpriced taxes. It's great!!
No one will see this in the sea of comments but I'd like to share my story. When my family was evicted I was 8 years old. The landlord paid her law enforcement family members to come and terrorize us out of the house and throw all of our belongings into the street (breaking most of it on purpose). She recorded the entire thing (this was 2001) and I remember her laughing at my parents and my older siblings. Her laughter is something I vividly remember even today. My parents didn't know their rights and while I was fortunate enough to provide housing for them now (shout out to the Marine Corps for providing me the opportunity to move my family upward socioeconomically with the VA home loan) I pity those who can't. That experience as a child is something I hold onto as an adult. If you're experiencing homelessness/hunger/threat of eviction I wish you nothing but good fortunate, wealth, home security, and happiness. My goal in life now is to provide other disenfranchised individuals affordable housing and I hope some day to make an impact so no other person needs to experience living in your car/homelessness/housing insecurity.
The only reason my wife and I have a home is due to the VA. It is telling that it required my wife to give up 7yrs of her life and have lasting health effects from the military as an exchange for housing, but I'm eternally grateful for what the VA has done for us.
God that's just awful to hear. I am so glad your family is doing better now, but that will never change the fact that what your landlord did was terrible and inhumane...
I am 66 years old and have worked full time my entire life. I've never been evicted, but I've been priced out of a lot of apartments. I raised a child alone and had to put things back together after my husband died with no life insurance. Because I now get social security survivor benefits that pays my rent for my one bedroom apartment, that's under 900 ft², the rent is $1,338 a month. That's almost my entire social security check. In 2 17, I was 72 hours away from closing on a beautiful condo,where the mortgage would have been only 1,000 a month when I was fired from my job with a school district where I had been for 17 years because of false accusations made by a co-worker. Now the housing market is so bad that even with a VA loan, I can't afford it. I'm hoping that the housing market will crash soon so that maybe I might have a chance of buying some place. I just want to die in my own home. I don't think that's too much to ask.
It is very telling about the US's priorities that the institution seemingly most capable of fixing poor people's issues is the military doing it in exchange for service.
I live In Tennessee in “income restricted” housing. You cannot make more than 29,000$ a year. And yet my rent for a one bedroom is 900. The system is so broken. I can barely afford to live while working full time.
And yet you guys advocate for the same system to do something. Go and listen to millionaires like Oliver advocate for government regulation and rental control until you realize the cities with those regulations have the worst rent prices in the country still
Back in 2014 when I got my 1st job I unknowingly tried to get into those restricted income housing and I priced out after I showed I made 1k more than that strict line. Learned a lot living alone off my low income. Glad I found a better job
There is a perfect storm forming in America. Inflation, sever drought in the farm belt, the pandemic, food shortages, diesel fuel and heating fuel shortages, baby formula shortage, shortage of and price of available cars, the price of housing. It's all coming together and could lead to real disaster toward the end of this year.(or sooner)
I think trading is easier with proper guidance, especially from a professional it really helps reduce the chances of running into losses. All thanks to Mr. Larry Kent Nick He changed my life, I was able to pay off my mortgage
Man here I was ready to quote "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Misérables but the replies are full of crypto shills who see the economic struggles caused by the greed of the wealthy and think, "Y'know what would solve this? More greed! Let's instead throw our money into an ecosystem that's explicitly meant to further empower the wealthy!"
If we don't eat the rich theyll eat us first and claim to not be at fault that it's "just business" Also the ENTIRE COMMENT thread before me is a crypto scam front, report and block
We need to pass legislation that breaks up these large rental conglomerates. These conglomerates make rents so high, because they buy up most of the housing stock in towns and cities. It's a huge problem in college towns too. Large rental conglomerates and universities buy most of the housing stock, and what's left is too expensive to rent and buy.
There is also the issue of having all real-estate becoming speculation properties and no one actually living there. Also in places like New York or San Francisco when you want to build a new building you need to offer a certain amount of low income housing. In San Fran they start demanding so much that the project becomes economically impossible so nothing gets built. In NY you can do it in other places outside the city. Also to build that you can't build medium income housing or you won't be profitable so you can only build higher end housing to turn a profit and those are often bough by investment groups. So now the cheap housing is too far away, there is no middle class rents avaliable and all the new properties are owned by investment groups.
Yeah they need to at least put a cap on what % of a neighborhood can be owned by huge companies. Overall it's small, only 2% of houses are owned by these big companies, but in some areas its much higher, there are neighborhoods in some areas where they own 40% of the houses. But if things continue at this rate I could see them owning like 50% of the houses in a few decades.
I used to work for a housing authority in the Section 8 department. I think that there is SOME stigma attached to tenants with Section 8 vouchers, but a bigger reason is that often landlords will not accept Section 8 vouchers because it makes them have to meet standards at yearly inspections that they don't want to deal with. The Section 8 inspection checklist is pretty comprehensive and many landlords don't want to invest that kind of time and money keeping their properties up to standard. Yes, that's reprehensible, but SO not surprising. They'd rather be slum lords. So much easier.
@@idamay4590 Section 8 is a complete disaster. Tenants with Section 8 are paying above what their non-Section 8 fellow tenants are paying. Landlords only deal with Section 8 if there is an incentive for them to deal with the hassle. Just look at how Trump made his first millions. Section 8 makes rents more expensive. Then, there is all the cost to administer the program with all it's micromanagers.
You can just give a cash rent subsidy to the person renting. No need to go though all the hassle of vouchers and landlords wouldn't be able to refuse it since they wouldn't know the difference
I’ve never understood why people are against section 8. I’ve rented to families with a voucher and those were some of my best renters. I never had any issues.
Yeah, it’s just bias against poor people and or racial minorities. It’s actually a pretty great deal for landlords as you’re guaranteed payments on time from the government.
To quote a republican family member “section 8 goes to illegals” When asked how she knows this to be so, she said “my friend rents out to her basement apartment to --- (an acquaintance of my family) and her husband was deported because he was an illegal!” Me: but -- is American. Her kids are also American, because they were born to an American parent (and in the US), and they probably wouldn’t even need section 8 housing if we hadn’t deported their dad who was working and paying taxes. “Well, I drove past that apartment block that’s all section 8 housing and there were like 20 little hispanic kids lined up to take the bus!!!” “Are you saying because they are are Hispanic they must be “illegals”?” “No! But why aren’t we doing anything about the homeless veterans?!”
@@margaret928 I'm sure that happens, but plenty of non section 8 tenants trash units/homes too. It's just a risk of renting property to people in general.
I live in Southern CA. Our apartment complex was just bought by a corporate owner. They raised rents over $500/month. Now a 2 bedroom, 1 bath (875 sq ft) is now $2,800/month.
Well, to be fair, you live in a heavily populated area with an increasing population, and that's driving up the price of rent. Move to the midwest, and you'll pay half of that.
In my first class of Econ 101 I learned about inelastic demand, which includes housing. Housing should not be a commodity for this reason, no matter how much you raise the cost people will always need a place to live. If you want to invest in comercial property fine, but housing is not an investment it’s a place to live.
Dude... this is so personal. My dad literally just faced this, he is recovering from back surgery and my stepmother passed away in January, leaving my two half siblings, one of whom is neurodivergent and deaf, who can function but will likely never be able to live completely independently. The other is in high school. They have built a life in that home through almost 15 years. Their landlord came to them a month after ANOTHER major health issue (and our Healthcare system, of course, has been a whole other level of disgusting) and basically told him the plan was to renovate the house (fixing problems that he hasn't taken care of in 5 years btw) and hiking up the rent almost 150%, if my dad were to stay there. He also knew he couldn't afford this, and with his back, wouldn't be able to move many of his possessions, and was trying to make money off that too. During the covid shutdown, while my stepmother was getting chemo and her fucking TONGUE removed, and my dad was out of work with a herniated disc in his back, his state suspended evictions and he wasn't required to pay rent. He still did. His disability checks went to keep his family housed, bc he felt that he was trying to honor his agreement. He is a good person, who tries to do the best he can every day. He loves his kids and I have seen him sacrifice for them, and for me. He works hard, and has done so since he was a teenager. If our system were, in any way, truly based on merit, he would be living in a mansion and fucking Ted POS Cruz would be in a cardboard box. I pass homeless people every day in the city where I work, I've seen people out there without shoes in winter and I want to help them. Thinking about trying to set up a coat drive at work or something. But that's not enough. People deserve housing. Can we please. Just let people have a place to live? If we're going to all be forced into society cuz let's face it none of us, regular Joes and the wealthy alike, most of us are not cutting ties and just going out to live in the woods ok I've lived without running water or A/C or heat or refrigeration or proper insulation and idgaf if you think you're some survivalist or outdoors/hunter or whatever, I don't see you living out there permanently. So if we're gonna do this, we need to commit to simply ensuring the basic needs of every person. Once we do that, I literally do not care how much money people make. But rather than our grotesque worship of the over-indulged pursuit of wealth and the vessels through which this greed is portrayed, our top priority should be to carve out the rot that is poverty and ignorance. Greedy behavior should not be rewarded with luxury. For a country that claims Christian values, we sure don't seem to recognize these glaring sins in our society. Rant over.
8.5% CPI (inflation) doesn't include it, but also landlords who don't raise rents fail to realize that handymen and contractors have also gone up much more than 8.5% in one year. Its now $60-110 per hour for a carpenter where I live, of course John fails to do a complete job on this issue, instead just pushing the NYC tenant's tired old position. No real solutions offered besides that fantasy that the gov. will build more housing, which of course it does in NYS and only corrupt italian contractors get the jobs, charging even more than $100 per hour for their skilled workers, skimming off money for the owners. Its a more tough problem than he paints it.
@@costaet Because Democrats fiscally are the same as Republicans, it's just the difference of racists or not. They told the guy who was running with policy 10x right of Nixon that he was an extreme left communist. They side with the people who are the problem in 99% of the subjects John ever talks about the same as Republicans do.
@EtTor I've known plenty who've been homeless, because I used to work at low paying jobs when I had undiagnosed medical problems. And there are higher class people you wouldn't think of as homeless who have been homeless, but they don't always tell everyone.
When we moved to San Antonio we couldn't rent anywhere. We kept getting denied. I'd never been denied in 8 years that I'd been renting. A front office worker at one of the properties felt bad for me and told me why (Yes, NONE of the properties would tell me why. They refused when I asked). He told me I had an eviction on my record. I'd NEVER been evicted but I did, 5 years prior, have an eviction filed while I was at sea (US Navy). I had emailed them from the ship to tell them my underway was extended which would get me home 2 or 3 days after my rent was due. I asked if I could pay over the phone or email (I was desparate) and they said no - Do you have a friend that could pay your rent for you? 😅 No, I don't have a friend that will pay my $1200 rent for me. She settled the conversation with "Just pay when you get back". I thought things were okay but when I got back there was an eviction notice/court summons on my door, and a bill for my rent plus interest and a $300 late fee. It ended up being almost $500 extra for being 2 days late, after I tried to find a way to pay from the middle of the ocean (no cell service out there btw and back then there was no online pay). I freaked out and called them from my porch and they said it was ok, it was just procedure and once i paid they would cancel the notice. So I grabbed a money order and paid within an hour of that call. 5 years later it prevented me from renting at 6 places before I found out why. Then when I got it cleared from my record (called the court and they were like oh, I can see you still lived there after this. Obviously you weren't evicted) I applied again and was told that since I had a late payment on my record they wouldn't rent to me. I'd rented 3 other places since then with no issues, no late payments, got my full deposits back... it didn't matter. We only got into an apartment because we found a place that only checked 2 years of rental history. It was, by far, the trashiest place I'd ever lived. It was so bad that my mom flew down from Michigan, loaned us a deposit, and helped us move to a new place as soon as our lease was up. It costs $500 more per month but I feel its safe and healthy for my kids.
I got denied a rental from only one property management company (all the others approved me) and they said I had an eviction on my record-which I had never been and clearly didn’t have anything on my record since 4 other companies didn’t see one. I came to find out they were checking a tenant blacklisting website that I had been listed on when my mother was evicted after my dad died and I had lived there as a kid but moved away - the landlord literally blacklisted me because I lived in that house growing up.
Totally affected by this. Use to live in Cali, and our landlord hiked the rent TWICE in one year. One was 150.00 and the next was 175.00 AND he was selling the property. He was trying to get the rent up to the "market standard" before selling. So, we could not afford it and ended up finding a house in Louisiana for a 1000 bucks less than what he was charging. So we moved and joined the mass exodus leaving California. We left the apartment clean and with all holes spackled. Even had it cleaned, and left a ring camera and 2 new faucets (that we replaced ourselves during our time there) and this fat and greedy bastard said he was keeping our 2000 deposit AND tried to charge us 2800 dollars in "cleaning and damage" fees. Really? We lived there peacefully for 7 YEARS, no issues and always paid on time. So now we have to take him to court to try to get our deposit back. Some people are just despicable. And it adds insult to injury since we were great tenants, were forced out and now this. SMH.
Yeah, keeping the deposit for no real justification is a typical slumlord move. I've had it happen to me twice. Once I was moved out the apartment by friends while I was in long-term hospitalization and never paid attention to the deposit. The second time, I knew there was some minor damage and I waited too long to demand an itemized list of charges to meet state law for being able to get the whole deposit back. Now, I know the laws, and how to keep landlords "honest".
He sounds like a slimeball. No, worse than the pond scum moldy @$$ speck of dust on said slimeball! 👾👾👾 Keep fighting the good fight, I'll be praying for your court battle outcome 🙏💪✊💟
I live in South Africa, where Housing is a human right and tenant rights are strongly guarded. Landlords can't raise rents more than reasonable, a landlord can't 'change locks', 'renovate', 'discount utilities' etc to get you out of the unit. All of those attract spoliation cases through our Rental Housing Tribunal. Renters can cancel their lease with 20 days' notice whereas a landlord must honour the full lease (unless the tenant stops paying, in which case there is a lengthy legal eviction notice to be followed). The outcome of all of this is that we don't have large investment firms hoarding housing, rental prices are stable, and housing is a lot more accessible to the middle-income bracket. For those who are low-income, the government either hands out subsidised units or provides rental assistance (all students from lower-middle income households qualify for free university and free accommodation). Yes, we have mass unemployment and mass inequality that is still being addressed. But we at least have the legal framework constitutionally in place at a national level.
Sounds nice and all, but how is that working out? One of the highest murder and crime rates in the world. Corruption everywhere. The military had to be called in to stifle mass riots because an ex president got convicted of corruption. Farmers are targeted and punished because they're white. The post-colonial and socialist rule doesn't seem to make anything better.
Watch out for leaders who want to do away with all this in the name of reforms and promise better equality & employment.. Bcz these politicians and policies will eventually come..
This one hit me harder than most episodes. I live in a state with very very few protections for tenants and I live in constant fear that I'm going to be kicked out of my apartment. I've been here for 4 years and I'm still too scared to fully unpack my stuff. Idk if I'll ever feel stable unless I own my own house which is highly unlikely.
Hello Sakura, i totally understand where you are coming from, that fear is felt around here too... In about two weeks my husband and i will be right back in the streets of Hampton Virginia again...
I believe John's team spends most of their work days mumbling "holy sh*t" as they go through trails of documents and series of interviews depicting what people are living through today.
John and the writers don't really research the topic. This is a Tonight show show formula. 1)Blame something because it makes a profit 2) Say how the government should regulate said something 3) Make simplistic nuances and use sound bites to make whatever he is against sound almost clownish 4) Not believe a word he himself says, Collect a check and go back to his million dollar apartment overlooking central park, while his followers eat up whatever he says at face value.
John fails on this subject every time, there is plenty of cheap housing rotting away in Utica, Syracuse, Malone, Buffalo, Detroit, etc. But John continues to push the idea that ruins our cities, the idea that we all are entitled to live in a fun metro area, or sunbelt city, exactly where corporate landlords are operating and causing the problem.
@Mike Dalby Moscow, Singapore, Mumbai, every city in the world is overpriced and full of sharks. Do you intend to overturn the laws of physics and demand? How about use Marxist policies like rent control, which lead to rotting buildings and my loud drug dealing neighbors who can never get evicted?
I'm not sure where you live but I was forced out of Buffalo due to a lack of jobs plus rising rent prices back in 2016. Last I checked it hasn't gotten better
If you don't want to or can't wait for legislative fixes for your housing problems, look into starting a renter's union with the other people in your building. Seriously, look it up, it's a cool thing that not many people know about.
I just started watching this channel but almost exactly 9 months ago, when this video first released, I had to suddenly leave my state because there simply wasn't any affordable housing available. I had been searching for a year or more but only a handful of places would be listed each month and Zillow shows you how many people apply to each listing. Within 24 hours, each listing would have 100s of applicants. Within a week, over 1000. And that was just 1 site - most places list on 2-4 sites. And the prices were NOT worth the quality. I was willing to pay $1200/mo or more for glorified shoeboxes in someone's basement since that's all that was getting listed at the low end. I was fast approaching my deadline to being homeless, though, and getting into a place had odds on par with winning the lottery so I had to quickly slap together a plan to move to a new state based mostly on whether they had affordable housing available (Just as long as it wasn't some rural buttcrack state that doesn't even teach evolution. I have standards.). This was without having a new job lined up and without having permanent living arrangements lined up. Just drive to a new state and start from scratch in a hotel. The only other option was to move into a hotel in my own state and keep playing the housing lottery while hemorrhaging my savings. Keep in mind, I was full-time employed and making decent money but I was still staring down homelessness... Anyway, 9 months later and I have a new job and a stable place to live in my new state. It is still absolutely **insane** how much difficulty I had to go through for a basic human necessity, though. I think about just how absolutely insane it is on a regular basis. People shouldn't be fighting so hard and paying so much for crappy 1 bedroom apartments. People need to be able to save money, buy a house, prosper, etc. This is untenable.
i live in korea, and i enjoy this show every week. from this piece, i have one thing to share. in korea, there is a phrase... what's above the Lord is the landlord.
This so so accurate! My voucher took 16 years. There's a time limit on the voucher, you have to find a place fast! So we took a terrible small place, the landlord died and his brother lied and said we owed money..well, we have an eviction record now. Even if your case is dismissed, the court record remains.
Even without an eviction on your record, it can be incredibly difficult to get a home loan without a sizable down payment. It’s so difficult to save up for a house when over half of your income is going towards just rent and utilities. If I can reliably pay $1200 dollars a month for rent, why can’t you trust me to pay $800 towards my mortgage every month?
Same man. I've never had a late rent payment in my 10 years of adulthood and I've had a full time job since 18. I can't even rent an apartment without my dad cosigning. I pay 1700 a month rent, yet the bank won't grant me a loan for a 1100 mortgage. Apparently I'm not hard working enough.
THIS IS THE EXACT ISSUE I AM HAVING! I LITTERALLY AM HAVING A HARDER TIME GETTING INTO A RENTAL THAN I DID WHEN I BOUGHT A HOUSE . I am moving to a new state and before I can purchase again I need to work my new job for atleast 30 days. But in the meantime I have to RENT while I work. And for some crazy reason I need to already earn 3x the rental amount plus admin fees and application fees 😑 and I have still been denied even after paying hundreds of dollars in app fees
As someone who is 18, this hurts the most. I personally don't have a great family, I couldn't afford college, and covid took a massive hit on my income. I'm desperately trying to find a way to move out and live on my own but there are so many places that are way too expensive for me to rent. I plan to stick where I am for another year and work my ass off to get as much money as I can so I can get an apartment, house, tennent, whatever so I can move out.
I'm on disability, I get 12k a year, and an additional 2k in food stamps. If I did not have very loving partners who allowed me to stay with them rent free, chipping in on chores and food, I would have no where to stay. I searched in a 50 mile radius and no where accepted housing assistance of any kind and the only low income places were 800/m at minimum for a studio place not much bigger than my current bedroom and be unable to afford anything else. I get so emotional when I hear about other people, because despite being so poor, having very little and being able to do little, I'm still very lucky to have parents to take on a few expenses I can't, and to have found loving partner's at exactly the right time. Our system is so messed up, that the only way I can live, is to have family and friends take me in rent free
It's good that you have that sort of social support, and I hope that you continue to have that sort of support around you. It's wrong that someone would *need* to have that sort of support because the system has failed them. Everyone deserves to have stability in getting their basic needs met, regardless of income or social support systems.
I’m in a very similar situation. I am unbelievably lucky to have parents that are willing to support me emotionally and financially because if I didn’t, I would probably be dead. I empathize so much with this
I’m disabled too. Happened while I was living abroad, and now I’m worried about my move back to the states. Is it true that you can’t have more than 2K at a time in order to remain on disability? I’m moving to the states in about a month with 7k I’ve saved up… Is that going to be an issue? Or is it that you can’t have more than 2k from monthly income at any time? I just remember a poor girl getting kicked off of her disability because she sold something that made her bank account go to just $2 over $2000. And then I was looking at the housing in Georgia, and if you want accessibility to public transportation like the marta system, you would either have to live in extremely rich neighborhoods like Midtown for US$4000 (which is HALF the size of the home I’m currently living in abroad, for double the rent money), or poor neighborhoods that report hearing gun shots since 2017. AirBnBs are also expensive (Surprisingly even more expensive than the housing…..), And of course everywhere else requires a car because America was dumb enough to focus all infrastructure on everyone having a car and making car payments.
"I am benefitting from this program, and I do not need to be." John Oliver is so good he is willing to advocate for others, even at his own expense. A shame others aren't more like him. Well done, J.O.
You know, he doesn't have to take that deduction...the fact that he is benefiting from it it's an obvious hypocrisy. I don't understand why people can't see it.
As a left leaner, I found myself agreeing with the right wing talking point about "welfare being a leech" but only in it's current state, where companies like walmart benefit off ignoring paying well and referring it's employees to welfare, and said, "currently, it feels like welfare for the rich." This was reinforced by that statement.
My landlord is one of the decent ones, and he is an absolute needle in a haystack. He charges us less than half of the market rates, and he's still paying off the mortgage. As far as I can tell he pays himself a small stipend to mow the lawn, but nothing else. The gratitude I feel about having an affordable place to live is frankly unhealthy, but I know that most renters in my neighborhood are paying at least twice what we are. No John Oliver segment should make me want to bake cookies for my landlord but here wr are
Good luck and hoping for longevity here for you. Be careful and not fully comfortable I’m so sorry to say. It sounds crazy but I feel so much more fear for people in your situation because the sudden change of pricing can be utterly destabilizing if you were top of your budget already. Just…have back up plans please for any unexpected change.
That’s the way it should be. Rental properties shouldn’t be get rich quick schemes. Landlords shouldn’t be allowed to charge much more than their own mortgage on the property is worth.
@@The93Vector Even then your affordable rent still relies on the kindness of a fellow consumer. If he decides he needs more of anything, its most likely going to come from you.
I've moved a few times in the last 3 years and I can confidently say my work performance has suffered tremendously. Hard to focus on work when your constantly worried if you will have some where to live.
I'd like to challenge other landlords with this: When Covid started, before any moritoriums happened, we told our tenants that we were not evicting anyone for late rent. We have not raised rents on existing tenants in years. We'll adjust between, but only to account for the difference in property taxes. We fix problems as promptly as we can. Our rents are not set based on how much profit we could possibly squeeze out of a place, but on a reasonable profit based on our costs. Our turnover rate is very low. Every property has had some late rents, but they literally all catch it up as soon as they can, and they prioritize it. I've helped tenants get housing aid rather than losing the tenants because turnover is expensive, and angry turnover is even more expensive. What dose that get us? Well, our last turnover involved an apartment so clean we were able to rent it out immediately, there were zero hours between tenants. It gets us tenants invested in their homes, which we let them paint and put pictures up in. Every once in a while there's a major repair expense, but overall we still make money, without feeling dirty about it. If you've figured out a way to not feel guilty for actively sabotaging poor people and evicting people with cancer? You've lost your soul. We had a period of months where people were struggling to pay. One tenant didn't manage to get entirely caught up for a year. And then they did get caught up. Completely. If we'd evicted? We'd have had to eat all of the loss, because most people who flat out can't pay rent are pretty near judgment proof. Why ruin someone's life? Being homeless isn't going to help them get you the money they owe. ALL of them caught up. And without me being a dick about it.
Hey buddy really cool story. you are still a terrible parasite standing in an incredibly long line of evil men and women that stretches back thousands of years. Your contribution to humanity is forever stained. But good speech or whatever
Safe and affordable housing shouldn't be up to your whims, but well done for being a decent human being when you're legally allowed to be a monster instead
I admire how John Oliver puts himself up as an example of someone who is benefits but doesn't need it. Most people won't put a spotlight on themselves like that
It's something everyone should do at least internally. We need to be aware of how we've been given the upper hand in some aspect of life and then with that knowledge try to help others who haven't been so fortunate.
Everyone gets a standard deduction. I am a homeowner but my standard deduction is higher than if I itemized and tried to deduct mortgage interest so I don't. In that sense I'm not better off than a renter. Mortgage interest deduction really only helps if your income is low and interest high, which is almost an impossible situation because how would you qualify for a mortgage to begin with.
I hate the lawyer shouting about tenants being too stupid to understand a contract. Gee, if only there was someone they could go to to help read through and understand the specifics of a contract… like a lawyer.
You can read a rental contract. It's easy to understand. If you don't understand it, you really should not sign it. You should not take on more debt in housing costs than you can afford.
An eviction notice was brought against me when I left my apartment for 3 months to care for my dying mother- I left my roommate in the apartment while I was gone and she wasn’t on the lease so they attempted to evict me. I spent 10k for a lawyer, fought my eviction and WON and still couldn’t rent in the city. I was blacklisted for 7 years they told me. My husband ended up being the primary leaser on any apartments we rented. The whole thing is garbage.
@@bidmcms3 Depends on the reasoning, princess. If the landlord was legally obligated to return my calls but literally CARED FOR THEIR DYING MOTHER instead, you don’t think I’d behave like a civilized human being and cut them some slack?? Is THIS really the hill you’re gonna die on? Pathetic
I'm surprised he didn't mention specifically properties being scooped up for AirBnB but in general these investment companies buying up properties that could be used for affordable homes are a plague. Some governmental oversight needs to be implemented.
@@BG-bx4ey well people generally wouldn't have financial troubles if inflation wasn't running rampant and they taught financial literacy in schools, the list literally goes on.
He didn't mention investment companies because they're not the cause or even a contributor to the housing crisis. The problem is a lack of supply. Investment companies put these homes on the market to rent. They don't disappear.
it's a city by city issue. some have passed laws requiring that some 1% of the luxury apartments get set aside for section 8s or otherwise offset the deficit on the overall market. very spotty success with that
And it is clearly just because we are too lazy to work as hard as they did, right? I mean, you just need to get a job and work hard and then everything will work. *It hurts that this is barely even sarcasm of what they tend to say*
@@Chaosmancer7 spot on. boomers went to college and bought a home for the combined price of less than a brand new pickup truck nowadays and they have the gall to complain like this.
My favorite thing is their ignorance. I had to explain to my parents and other relatives about the cost of housing, cost of living, and wages. They didn't believe till their kids college tuition, car costs, and mortgage started to weigh down on them. 🙄
White people could, black people often still couldn't as they were prohibited by the FHA from buying in the suburbs, and also because of legal housing discrimination.
As a real estate agent I appreciated this so much. I have 2 clients that were approved to BUY homes that were priced out of the market and could not get a rental! They both almost ended up homeless. One is currently renting two rooms from a work friend for her and her three kids, the other I had to send to an AZ program for housing for vets. Both had to move from their current homes because the landlords raised rent by more than $500/month. I don’t know what to do.
My AZ rent went up 40% last year. This August, my landlord is wanting to raise it another 10%. I can't afford it, so we're moving to another state. We had be saving to buy a home in AZ but have been pushed out of the market.
@@MH-nt5me similar story, different process. My rent increased by a small amount, but my landlord took costs that were previous included in rent (trash, water, et cetera) and made them secondary costs. On paper my rent went up less than 5 percent. In reality, net renting costs increased by about 15%. My job had a $2/hour wage increase to keep up w/ inflation but 100% of that is going to my cost if housing and nothing is left to address raising gas, food, or other needs.
My mother and I were evicted when I was young, and it led to us being homeless for 15 months. The rent had been increased so as to be untenable, and after that, the Social Security Dept. had a hiccup with her checks, while a motel clerk scammed her out of the rest via credit card fraud. Three things went wrong, and so we slept on the streets.
@@cabbagenut my mom works with disabled versions getting them homes and more often then not people who are repeats in her office are addicts, mostly for PTSD related reasons, and the situation they are in is thier fault. Treatment programs exist, section 8 housing required you to be drug free and not abuse alcohol.
This is a story I hear everyday here in South Florida one Domino falls in the rest fall behind it. But all of them have ended up on the streets there is no safe haven for anyone in America who is lost everything. Not due to poor choices but due to a poor environment
@@peacemaker63604 let's not forget about the corporations, govts and everyday people pushing alcohol use on them. Making it one of the most accessible products for any level of income or lack of income. But somehow it's all these people's fault for it being shoved down there throats and being accessible even by homeless. Be nice if the same companies could keep the rent prices low, affordable and attainable like they have with alcohol.
@@marty5182 I have no experience with this stuff so I am trying to relay a second hand story to show how not everything is caused by others and those who have financial difficulties aren't to blame. Personally I agree with the corporate angle, but at some point people need to take responsability, I work part time because I can get ssi for a developmental disability and yet I still recognize that when I overspend I am at fault. Are you going to try and say that someone with a developmental disability isnt at fault for buying too much when 9 times out of ten they are very much aware of what they are doing and dont care at that moment?
Here is the sad list if anyone is curious what was on it: Getting evicted during chemo Dog Deaths First Ten Minutes of Up Doing Improv in your thirties Getting dumped by a DJ Losing Your Wedding Ring When a bird hurt!!! The music video to Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt" The State of Ohio Losing your wedding ring during medieval times The thought of Ben and J.Lo breaking up again When your kid calls the babysitter "mama" Trying on jeans in the store Finding your wedding ring in medieval times but now you have to joust for it Reality television stars unverified on Instagram Landlord doesn't get rent Celebrities tweet about a shitty airline experience White guy not allowed to rap all the lyrics
He was right. Raising rent doesn't make you a bad christian. One could argue externalizing blame, in this case, blaming the market, actually makes you a good christian.
I can vouch for the housing problems discussed here. I've been disabled since my early 20s. I remember thinking what a miracle a program like Section 8 was when I was lucky enough to get into it. Fifteen years later, I honestly just... don't know how much longer I can take it. When you're a kid, you're taught that if you're a good person who works hard and doesn't give up, you'll be ok. That's simply not true. I hope other people out there somehow find better fortune than I have.
That is because the logic is flawed. The faulty logic is: "You should be a good person who works hard and does not give up, because that guarentees that you will be OK" The correct logic is: "You are not guarenteed to end up OK, so you should be a good person who works hard and does not give up." See how even the direction of the logic (what leads to what) is warped. So what is the truth in it? The working hard part: Even if society is to blame for a problem that hurts you, you shouldn't wait until society solves that problem for you. Because it may not, or it may take too long a time. That doesn't mean society shouldn't fix its problems (it should!!!), but their 'patience' should not trap you. I think the better phrasing should be to 'always keep trying to make your life work'. The not giving up part: Sometimes you might lose your patience. You think that all effort is futile, so why put in any effort at all? Of course reconsidering your life is a good thing (!!), but giving up completely is the quickest way to not accomplishing anything. And sometimes things do actually improve afterwards. After periods where you think that all is lost, that is. A roof cannot stand on one wall alone. If you were building a house, building one wall will not help shelter you. But after building four walls, suddenly your house CAN support a roof, and your life does become more sheltered/comfortable. If you let yourself be discouraged after building three walls in the rain, you won't have a roof someday. Sometimes things will be OK, even if you cannot possibly see why or how they will be OK. But indeed, none of this guarentees any success. In fact, two assumptions are wrong: "If you are a good, hard-working, determined person, you will be OK." "If you are not OK, you where not good enough or hard-working enough or determined enough." These statements are logically equal. If 'X means Y' then 'not Y means not X'. Tiny problem: both statements are equally wrong. The first statement helps you work through the hardships of life, untempted by ideas about giving up and screwing others over. The second statement allows successfull people to pretend understanding why unsuccessfull people are unsuccessfull. But you are right. Doing good things does not guarentee that you'll be OK. In fact, you can never be guarenteed OKness. Even if you do good things, even if you do everything right, other people might screw you over, or society might screw you over. Doesn't that sting? Isn't that unbearably cruel? Well, this is why it matters to be a good person, and to build good societies. We could disagree about what that means (and we should, otherwise we could not reconsider our society), but the principle remains. Only in societies built on good policies built by good people, can you expect a good life. It is precisely because reality alone will not build us a good life, that we must build it ourselves. Precisely that is why it is important and *valuable* (!!!!), to be a good person and to build a good society. There is the 'being a good person' part that I owed you.
I'm was on disability in Section 8 units from 1980 till 2000. IMoved from my ghetto Baltimore City Section 8 unit in 1998 going to college in Columbia Maryland. Took Voc. Rehab. later that year,entered community college major in Computer Science. Enrolled in TRIO's, Special Student Support Programs. Kept a 4.0 GPA in all my classes. Got on the Deans list. Got an internship in the federal government. Got what turned into a 6 figure job in the computer field. Brought my home, invested in my 401K, Worked hard 20+ years got promoted & have pension. I'm recently retired, own my home, doing well. I prove YOU Can Succeed If YOU TRY!
The myth that if you are honest, work hard and play by the rules you will get ahead is a LIE the rich tell us to preserve their power and victim base. Turns out honest people are suckers, Hard workers are good slaves, and people that play by the rules won't come after them and put their heads on the guillotine where they belong.
@@AUTISTICLYCAN My disability isn't the sort I can get better from, or work around, but I'm very glad you were able to work hard and build such a beautiful life for yourself. I wish I could do the same.
Yup, this is exactly what's happening. I'm 25 and a high school dropout because of homeless parents. In the last 5 years my rent has doubled and any possible income for someone like me has stayed exactly the same. I just had to sign a lease renewal for a $300 a month increase because I have no where else to go.
Well, soon the Supreme Court will make being poor a criminal offense and then you'll have a room in prison. Not very encouraging, I know. Sorry to hear about your situation. This county is shit now.
We have owned our home for 13 years now. We have never been able to take a break on our taxes for mortgage interest. John is 100% right, really only those who have higher income and can afford to purchase larger homes can claim this benefit. My home was $100k in 2009, in the recession. Good luck finding that value again in our area.
I grew up thinking 500,000 would get you a mansion, now I'm looking at million dollar houses that need 100k in remodeling and are squished between houses.
If by own you mean you don’t owe the bank anymore than this is correct. However, if you still owe the bank and this is your primary home then you can indeed deduct your mortgage interest. In fact, there is not some minimum amount your house must be worth but actually the opposite, there is a cap.
I work at a homeless shelter where I help house people and this is infuriatingly accurate of what all of our clients go through. Housing is a human right.
You need more millionaires working for a billion dollar company who manipulates data just to advocate for more government regulation which caused the problem to begin with? You clowns advocate for your own oppression, John Oliver doesn't have a clue what the average American is going through and believe Government, the same government who can't even provide proper healthcare will fix everything
@@vanodne Actually, only about 91.2% of Americans don't have John's income. His income is about $5M per year. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's income is about a thousand times that. Millionaires like Oliver are closer to us than they are to billionaires.
@@LeBonkJordan You think that 9% of Americans EARN $5m per year? Yeah uh fucking no. Top 1% income is around $240k last I checked. You're conflating INCOME with NET WORTH. And Musk doesn't really make money. His assets just change value. Some years he loses billions by the same logic.
When I was a young adult first living on my own I really thought I had a chance on life because my rent was about $400 for a really nice place that was in walking distance to my job downtown and I felt wildly optimistic about it all. (1993, very small town) Cut to 10 years later, that small town was a medium sized town on the rise and rent had doubled. Cut to 25 years later, as someone who's nearly 50 I couldn't even afford to live within 50 mi of that same small little town. I would basically have to live up on a mountain somewhere and hope I could pay for the gas and car to just get anywhere. . . For groceries, the doctor. Some of those places were apartment complexes that were absolutely crap when I lived in them but I was young and didn't really care and fighting out that they have triple or even quadruple their rates yet done nothing to make the apartment complex better except maybe add a little playground area or some nonsense. . . That shit blows my mind. Those places were barely held together with some wood glue and nails and I'm sure another 25 years has done them no favors much like it is done me no favors. So how did it triple or quadruple in price when it still the same wood rotted, moldy, bug infested shit hole that it was back in 1999? Fresh paint?
@@joelle4226 did you? The buying power of our currency has halved since OP here first was renting, & it's a valid thing you have to consider to get a more accurate picture than John likes to cherry pick & present.
Its crazy like I was raised with my parents being home owners my entire life, but when I turned 19 years old (I'm 23 now) they went into a monstrous divorce which left both of them with huge depts, having to sell our house. Now 4 years later I have to work to pay 50% of my rent with my own mother, if I decide to go live with a roomate she will not have a place to go, she is 55 years old and now she has to work a 8 hour shift to help on rent. So much changed in 4 years, crazy how I once had my own home men, it seems like it was another lifetime ago.
You're not alone. My grandfather on my father's side offered to pay off our house after the 2008 financial crisis left my mother without a salary to afford our mortgage payments and she was threatening to start pulling child support payments out of my dad, who had never paid them nor supported us whatsoever. When my grandfather paid off the house, he demanded the home be put in his name. Then, by the time I'm a month away from turning 18, he informed us we would need to move out and find a new place to live. Not his problem. Which, once we had moved out, he took the home we had lived in since I was a newborn and made a 100% profit. Told him to go fuck himself and I have never seen him since. Im subscribed to my local newspaper so I can check obituaries and celebrate when he's dead. We lost in a civil case fighting the whole process and were poorer for doing so. We then found a rental and I immediately started helping at 18 with rent, and here we are 7 years later, doing incrementally better, but at 64 years old and myself at 25, if I don't help her out then I don't know or want to know what would happen to her. There are so many stories so similar and it's infuriating.
I'm in a slightly similar situation. I left a relationship 5 years ago with 2 kids and nowhere to go. My mom and brother took us in and I've been able to get on my feet helping split bills and rent. Now I'm in a place to go out and have my own space with my kids, but my mom hasn't worked in 6 months and would be homeless if I weren't there to pay the rent.
The only reason I am not on the street is my folks. I had worked jobs while working my degree. I was told "having a degree at all can help get a job," and "you need one for a job." Now, I am lucky to be having the job I have and I can barely get enough shifts to pay them, rent. Like. I'm lucky. It's as much privledge as it is chance. Like. I'm 29. It took me years to get that degree. If this trend continues, I'll be smoked or dead on the street. And, I have it EASY compared to most. SOooooooo easy. It's terrifying out there. I can't imagine how rough it is for you both. But, I won't have to if this shit continues. It's a mess.
We all make our own choices and choosing to live beyond your means signed High interest rate loans charge up the credit cards and not save for a home is one's prerogative. You cannot hold it against responsible individuals who over years saved to put themselves in a better position. Obviously that's not every situation but for the most part bad credit is a choice.
Whoa, this was a really great rant John Oliver! People who are struggling and/or homeless don’t have the energy or resources to speak up, thank you for this!
Milwaukee resident here, in addition to what John mentioned, landlords here can file eviction paperwork with just a first and last name no middle initial or d.o.b. so everyone with that name now has a eviction in the system. My girlfriend literally had to go to court 4 times for 4 separate evictions just for the landlord to say I didn't rent anything to this young lady. Absolutely ridiculous
Thank you, John, for giving voice to this topic. I was homeless and might be homeless again if my landlord sells this house due to a lack of making enough money on it. Housing insecure is what they call this. I have been homeless before and it frightens me. I live in San Francisco, and the graph you showed on workers versus rent in cities including SF across the country was so spot on. I work hard, yet the rent in this city should be a crime. I was wondering and worried about the woman who accidentally went to the wrong courtroom. What happened to her and her child? Please tell me she found housing.
This one hits home hard. I work full time at a decent, non-minimum wage job and I can't afford to live in an apartment in my own state. And it freaking HURTS
Man, it’s almost like designing & maintaining a system intended to maximize extraction of profit from working people to the idle rich at the cost of literal human lives ain’t the best way to organize a society.
@@aluisious because it's inevitable that, as the wage gap widens, the lower class will come together to rise up and rebel. Like ants, one is easily squished, but millions working together will win.
I'm in a shelter right now with my child who is disabled. We just couldn't afford this rent and now...no clue how we'll get out. 😔But it's her birthday tomorrow and I'm doing my best to make it nice for her. Her SSI and my small small income just isn't enough anymore to pay rent. You can't find rent for less than 1k for an APARTMENT anymore (1 bedroom) where we live..it wasn't always this way ...THANK YOU John for bringing light to this.. Disabled housing is 7 year waitlist
@@silvasilvasilva thank you so much! I stayed up till midnight last night making her a pinata. It was just made from construction paper and tape, but I'm used to making her toys so I think she'll love it!
Rule of thumb was 25% of income for rent. I did that, with nice but simple rentals while my coworkers went for "luxery" and had to take a succession of weirdo roommates. I could afford to live peacefully alone in the real world while they struggled, to have a communal pool, gym they never used and gated "security" Pool? The beach was walking distance and their gates didn't bring safety.
I'd like to point out one thing that isn't being talked about in all this: This problem is by design in the US. What does every housing talk get around to? property value. I don't want X built here; I don't want Ys living near me; I don't want Z style of home on this lane....Because it would lower property value. And what is property value used for? Selling your house at the highest value possible, as an investment. Houses aren't treated as something to live in; They're treated as a monetary investment the same way stocks are. And when someone buys an investment, do they sell it for less? No, of course not. So every successive generation, when someone sells their house, that house is now significantly more in price, because the buyer has to make their profit now. 'Cept, the price is now to the point where you need three people's full time income for a mortgage. Meaning, unless this idea is flipped or changed, when this generation of houses is sold, it'll be even higher for our kids and grandkids. And this is the system working as intended.
Another major factor is America's obsession with suburbs. Think of your average suburban neighborhood. Now imagine that same amount of land but with various apartments or condos instead. You get a lot more apartments and condos into that same area. Which would also mean a higher housing supply which lowers prices. You don't even need to jam them in together all ugly either. You'd still be able to have plenty of space for parks or pools and such.
You're absolutely right. 1.5 miles from downtown Nashville. My mom's house was worth 51,000 in 1994. Today her house is worth $870,000. She has the largest property on her block. Enough space to fit two houses. It has never been about the house but the property that it sits on.
@@Confron7a7ion7 YES THANK YOU!! I was really disappointed John didn't mention how terrible suburbs are for everyone, and how it's ILLEGAL to build anything other than a single-family home in most zones. Meaning the only kinds of housing that can be built are contributing to suburban sprawl and the lack of affordable housing. The most unsustainable and inefficient types of houses are the ones that the current laws are encouraging us to build more of.
This show is the most fun ive ever had spiraling into an existential crisis.
Binging your channel for 5 hours: cool lovecraftian story, sucks to be the protagonists.
Watching John Oliver for 15 minutes: what's the point of living any more...
Such a good summation of how i feel about this show lol
@@charlieni645 haha xD
Spiraling you say?
Also just saying. Mao had some good ideas about how to handle landlords
The landlord I rent from hasn't raised the rent on me at all in the last 4 years. I asked her once how she manged to stay afloat and she said that she attracts low-maintenance renters who stay long term and pay on time. I've never been more grateful -- especially since watching this video.
That's amazing! My complexes owners sold to an LLC last year and my rent went up 53%. I know there's still good and moral owners out there and they've got a golden ticket to heaven for sure.
@@daniellong3194 53%?! That's just evil.
Yeah. I learned quickly in college that you'll get a far better deal renting from an individual vs a company. I moved to a small unit owned by a retired professor in my senior year and had none of the headaches from the previous year (where I rented from an LLC). I didn't get questions of 'is that person on the lease?' if I had a friend over for a week or get a $50 'late fee' for paying the rent half a day late.
The current person I rent from (when I moved for grad school) didn't even ask for a credit rating. Just proof that I had a job, first and last month's security, and a promise that I wouldn't get a pet. That's it.
I have a good landlord too, they exist. It’s a retired couple, they rent me their cute garage apartment for literally half of what they could charge.
But we can’t rely on people to just be nice. We need to legally protect housing as a human right and stop using housing as an investment opportunity.
@@zhonguocha Fully agree with everything you just said.
@@daniellong3194 A good and moral landlord is like a good and moral slaveowner. Yeah, there's definitely a spectrum from abjectly cruel and evil to kindly and understanding, and it's a lot better for someone to be on the latter end than the former, but the entire institution they're partaking in is still fundamentally immoral just in itself regardless of how nice the people involved are.
Getting harder for anyone to tell someone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. No one can afford boots anymore.
I moved to a Wilderness area of the US in 2010. I seldom deal with the Humans, anymore. (I texted Humans like the Ferengi say it.)
"Pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. A thing that is literally impossible"
It never was, or ever will be, a meritocracy.
An Old Adage: A poor man buys a pair of shoes 2x/year for 10 bucks each while a rich man buys a pair of shoes only once in their lifetime for 50 dollars. This is the nature of our bootstraps we pull on.
@@Baloneyious_Monk Sounds based on the Vimes Boots Theorem.
We really need a Rent: Part 2!
Why, did they decrease?
@@rochester212Homelessness is getting out of control because rent continues to skyrocket while wages stay the same. More and more people are being kicked out of their houses and moved to the streets.
This is why people in horror movies don't move out of haunted houses.
There could be demons prowling the halls and I'd be like "You're not as scary as being homeless, sorry."
Reminds me of that ABK skit:
- ...but surely the government would guarantee affordable housing?
- Doctor, my wife is insane.
The 2023 version of Arachnophobia is a comedy about annoying roommates.
I think about that often lol I wouldn’t be able to move. Ghost better get his ass a job & start pitching in.
"Sure, it's got a murderous ghoul living in the attic, but the rent is a third of other places within an hour of my job. What can you do?"
There’s an elderly woman at my apartment complex battling cancer who told me she’s going to have to live with her son now because they’re raising her rent by $600. She’s not ready to give up her independence but there are NO other places she can afford to go to. She’s been here for THIRTY YEARS and a new corporation buys up the community this year and does this immediately. It’s just downright evil.
That's literally my exact situation. Except I have kidney cancer and I'm not exactly old ....I got backed up scripts I can't even get filled my water s off. And Ssdi is extremely slow due to the pandemic so I'm probably about to be homeless if it doesn't come thru and I have no friends or family besides my cat/roomate/BFF and it's literally all I think about it's scary
Neighborhood Mom & Pop landlords are always a mixed bag. Some are decent, some are aspiring villains with delusions of being millionaires.
But one thing that holds true, always, is that the larger the landlord the more linearly awful they behave. Guaranteed.
Home of the Free, Land of the Brave! .... this is what a 'free market' does, it fucks everyone but the Landlords..
30 years that's a long time
Grandparents often live with their children in the Asian community and that may be another reason they're so successful. Grandparents can put that rent money towards the household.
You know we’re in real trouble when John Oliver’s main topic is a fundamental aspect of existence for most people.
And the #1, most expensive survival bill on everyone's list that they absolutely can NOT do without.
America really puts the Lord back in Landlord. It's like having a license to hold the peasants hostage.
Are we _really_ sure we aren't living in a Feudal system just because they don't flash the fancy titles in their names?
We are in real trouble. A horror show.
The more troubling thing is when you rewatch all his old episodes of serious problems we faced with solutions that we're still dealing with today, because a small amount of rich, bible thumping dicks call the shots.. Im not optimistic this is going to be addressed either
This is seriously some ruthless levels of totalitarian oppression of the poor and middle class, & yet they've managed to trick so many poor trump cultists into voting against their best interests and pro rich policies thinking one day it'll apply to them, its so stupid
the irony is this clown informs you on "current" topics. you will be repeating
whole heartedly his words in conversations at work, with friends..
Olivers net is 35 million?
colbert 75, Trevor 100..
you are a lemming.
It only took a year and a half, but Kissinger finally kicked the bucket
Did he? The Wicked Witch is dead?
Is Kissinger What was Thatcher for UK?
@@ErdnußRiegel6969 kinda
@@ErdnußRiegel6969 I would argue far worse. Just Google Henry Kissinger/Vietnam.
@@ErdnußRiegel6969 to the world what thatcher was to the UK
This is the story I've been waiting him to to report on since the show started. And he didn't disappoint. It was a nightmare finding affordable housing even as far back as the early 2000's for me. In the end, even with two incomes, me and my girlfriend could only find housing supplied by slumlords. I'm now 48, work full-time, and with topped out pay working for a huge company, and have lived in my family's tiny apartment living room for the past TWELVE YEARS because that's all I can afford. Everyone else at my job is paying 50% (OR MORE) on rent alone! You know what's sadder? My family doesn't want me to leave because they can't afford rent without my help. I hate working and living in America. Hate hate hate hate HATE it. This country has made it very clear it simply doesn't want me, but I don't know where else to go.
Maybe you've been looking for housing in the wrong places. I only had to show up one time to get an apartment. I was able to lower my rent. Oh wait, I don't live in the US.
May I ask where exactly you live and what profession you work to still not afford anything?
That’s awful. Hang in there and never give up on opportunities in other places
at what point will the UN let us move under the status of "refugees". when does the political opression/ environmental/ man-made disaster status kick in? im starting to think the UN will not actively challenge the way the US currently treats its most vulnerable citizens.
@@CryptocurrencyInsider very enlightening
My boyfriend and I own a rental property- we bought it 3 years ago. A single mom, her kid, and her disabled mother lives there. We've installed handicap updates and done some much needed foundation repairs. It's a large 3 bedroom home. She pays $800 a month- the same price she was paying when we bought it. We REFUSE to raise her rent when we have the ability to eat these cost increases a little better than she does. I don't understand how people can be so cold hearted and greedy.
Now, why don't you sell her the property for $800 a month instead of being a f*cking parasite and praising yourself??
Please hang on to that awesome humanity you have and don't ever let go of it
Just in case no one has said it to you lately, thank you for that kindness. I live in Austin and its stupid rare to hear about a landlord having that kind of consideration for their tenants.
You are one of the good ones 🥺
I had an absolutely wonderful landlord before I bought my home (I'd probably never have been able to purchase a home had he not been a kind and reasonable person). It's refreshing to see there are some good landlords out there, and I comment you for treating your tenants with kindness.
"We are clearly willing to prioritize housing in the budget but not for the people who need it most" covers almost all public policy in the US. Privatizing the gains and socializing the losses for the wealthy and saying fuck off for everyone else is what the US does best.
THIS ^^^
Greed destroys everything.
Not only for the US, it is how democracy works after ww2 imo. You allow concentration of wealth to spiral out of control, that wealth then needs protection from the poor and the only way to solidify it is to legalise it through changing the legal framework (ie buying politicians). They become a tool for the wealthy, just like the houses and cars they buy.
If eviction were made illegal it would make the economy work for everyone
Ultimate privatization means each family owns the home they are in and that’s it
@@letmewatchmyshows How would you decide which families get which homes? Some are nicer than others. And what about homes that people build for themselves? Would you have to give away a home that you built?
The hilarious part is that the politicians and other people fighting against a cap on rent are the same people complaining about the increase in homelessness.
@@AlexisFedrick Indeed.
The same people who oppose increasing the federal minimum wage.
Politicians and lobbyists want to subsidize high rental costs and profit off of it through investment in rentals, rather than actually addressing the problem by capping the amount of profit that can be taken in rent above cost to own, bringing rents back down to reasonable levels.
the head-in-the-sand illogical fairy tale model (Pleasantville) is what drives American culture. So many people believe that if they believe it, then it must be real. They don't want to know facts or help solve problems. Pretending they don't exist is so much easier. That's how these govt. paradoxes become reality.
Because if there's anything worse than people whose existence you disapprove of camping in your neighborhood, it's having them for neighbors 😱 At least in the minds of many 🤏🙄
The worst thing about this is that rent prices NEVER go down. Home prices fluctuate, so people can sometimes afford them if they wait, but rent will never ever decrease once it is raised. So if you're stuck in the renting cycle and the rent raises, you can't even save a dime, as your rent keeps going up so you'll never be able to afford a home and these investment buyers are purposely making that the future so they can continue to get your money for life.
Could not have been summarized better.
Well, when people left SF in large amounts during the pandemic rent prices did actually go down in a lot of the city. It went from "Are you insane!" to about "Really? Holy crap I guess".
Capitalism cuts both ways and I not saying that other options are better fyi.
No it does not. My wife and I moved into our apartment in Nov of 2012 for $1090 a month. It is now $1910 and we've outgrown it so we're moving a new one which is $2750. OUCH!!! We are unable to buy a house because we've only been given a mortgage loan of $392,000, which can't get us anything of value.
@@JoeSimonsen and that's only because the pandemic forced them to lower it🥲. Without the buffer of the pandemic, renters have no more protection in place to keep us housed if we're forced out of the market. At least home owners can remain in the properties that have foreclosed on for the next year, maybe 2.
I'm a legal aid attorney that gives advice to tenants facing eviction in Cook County, IL and just wanted to comment that this show did a remarkable job of hitting just about all of the issues that tenants encounter on a regular basis as well as identifying some of the most hopeful solutions. Great work! It excites me to see how well you did this, thinking that I can rely well on your research to educate me on subjects I'm less familiar with. And make me laugh.
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There is nothing worse than a tenant who doesn't pay and/or leave. Nightmare!
@@pavelimani There's nothing worse? How about a landlord that doesn't want to understand that people's lives sometimes turn around unexpectedly?
What if your tenant can't pay because of a sudden cancer? You're going to evict him/her, right? Money over human lives.
What you should do is give the tenant a time limit to start paying again and collect the unpaid rent as if it was a loan, with a reasonable interest if you want. But not evict them the first month, give people a chance, god damnit. We should help each other out.
@@snorch6697 It is not a landlord's responsibility to look after your life. Landlords provide a product and incur costs. If you don't pay for the product then landlords are paying for your costs.
@@pavelimani A home is not just a product like jewelry or a restaurant meal, it's a basic human need.
That's why I believe that if you rent homes, you have to be flexible.
You are like the Rush guy in the video. Don't be evil, have compassion. In general a person will pay his rent, always, it's only when they are drowning in life issues that they don't pay rent. And then it's when a simple flexibility on rent payment is needed and what landlords should do.
as a student in denmark, i spend a little over 50% of my income on rent, taxes etc. but unlike in the US, my only other expense is food and the occasional rolle of toiletpapier. i have around 10-20% of my income left, to put in my savings each month.
i really feel for the people who struggle so much, i hope it gets better.
So besides lodging, boarding, taxes, groceries and leisure.. what other major expenses do others have¡!
It won’t. We will become homeless then have society shun us as homeless.
@@sailaab health insurance ...
@@MrHackclan nope universal healthcare
@UC7VSDJgapW8n08yMM_E-yNg Denmark. Probably has reliable public transport.
I'm 24 years old. I've worked full-time since age 18 and done my best to save my money and spend responsibly, and yet I still live with my parents. The cost of rent for some of the cheapest places in my area is still over half of what I make in a month. I love my family and I'm so grateful for them and that my parents are able and willing to continue to let me live at home, but it still sucks to be a grown adult who can't afford to leave their parents' house.
Make yourself worthy of a higher paying job and you won’t be in that situation anymore. Go to school, learn a trade, etc.
@@tv92taylor Ahh spoken like someone who's not done that shit themselves and got their decent paying job because daddy knew someone. Because that's how fucking jobs work... It doesn't matter what you know, it matters who you know nowadays, that's just the reality.
@@tv92taylor And then when that doesn't work, y'all will come up with another banal excuse for why we're at fault because society screws us.
@tv92taylor People who have trade skills and/or college degrees can have trouble finding affordable places to live. Both things can be true simultaneously. Everyone needs a clean, affordable place to live. It doesn't matter what job or education you have.
I was in that same situation a few years ago (30-ish years old) and my solution was roommates. I moved out with my bro and nephew (one a professor, the other a college student) both of whom are super cool and supportive. Bonus, their rent went down and we could move some place a little nicer with a little more room.
Got a 1.5% raise, cost of living raised 6%, my rent was raised 8.7%.....what am I to do? Oh and then the landlord just decided to not renew my lease so he can get more from a new person. Yep you got it I actually lived in a "low income" housing unit, but now I can't afford "low income" housing.
Sorry brother -- sending you love this fuckkng sucks.
Vote red for politicians that are smart with tax dollars and be smart with your leftover money too
Damn dude I live in a storage house i pay off, like cheap tiny house living
@@greenwave819 since when are Republicans smart with tax dollars... they destroy the national debt every time they are in office
@@greenwave819 What is a single financially smart thing a single republican wants to spend tax dollars on?
"They shouldn't sign the contract if they're too stupid to represent themselves in court"
Honey, that has nothing to do with intelligence. Not everyone goes to law school. Whether I study quantum physics or flip burgers I need a lawyer the same way I need a doctor. I'm not gonna perform heart surgery on myself.
Some people have truly rotten souls.
My thought when I saw that part was, “Yeah, because single parents with multiple children working more than one job are going to have the time or resources to do all the research they’d need to.” This guy learned what he needed to in school, on the job, and over time. Most don’t have that ability.
Their contempt for their fellow countrymen and women borders on pathological. The US military probably treats the people of occupied countries with more respect. I don't want to imagine what this country will look like in another twenty years if we continue on this trajectory.
As someone who is in law school and has taken Property and Contracts, American property and contract law is *complicated*, and it's understandable that people don't understand everything about them. That's what lawyers are for. Fuck the guy who said that in the video.
I would also love to hear what these "stupid" people are supposed to do instead. Die?
It is even worse than that. Those contracts are written to be intentionally confusing.
I remember a story from some years ago, a guy who worked in a legal department printed up the Multi-Story (thing was like 15 to 20 feet long) terms and services for a digital app, and when he carefully read through it... there were spelling mistakes. Because the point wasn't to make a coherent legal document, but to make a document so impenetrable no one would bother to even read it.
So, really, what he is saying is "you are too stupid to not be confused when we are intentionally trying to confuse and mislead and even just flat out lie to you." Which... is really telling, ain't it?
Ah the good old "well you should know what your rights are!" Argument coming from a lawyer, a person who studied law for half a decade full-time, and has a full-time job in the same field, telling others, with completely different day jobs, they should be able to do the same things he does. It never gets old, does it? 😒
Same vibe as a doctor being mad that people keep asking him about the mole that keeps getting bigger. "You should know what's wrong with you!"
He is a real knob
Yeah like as someone who got a law degree i was dumbfounded at this guy. Like we go to law school for three years of the most intensive study of our lives and then have to pass a two day long exam to get licensed. And this guy thinks a layman should be punished for not knowing rights that it took him three years of school to learn? Like yeah I get that once you understand contracts they can seem really simple but damn don't forget the work it took to get to that point. like bro if anyone could do that shit it wouldnt require a specialized degree and years of schooling rigorous enough to push some people to the breaking point.
I feel like just saying "Well if everyone should know their rights before signing contracts then why are landlords allowed a lawyer?" would take all the wind out of his sail.
@@ParappaTheNappa Unfortunately, the wind in his sail is powered by his own hot air. And it would seem he has a never-ending supply of that.
My dad has owned a trailer park (with 2 apartments attached to his home) since the 70s. He worries a lot about raising the rent because he's afraid people can't afford it. We had to raise the rent this year though just to cover the increased costs of the insurance and taxes. The rent is still about half the price of the market and just barely breaks even (except in years with big repairs), but the tenants have been there forever.
My dad ended up homeless as a teenager in the 50s and ended up living in the car wash where he worked until a little old lady offered him a room in her boarding house in exchange for helping her mow the grass and keep the place tidy. He's 81 now and is baffled by this housing bubble.
your dad is a hero. I work as a housing specialist for low income families and you have no idea just how much your dad’s lack of greed has improved his tenants life, mental health, and security. I don’t use the term hero lightly, his actions can really go a long way.
Oh goodness, however could your saintly landlord father be rid of the accursed insurance and taxes? By...not owning those homes? By...selling them to other folks who would then pay those taxes (oh wait, the tenants already paying those taxes, they're just paying through your father). Your father is making money, or he wouldn't be doing it.
@@mnschoen My dad owns ONE home, his home. He gets offers from slumlord investors weekly. If he sells, he'd have to move out of the house he's lived in for 50 years, leave his friends and neighbors, and none of those investors are going to keep the rent reasonable for the tenants. He's actually a part of HIS community. And do you want to see his taxes because for YEARS he's been subsidizing the rents with his social security income. Raising the rent only makes him break even UNLESS there's a major repair and then he's still subsidizing it. So no, he's not making any money on it, but that's his home, his community and his neighbors.
Good info except I think a court filing does not stay on your "record", but an actual eviction (Writ of Possession by judge & removal from property by Sheriff) may? Please provide your source ASAP. I'm trying to help a renter who feels intimidated by your possibly false statement. Thank you.
One wonders what kind of incompetent do-nothing government allows this sort of idiocy to go on and on, while having the balls to describe itself as a 'democracy.'
Mostly all of these episodes pertain to us in some way, but often distantly.
Today this one just made me want to cry. I'm tired of moving every. single. year. desperately trying to find somewhere to live.
SAME. Freakin’ same. We can’t even have a home…
I feel for you. It sucks and no one should have to be forced to go thru this.
what part of the country you in? Sounds like u need to move to some place cheap.
You can’t move some place cheaper if you don’t have the money to give up your job, set aside a portion of your income to see your friends/family, or get the transportation to move somewhere else. And if every area is unaffordable then there is no where to go.
If eviction were made illegal it would make the economy work for everyone
Omg. That man delighting in being able to squeeze tenants is the worst of humanity.
Remember that man. That is every parasitic landlord.
First to the guillotine
My landlord; a new realtor, has followed this blueprint step by step, gleefully. I'm scared.
These people wanna crush (physically & financially) many of us out, in their own thirsts for power
Thats how capitalism, you buy product and you sell for highest price or outsource, you can't mention socialism/communism around these folks. I would hate to buy property/home to rent out, cause you'll have crybabies on the other end, expecting a free cheap handout lol; plus you have to deal with the mental rejects which will damage your property, which I seen plenty of, which I been around almost killed..
That christian is what you call a religious fascist, following supply side jesus; hes a good example of these grifters that follow prosperity gospel..
Every now and then I get hit with the realization that I'll never be able to afford a home of my own like my parents did, but now I'm thinking I'll never afford rent for an apartment on my own, no matter how hard I work. Luckily, I have a good relationship with my parents and I'm allowed to keep living at home, but it would be nice to live independently.
If eviction were made illegal it would make the economy work for everyone
Me too. I'm priced out. The lowest rent where I live is over 1000 and that includes no utilities or additional fees and charges. God forbid you want to live somewhere without roaches.
My husband and I are in the same situation. We moved back in with my parents last year. We're in our mid-30s and trying to start a family, but there's no way we could live on our own. Very thankful my parents not only are willing to let us stay but actively want us to.
You might be priced out in your state, I know I am....but you might consider owning investment property you can afford in another state while you live at home.....that's my plan.
@@jrbedolla10 you’d be part of the issue
The comments for this video where people share their personal experiences and views from all over the world has been one really good learning experience Thank you!
I work with homeless families and it’s a lot easier to get an individual landlord to give people a break than a property management agency. Individuals tend to just ask for a deposit and first month’s rent. Those rental agencies do a credit check, want 2x the deposit, and require your income to be 3x the monthly income.
Finding one can be tough though
@@Paulpoission yeah they are few and far between
That’s what happened when my friend and I were looking. Because it was run by a corporation even though we could reliably pay, they said we didn’t make enough.
@@allison257 unfortunately these types of “love letters” swaying landlords or sellers often result in discrimination, either through conscious or unconscious bias.
For example another family could have loved the place just as much, but if they didn’t speak English as their first language, they might not be able to express it in a letter the same way.
Landlords do that as well. Mine did, but rented to me regardless of the fact I don't make 3x the rent. We talked about it and they liked me. I haven't failed them and I won't because they took a chance and treated me like a human being rather than a dollar sign.
Housing/Rent and Healthcare are just two of the many major problems that U.S. continues to miraculously F’ up.
Ireland too. Complete shitshow here.
Yes, Biden is the worst!!!
Well, the main problems can be summed up by: fuck poor people! All hail the rich!
@@1987Liono aware USA can give everyone medicare+lower inflation so wages regain value but need to punish all those whom want to stay in Syria like Schiff/pelosi?
afterall print money endless just to remain illegally in iraq-syria
print money to sponsor artificial civil- direct wars so hillary/albright get cheap gold oil invest in Libya/iraq caused hyperinflation. george bush 14 years ago said he wants ukraine in nato foreshadow f word 2014 coup
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wesley clark foreshadow reveal 2000 to 2012 all rig for kill iraq to syria
ua-cam.com/video/_mrJRHwbVG8/v-deo.html
dnc kill 50 in vegas/portland, thugs attack with stand down cops san jose/charlotte, burn loot several months, sabotage afgan withdraw using russia bounty smear to give taliban equip, blm crash car in to wisconsin parade thanks to nbc follow jury bus smearing ritten house too
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The Army Corp of Engineers estimated the cost of fixing the entire water system of Flint, Michigan was between $1-1.5 billion. That was 8 years ago.
It not fucking up. It's working exactly as planned.
That attorney who screams about people not knowing their legal rights should get disbarred. It's literally your job as an attorney to inform people of their legal rights, and not scream why they haven't been to law school before.
Right?! From that same logic, anyone who hires him is stupid because they don’t know the laws and need his guidance.
"These people that are "too stupid" to have gone to law school? Fuck 'em!"
Good LORD, what a goddamn asshole. Never mind that a lot of these people probably WOULD have *LOVED* to go to law school, but literally couldn't fuckin' AFFORD it because those rents are too goddamn high!
thats like me (an engineer) complaining about people not knowing how to design circuits when designing the circuits and explaining whats happening is literally one of the main things about my job lol.
John Oliver effect plz plz do ur thing
It's actually plain and rude manipulation. While "Ignorance of The Law" is no excuse it hardly applies to *every* law, some reasonability is supposed to be involved. Then state of free legal representation in civil cases is neither common nor can be derived, and quite logically people that cannot afford to pay their rent (including: "because of its exorbitance") cannot afford paid lawyer too...
Returning to what the guy have said: he provides "a reason" (or at least words sounding as one) and he act angry (appearing legitimate and warranted) both a psychological tools that reinforce own standpoint regardless of its validity. I mean seriously, that guy is accusing people of being too stupid (and not sufficiently legally competent) to do business with him and his clients, which is also coincidentally number 1 preferred excuse of swindlers and scammers of every variety...
Thank you, John Oliver. I have lived thru these judgment nightmares for years. People can be so cruel and horrible.
I love that John is being real with us about how he can benefit from the program but doesn't need to be. How often do we hear someone in the spotlight say this? Not very often... we need more people in the spotlight to be this truthful with us.
He should be taxed until just before he needs a tax break. That would be quite fair.
He’s clearly undertaxed.
There should be a whole episode where John lists off benefits he gets at his income level that the rest of us can't take advantage of.
You do know that deductions are optional. I bet he and his tax attorney know that, but still take the deductions.
@@mmerrill5 Good point, but I don't think his point was that the deduction is a bad idea, just that we are capable of supporting the well of with housing so we can also support the needy.
I'm a public school teacher. I was bringing home about $3,000/month this past year, after deductions. I could find no affordable 1-bedroom apartment in town. Yet, there were abundant luxury apartments being built EVERYWHERE. Rent for them was upward of $1,500. I ended up living in shared housing the whole year, living in an Airbnb with five other people who likewise could not find an affordable place. This was one reason I left my job there and am moving elsewhere in the country this year. It's an area with a very strong NIMBY persuasion, which basically eliminates affordable housing in this town. Not a single teacher I know from my school could afford their own place in town: they either shared with housemates, were married to someone who made more money, or drove in from far away. Other places in the country are hemorrhaging teachers too, for similar reasons. Teacher pay is a different conversation for another time, but my point here is that I am comparatively fortunate in this -- and yet I was struggling. If I, with no dependents, on a professional salary, could not find housing, people, people with less privilege and more dependents (spouses, kids, parents, etc.) have it even worse, and I am angry on their behalf.
@J F Funny. You mean in the evening when they are cleaning, grading and making new lessons ? Or when their families need them? What spare time do you mean? Some do have extra jobs, but not because there is an abundance of extra time but in spite of not having it.
@@carinakamangoesmael7669 The "/s" is short-hand for "sarcasm".
It’s a shame. My family has been teachers for generations and wholeheartedly believed for a long time I was destined to be a great teacher as well. But given how teachers are falling further and further into the lower class I just can’t. Education is declining every year and it’s sad. Capitalism is ruining our society
i say it all the time buuut PITCHFORKS
Yes but like a virus it's gonna spread to the south and mid-western states eventually.
It is absolutely horrifying to think and realize that even with a full time job, you are still on the cusp of being homeless. It's frankly a miracle that the country hasn't collapsed yet under this Investors Hierarchy
I'm guessing it will sooner than we like. Wonder what landlords will do then when their mortgages are due? And the mortgage companies?
@@pamelacass9642 Good point. Let’s hope THEY get pressed
Mhmm. I work 40 hours at double the local minimum wage, and I can't afford a studio apartment.
@@pamelacass9642 Landlords should have mortgages paid off when renting tbh.
Yeah, no one should be struggling to get by in any area of life if they’re working full time. You should, at the very least, be able to cover the basics. But god forbid we raise wages
I’m a US Army veteran who served in Iraq twice. After my second deployment I came back ill, so the Army sent me packing with medical retirement. The base I lived in allowed me to stay in military housing even after retirement. The rent was now paid with my disability compensation, which after a couple of years got cut due to one of my children becoming an adult. I called housing to ask them to give me some time to get the money together. Instead, I got served with an eviction filled federally. I was homeless for almost three years. I tried to get help from the VA, but I didn’t qualify because of being 100% disabled , which means a bigger check supposedly. They didn’t understand that it wasn’t about the money. It was about my record being tarnished. I got hospitalized for suicide ideation after I saw myself alone with my dog in my car with nowhere to go. The system is disgusting and it’s meant to set us up for failure. It doesn’t even matter that at some point I proudly served my country. I was useless to them once I got sick.
I hope you're much better now. Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service. After dutifully serving your country, making sure you don't end up homeless is the least your country should do for you... it's a travesty.
So sorry, and yes, it's all rigged !!! We're no where near a democracy or meritocracy... capitalism is stopping us from moving forward. It used to help but no longer, pretty much most of our problems are lack of funds.
Thank you for your service. And I fucking mean that.
Thank you for your service. You matter and I am so sorry you experienced this
Here in Sweden we have a renter's union. They provide legal help, negotiate rents, provide information and can even help people financially.
We'd probably be fine without it due to other regulations, but it certainly helps a lot of people.
The politicans recentley abolished rent control so it will go down hill from here
Too many people in the US have been convinced that anything associated with the word "union" is bad.
@@annri8248 I don't know where you live mate, but it doesn't seem to be Sweden. The idea of partially removing rent control was debated here a year ago and ended up with the prime minister being ousted.
yeah and look at the crime these people are committing. Sweden at this point is more dangerous than Syrian war zones.
@@TheQuantumWave Too many people in the US are extremely ignorant.
Huge issue is the delay in getting security deposit back when switching rental homes. You have to pay the new security deposit before you get the previous one back. I have friends who simply can't move because they can't afford $2-3k security deposit while their rent continues to rise.
The bigger issue here is your friends income and possibly spending problem.
Since WHEN do you get a security deposit back? I've been ripped off by my landlord EVERY SINGLE TIME I've moved and there's NOTHING you can do about it. A deposit is nothing but a BRIBE to the landlord to let you sign the lease. After that, you can kiss it goodbye. Tennants have NO rights, none.
@@lorraineclark4413 You have no clue what you’re talking about. Assuming you didn’t trash the place you’re security deposit is returned at least in my State. Maybe try standing up for yourself or read your lease contract before spreading misinformation.
@@lorraineclark4413 well tenants definitely have rights but I agree with your sentiment. Always do full video inspections with the landlord present upon move in.
It's far more than the security deposit. On the month that you move, you have to pay:
- Your current rent (even if you leave early)
- The first month of your next
- Potentially also the last month
- All of the costs associated with packing and unpacking all of your stuff.
- The traditional moving day bribe of pizzas for friends/family
- Renting storage trucks and/or hiring a moving company and/or all the gas costs from a dozen round trips in basic vehicles.
- (And then of course, whatever hit comes to your security deposit bullshit, if you paid one. Otherwise, you will inevitably receive a bill loaded up with fraudulent charges that will be cheaper than what the lawsuit to challenge those fees would cost.)
I literally brought my mom out to TN from CA to get her to a place where she could afford housing without needing to worry about insane rental prices. Within the last 6 months, she had to find a new place after her apartment decided not to renew her lease (that way they can push out lower income tenants to get in new ones at a significantly higher rate) and found ourselves sifting through property rates that matched the CA prices I brought her out here to avoid, prices she couldn’t afford is despite the fact she has an income that is literally double the minimum wage for the state.
How is it a minimum wage to live if it’s literally impossible to live off double it?
All the minimum wage means is “If I could pay you less, I would”. They want your mom to pull herself up by her bootstraps and get a second or third job. That’s what’s great about Murica, is if you need the money, you can work yourself to death and then not have to worry about it.
Because they don't care, and if they _do_ care, it's only because they're sadists who actually _enjoy_ the suffering they cause. If you'll excuse me for giving a literal answer to a rhetorical question.
I think that's what people should do and I respect you for getting your mom out to TN. Rents are high in CA because it's a popular place to go, especially for people that have a lot of money to pay those high rents. If you want lower rents just move somewhere cheaper. The only way the prices will go down is when demand goes down from people deciding to leave.
I live in TN and watched this exact same thing just happen
That's because all of this bullshit is working as intended, those with power and wealth juicing any person they are willing to dehumanize because of their income or race, or both.
This is EXACTLY what most people I know are going through and I thank you for shining a light on this.
This story highlights another important issue we have with our legal system. It’s predatory, assuming, and loaded with arbitrary rules, which you must invest large sums of cash to play by.
And the Supreme Court keeps ruling in favor of corporations so we don’t even have that as a potential ultimate blocker anymore.
@@nunyanunya4964 it's not just the supreme Court it's the entire federal court system has been hopelessly corrupted and it is going to keep getting worse.
@@nunyanunya4964 Unless we fire the five lawyers who lied in their job interview--the confirmation hearings, about their specific views on Roe. All five lied. It's on tape. They should be kicked out. Who can or should be trust in a Justice who has been caught lying in a big way? The dumb thing is they didn't even need to lie.
Let's give credit to the writers for their amazing "Great Big List of Sad Things" (18:21):
• Getting evicted during chemo
• Dog deaths
• First ten minutes of Up
• Doing improv in your thirties
• Getting dumped by a DJ
• Losing your wedding ring
• When a bird hurt!!!
• The music video to Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt”
• The state of Ohio
• Losing your wedding ring at a Medieval Times
• The thought of Ben and J.Lo breaking up again
• When your kid calls the babysitter “mama”
• Trying on jeans in the store
• Finding your wedding ring at Medieval Times, but now you have to joust for it
• Reality television stars unverified on Instagram
• Landlord doesn’t get rent
• Celebrity tweets about a shitty airline experience
• White guy not allowed to rap all the lyrics
I lost my wedding ring in the state of Ohio. So, twice as sad.
White guy not allowed to rap all the lyrics… 🙄..
I'm dead at the jousting thing. btw, some lady posted a trail review and mentioned she lost her earring on a hiking/mtn biking trail and every time I go up on it I try to look for it. I feel bad. But you also shouldn't be wearing good jewelry while biking? but still... I have a conscience. I'm not going to yell at her lol
@@EmpyreanLightASMR You really are a good human bean. A "mensch," as we say in the Jewish lingo. 😘
@@MicheleEngel I didn't want to go there, but that is a racial slur for the hispanic community
I actually went through a nightmare l last December. I got a notice from my landlord of 11 years on the 8th asking me to be out by the 30th. She didn’t even try to give me the full 30 day notice, until I pointed out that that was against the law. We had the most stressful time to be looking for housing near the holidays. The sad thing is that even though I never missed rent (even through COVID) & didn’t have an eviction, landlords ASSUMED that we were suspicious because we were in a hurry. Not only that, but because I have two cats, I got turned away from so many properties. At the end with barely any time left (& a letter of recommendation from my employer) we found a house that was $600 more expensive. I ended up taking my ex landlord to court for not returning my deposit. I won the case, but haven’t gotten it back yet because it’s so difficult and expensive to file paperwork to get the my money back. I hope that I actually end up getting my deposit back sometime this year.
evict them
If you have a judgment, take the judment to the court house and get a lean for your landlords bank accounts if you know where he banks take the lean to them and they'll give you all the money in the account up to the amount owed you.
And this usually only cost 25 to 50 bucks to get the courts to sign off on one.
Sounds absolutely awful. Good luck, don't give up! ❤️❤️❤️
@@MrSlicky77 Thanks for the tip! I’d been told to get a writ of execution and have the sherif go out and asses personal property. I’d have to pay $500 for that 🙃
@@DosGatos95 ohhh, yeah that's a little more strong arm than just the lean. That permits you to enter their business and if they're not an llc you can even go to their homes and start taking their personal belongings.
I would do the bank lean a couple of times before going that route
A huge thanks to this show, for addressing an issue that has been a nightmare for my family. It's ridiculous that someone who works 40+ hours a week can't afford basic life necessities.
I'm sitting here watching this in the home I just bought, and it makes me want to cry. I felt like a slave the entire time I rented, and now, for the first time in my American life, I feel like I have some level of control and freedom in my life. I am no longer working long hours to pay my landlord's mortgage and feed their kids. I pay $200 less a month for this house than I paid renting a house that was so dilapidated that my mom (who raised me in a trailer in the poorest county in the US) gasped and couldn't believe I was living like that. My neighbor who shared the duplex actually fell through his floor, and the place was covered in black mold. It was also costing me an extra $150 a month to wash laundry and get a gym membership so I had a place to shower (the bathroom was in far too bad of a condition and I was worried about the mold and the tub falling through the floor.)
I'm saving over $350 a month living in a great house that just needs a little TLC, and I have the freedom to actually give that TLC to it. I can finally have a garden and pets, an awesome river runs through my backyard. It's all I've ever wanted, and my heart goes out to all the people still being enslaved by landlords.
thats amazing, im really happy you have that!
I've been trying to do that for a while now, but the down payment and closing costs are just ridiculous. The actual payments are basically nothing compared to rent, but getting passed that initial "no poor people allowed" hump is extremely difficult.
For contrast, my boss is trying to go the opposite way since owning a home is too expensive for her with all the maintenance she doesn't know how to do herself and the high cost of gas to get too and from work or her kid's school. But she can't move because there's no place to rent that she'd be able to afford.
Great, but housing costs make it prohibitive for most people to buy either. Plus, you have to pay financing fees to build your credit rating.
Congrats! But it's not over. Get ready for shady property tax assessments (that will favor the county and are usually backed by a state equalization board) if you do improvements. Even if you get to a point down the road where you own your home free and clear you're still paying thousands of dollars a year to your county in overpriced taxes. It's great!!
@@eldiabs you're right i just got a bill for 443 in the mail for property tax i didn't realize i had to count as a bill ...
No one will see this in the sea of comments but I'd like to share my story. When my family was evicted I was 8 years old. The landlord paid her law enforcement family members to come and terrorize us out of the house and throw all of our belongings into the street (breaking most of it on purpose). She recorded the entire thing (this was 2001) and I remember her laughing at my parents and my older siblings. Her laughter is something I vividly remember even today. My parents didn't know their rights and while I was fortunate enough to provide housing for them now (shout out to the Marine Corps for providing me the opportunity to move my family upward socioeconomically with the VA home loan) I pity those who can't. That experience as a child is something I hold onto as an adult. If you're experiencing homelessness/hunger/threat of eviction I wish you nothing but good fortunate, wealth, home security, and happiness. My goal in life now is to provide other disenfranchised individuals affordable housing and I hope some day to make an impact so no other person needs to experience living in your car/homelessness/housing insecurity.
The only reason my wife and I have a home is due to the VA. It is telling that it required my wife to give up 7yrs of her life and have lasting health effects from the military as an exchange for housing, but I'm eternally grateful for what the VA has done for us.
God that's just awful to hear. I am so glad your family is doing better now, but that will never change the fact that what your landlord did was terrible and inhumane...
Damn😰😰😰
I am 66 years old and have worked full time my entire life. I've never been evicted, but I've been priced out of a lot of apartments. I raised a child alone and had to put things back together after my husband died with no life insurance. Because I now get social security survivor benefits that pays my rent for my one bedroom apartment, that's under 900 ft², the rent is $1,338 a month. That's almost my entire social security check. In 2 17, I was 72 hours away from closing on a beautiful condo,where the mortgage would have been only 1,000 a month when I was fired from my job with a school district where I had been for 17 years because of false accusations made by a co-worker. Now the housing market is so bad that even with a VA loan, I can't afford it. I'm hoping that the housing market will crash soon so that maybe I might have a chance of buying some place. I just want to die in my own home. I don't think that's too much to ask.
It is very telling about the US's priorities that the institution seemingly most capable of fixing poor people's issues is the military doing it in exchange for service.
I live In Tennessee in “income restricted” housing. You cannot make more than 29,000$ a year. And yet my rent for a one bedroom is 900. The system is so broken. I can barely afford to live while working full time.
And yet you guys advocate for the same system to do something. Go and listen to millionaires like Oliver advocate for government regulation and rental control until you realize the cities with those regulations have the worst rent prices in the country still
$900 is the cost of a bedroom in a house where I live.
@@ストマクランブル same, but not an income restricted area. They are supposed to be more affordable.
Back in 2014 when I got my 1st job I unknowingly tried to get into those restricted income housing and I priced out after I showed I made 1k more than that strict line. Learned a lot living alone off my low income. Glad I found a better job
This is why Americans want guns. They feel that everyone is out to get them. And they’re probably not wrong
There is a perfect storm forming in America. Inflation, sever drought in the farm belt, the pandemic, food shortages, diesel fuel and heating fuel shortages, baby formula shortage, shortage of and price of available cars, the price of housing. It's all coming together and could lead to real disaster toward the end of this year.(or sooner)
I think trading is easier with proper guidance, especially from a professional it really helps reduce the chances of running into losses. All thanks to Mr. Larry Kent Nick He changed my life, I was able to pay off my mortgage
@ Larry Kent Nick Trading
Man here I was ready to quote "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Misérables but the replies are full of crypto shills who see the economic struggles caused by the greed of the wealthy and think, "Y'know what would solve this? More greed! Let's instead throw our money into an ecosystem that's explicitly meant to further empower the wealthy!"
If we don't eat the rich theyll eat us first and claim to not be at fault that it's "just business"
Also the ENTIRE COMMENT thread before me is a crypto scam front, report and block
@Stephanie Jacobs lmao holy shit made my day
We need to pass legislation that breaks up these large rental conglomerates. These conglomerates make rents so high, because they buy up most of the housing stock in towns and cities. It's a huge problem in college towns too. Large rental conglomerates and universities buy most of the housing stock, and what's left is too expensive to rent and buy.
Switzerland has a good renter system. If we did what they do it wouldn't be so bad
There is also the issue of having all real-estate becoming speculation properties and no one actually living there. Also in places like New York or San Francisco when you want to build a new building you need to offer a certain amount of low income housing. In San Fran they start demanding so much that the project becomes economically impossible so nothing gets built. In NY you can do it in other places outside the city. Also to build that you can't build medium income housing or you won't be profitable so you can only build higher end housing to turn a profit and those are often bough by investment groups. So now the cheap housing is too far away, there is no middle class rents avaliable and all the new properties are owned by investment groups.
Yeah they need to at least put a cap on what % of a neighborhood can be owned by huge companies. Overall it's small, only 2% of houses are owned by these big companies, but in some areas its much higher, there are neighborhoods in some areas where they own 40% of the houses. But if things continue at this rate I could see them owning like 50% of the houses in a few decades.
@@aeis3007 it's awful. Communism is bad, but so is this system.
why would you "punish" success? /s
I used to work for a housing authority in the Section 8 department. I think that there is SOME stigma attached to tenants with Section 8 vouchers, but a bigger reason is that often landlords will not accept Section 8 vouchers because it makes them have to meet standards at yearly inspections that they don't want to deal with. The Section 8 inspection checklist is pretty comprehensive and many landlords don't want to invest that kind of time and money keeping their properties up to standard. Yes, that's reprehensible, but SO not surprising. They'd rather be slum lords. So much easier.
This is why Section 8 should be killed off and switch to UBI/negative income tax.
I’m a housing specialist at a PHA and I agree, it’s so fucked up how opposed they are to basic HQS
@@theBear89451 definitely not what I’d take away from this lol, section 8 saves lives, mostly elderly and disabled lives
@@idamay4590 Section 8 is a complete disaster. Tenants with Section 8 are paying above what their non-Section 8 fellow tenants are paying. Landlords only deal with Section 8 if there is an incentive for them to deal with the hassle. Just look at how Trump made his first millions. Section 8 makes rents more expensive. Then, there is all the cost to administer the program with all it's micromanagers.
You can just give a cash rent subsidy to the person renting. No need to go though all the hassle of vouchers and landlords wouldn't be able to refuse it since they wouldn't know the difference
I’ve never understood why people are against section 8. I’ve rented to families with a voucher and those were some of my best renters. I never had any issues.
Yeah, it’s just bias against poor people and or racial minorities. It’s actually a pretty great deal for landlords as you’re guaranteed payments on time from the government.
Honestly, I have heard of a few people whose houses were trashed after doing section 8.
@@margaret928 Heard, huh. That reminds me of someone who LIED because of how they FEEL...
To quote a republican family member “section 8 goes to illegals”
When asked how she knows this to be so, she said “my friend rents out to her basement apartment to --- (an acquaintance of my family) and her husband was deported because he was an illegal!”
Me: but -- is American. Her kids are also American, because they were born to an American parent (and in the US), and they probably wouldn’t even need section 8 housing if we hadn’t deported their dad who was working and paying taxes.
“Well, I drove past that apartment block that’s all section 8 housing and there were like 20 little hispanic kids lined up to take the bus!!!”
“Are you saying because they are are Hispanic they must be “illegals”?”
“No! But why aren’t we doing anything about the homeless veterans?!”
@@margaret928 I'm sure that happens, but plenty of non section 8 tenants trash units/homes too. It's just a risk of renting property to people in general.
I live in Southern CA. Our apartment complex was just bought by a corporate owner. They raised rents over $500/month. Now a 2 bedroom, 1 bath (875 sq ft) is now $2,800/month.
My wife and I pay $3,200/month for an apartment with the same as ft! This is insane, isn't?
Holy shit.
Well, to be fair, you live in a heavily populated area with an increasing population, and that's driving up the price of rent. Move to the midwest, and you'll pay half of that.
In my first class of Econ 101 I learned about inelastic demand, which includes housing. Housing should not be a commodity for this reason, no matter how much you raise the cost people will always need a place to live. If you want to invest in comercial property fine, but housing is not an investment it’s a place to live.
Ok? So so ms. Econ 101…. How do you incentivize building single family dwellings?
@@texasowl5356 You just build them, they wouldn't be commodity so you wouldn't need to incentivize it
@@fartface8918 who pays for the build? Lol
Nothing should be bought and sold for a profit if it's absence can kill someone. This includes housing.
Seriously idk how we allowed equity firms and banks to buy up apartments.
Dude... this is so personal. My dad literally just faced this, he is recovering from back surgery and my stepmother passed away in January, leaving my two half siblings, one of whom is neurodivergent and deaf, who can function but will likely never be able to live completely independently. The other is in high school. They have built a life in that home through almost 15 years. Their landlord came to them a month after ANOTHER major health issue (and our Healthcare system, of course, has been a whole other level of disgusting) and basically told him the plan was to renovate the house (fixing problems that he hasn't taken care of in 5 years btw) and hiking up the rent almost 150%, if my dad were to stay there. He also knew he couldn't afford this, and with his back, wouldn't be able to move many of his possessions, and was trying to make money off that too. During the covid shutdown, while my stepmother was getting chemo and her fucking TONGUE removed, and my dad was out of work with a herniated disc in his back, his state suspended evictions and he wasn't required to pay rent. He still did. His disability checks went to keep his family housed, bc he felt that he was trying to honor his agreement. He is a good person, who tries to do the best he can every day. He loves his kids and I have seen him sacrifice for them, and for me. He works hard, and has done so since he was a teenager. If our system were, in any way, truly based on merit, he would be living in a mansion and fucking Ted POS Cruz would be in a cardboard box. I pass homeless people every day in the city where I work, I've seen people out there without shoes in winter and I want to help them. Thinking about trying to set up a coat drive at work or something. But that's not enough. People deserve housing. Can we please. Just let people have a place to live? If we're going to all be forced into society cuz let's face it none of us, regular Joes and the wealthy alike, most of us are not cutting ties and just going out to live in the woods ok I've lived without running water or A/C or heat or refrigeration or proper insulation and idgaf if you think you're some survivalist or outdoors/hunter or whatever, I don't see you living out there permanently. So if we're gonna do this, we need to commit to simply ensuring the basic needs of every person. Once we do that, I literally do not care how much money people make. But rather than our grotesque worship of the over-indulged pursuit of wealth and the vessels through which this greed is portrayed, our top priority should be to carve out the rot that is poverty and ignorance. Greedy behavior should not be rewarded with luxury. For a country that claims Christian values, we sure don't seem to recognize these glaring sins in our society. Rant over.
Exactly this. Thank you for writing this.
You ignored Climate Change in your long whine, and, that what's killing Earthlings.
This one hit me harder than most episodes too.. I'm sorry you went through that.
PREACH
Deaf and neurodivergent people can work and have fulfilling lives
Rent, "funnily" enough, is also not considered when it comes to consumer price index - you know, the stuff used to calculate "real wages".
8.5% CPI (inflation) doesn't include it, but also landlords who don't raise rents fail to realize that handymen and contractors have also gone up much more than 8.5% in one year. Its now $60-110 per hour for a carpenter where I live, of course John fails to do a complete job on this issue, instead just pushing the NYC tenant's tired old position. No real solutions offered besides that fantasy that the gov. will build more housing, which of course it does in NYS and only corrupt italian contractors get the jobs, charging even more than $100 per hour for their skilled workers, skimming off money for the owners. Its a more tough problem than he paints it.
@@costaet Because Democrats fiscally are the same as Republicans, it's just the difference of racists or not. They told the guy who was running with policy 10x right of Nixon that he was an extreme left communist. They side with the people who are the problem in 99% of the subjects John ever talks about the same as Republicans do.
@EtTor I've known plenty who've been homeless, because I used to work at low paying jobs when I had undiagnosed medical problems. And there are higher class people you wouldn't think of as homeless who have been homeless, but they don't always tell everyone.
Yeah… that’s only going to blow up in their face. If wages get too low for people to afford housing, all markets collapse and we enter a depression.
ua-cam.com/video/KFVDCSgQNwc/v-deo.html
That Kissenger line aged magnificently
Glad he is gone
The bitch finally quit.
When we moved to San Antonio we couldn't rent anywhere. We kept getting denied. I'd never been denied in 8 years that I'd been renting. A front office worker at one of the properties felt bad for me and told me why (Yes, NONE of the properties would tell me why. They refused when I asked). He told me I had an eviction on my record. I'd NEVER been evicted but I did, 5 years prior, have an eviction filed while I was at sea (US Navy). I had emailed them from the ship to tell them my underway was extended which would get me home 2 or 3 days after my rent was due. I asked if I could pay over the phone or email (I was desparate) and they said no - Do you have a friend that could pay your rent for you? 😅 No, I don't have a friend that will pay my $1200 rent for me. She settled the conversation with "Just pay when you get back". I thought things were okay but when I got back there was an eviction notice/court summons on my door, and a bill for my rent plus interest and a $300 late fee. It ended up being almost $500 extra for being 2 days late, after I tried to find a way to pay from the middle of the ocean (no cell service out there btw and back then there was no online pay). I freaked out and called them from my porch and they said it was ok, it was just procedure and once i paid they would cancel the notice. So I grabbed a money order and paid within an hour of that call. 5 years later it prevented me from renting at 6 places before I found out why. Then when I got it cleared from my record (called the court and they were like oh, I can see you still lived there after this. Obviously you weren't evicted) I applied again and was told that since I had a late payment on my record they wouldn't rent to me. I'd rented 3 other places since then with no issues, no late payments, got my full deposits back... it didn't matter. We only got into an apartment because we found a place that only checked 2 years of rental history. It was, by far, the trashiest place I'd ever lived. It was so bad that my mom flew down from Michigan, loaned us a deposit, and helped us move to a new place as soon as our lease was up. It costs $500 more per month but I feel its safe and healthy for my kids.
It's easier to get fire arms in US then it is to get a roof over your head...that's corporate America at work.
Jesus, that’s a crazy story. I hope you and the family are doing well now.
What in God's name is this madness?
I got denied a rental from only one property management company (all the others approved me) and they said I had an eviction on my record-which I had never been and clearly didn’t have anything on my record since 4 other companies didn’t see one. I came to find out they were checking a tenant blacklisting website that I had been listed on when my mother was evicted after my dad died and I had lived there as a kid but moved away - the landlord literally blacklisted me because I lived in that house growing up.
@@BoringTroublemaker Your situation is also illegal. Sue them.
Totally affected by this. Use to live in Cali, and our landlord hiked the rent TWICE in one year. One was 150.00 and the next was 175.00 AND he was selling the property. He was trying to get the rent up to the "market standard" before selling. So, we could not afford it and ended up finding a house in Louisiana for a 1000 bucks less than what he was charging. So we moved and joined the mass exodus leaving California. We left the apartment clean and with all holes spackled. Even had it cleaned, and left a ring camera and 2 new faucets (that we replaced ourselves during our time there) and this fat and greedy bastard said he was keeping our 2000 deposit AND tried to charge us 2800 dollars in "cleaning and damage" fees. Really? We lived there peacefully for 7 YEARS, no issues and always paid on time. So now we have to take him to court to try to get our deposit back. Some people are just despicable. And it adds insult to injury since we were great tenants, were forced out and now this. SMH.
The entire point of being a landlord is to make money without working for it. That's the caliber of person you're dealing with.
Yeah, keeping the deposit for no real justification is a typical slumlord move.
I've had it happen to me twice. Once I was moved out the apartment by friends while I was in long-term hospitalization and never paid attention to the deposit.
The second time, I knew there was some minor damage and I waited too long to demand an itemized list of charges to meet state law for being able to get the whole deposit back.
Now, I know the laws, and how to keep landlords "honest".
He sounds like a slimeball. No, worse than the pond scum moldy @$$ speck of dust on said slimeball! 👾👾👾
Keep fighting the good fight, I'll be praying for your court battle outcome 🙏💪✊💟
Sue his ass
Rent. Is. Theft.
I live in South Africa, where Housing is a human right and tenant rights are strongly guarded. Landlords can't raise rents more than reasonable, a landlord can't 'change locks', 'renovate', 'discount utilities' etc to get you out of the unit. All of those attract spoliation cases through our Rental Housing Tribunal. Renters can cancel their lease with 20 days' notice whereas a landlord must honour the full lease (unless the tenant stops paying, in which case there is a lengthy legal eviction notice to be followed). The outcome of all of this is that we don't have large investment firms hoarding housing, rental prices are stable, and housing is a lot more accessible to the middle-income bracket. For those who are low-income, the government either hands out subsidised units or provides rental assistance (all students from lower-middle income households qualify for free university and free accommodation).
Yes, we have mass unemployment and mass inequality that is still being addressed. But we at least have the legal framework constitutionally in place at a national level.
✍️ South ✍️ Africa ✍️ decent ✍️housing ✍️
Duly noted
South Africa is a hell hole.
this sounds pretty fucking sweet and kinda unreal as someone in the US
Sounds nice and all, but how is that working out? One of the highest murder and crime rates in the world. Corruption everywhere. The military had to be called in to stifle mass riots because an ex president got convicted of corruption. Farmers are targeted and punished because they're white. The post-colonial and socialist rule doesn't seem to make anything better.
Watch out for leaders who want to do away with all this in the name of reforms and promise better equality & employment..
Bcz these politicians and policies will eventually come..
1:23 Is this why UA-cam recommended I watch this again after a year and a half? 😂
This one hit me harder than most episodes. I live in a state with very very few protections for tenants and I live in constant fear that I'm going to be kicked out of my apartment. I've been here for 4 years and I'm still too scared to fully unpack my stuff. Idk if I'll ever feel stable unless I own my own house which is highly unlikely.
You can get kicked out of your own house too
Hello Sakura, i totally understand where you are coming from, that fear is felt around here too... In about two weeks my husband and i will be right back in the streets of Hampton Virginia again...
Sean Hannity purportedly owns like 3000+ vacant properties.
@@scarface548 well if you don't pay your property taxes or your mortgage...
@@scarface548 well if you don't pay your property taxes or your mortgage...
I believe John's team spends most of their work days mumbling "holy sh*t" as they go through trails of documents and series of interviews depicting what people are living through today.
John and the writers don't really research the topic.
This is a Tonight show show formula.
1)Blame something because it makes a profit
2) Say how the government should regulate said something
3) Make simplistic nuances and use sound bites to make whatever he is against sound almost clownish
4) Not believe a word he himself says, Collect a check and go back to his million dollar apartment overlooking central park, while his followers eat up whatever he says at face value.
@Mike Dalby well documented fact? That makes zero sense. I could dissect your argument without even trying.
John fails on this subject every time, there is plenty of cheap housing rotting away in Utica, Syracuse, Malone, Buffalo, Detroit, etc. But John continues to push the idea that ruins our cities, the idea that we all are entitled to live in a fun metro area, or sunbelt city, exactly where corporate landlords are operating and causing the problem.
@Mike Dalby Moscow, Singapore, Mumbai, every city in the world is overpriced and full of sharks. Do you intend to overturn the laws of physics and demand? How about use Marxist policies like rent control, which lead to rotting buildings and my loud drug dealing neighbors who can never get evicted?
I'm not sure where you live but I was forced out of Buffalo due to a lack of jobs plus rising rent prices back in 2016. Last I checked it hasn't gotten better
If you don't want to or can't wait for legislative fixes for your housing problems, look into starting a renter's union with the other people in your building. Seriously, look it up, it's a cool thing that not many people know about.
Say it with me now, "RENT STRIKES BABEE"
Politicians cannot fix the problem of government
Thanks for making me giggle. The superiority complexes of Americans are still ridiculous.
@@Diana1000Smiles the irony
Its might makes right in this world.
I just started watching this channel but almost exactly 9 months ago, when this video first released, I had to suddenly leave my state because there simply wasn't any affordable housing available. I had been searching for a year or more but only a handful of places would be listed each month and Zillow shows you how many people apply to each listing. Within 24 hours, each listing would have 100s of applicants. Within a week, over 1000. And that was just 1 site - most places list on 2-4 sites. And the prices were NOT worth the quality. I was willing to pay $1200/mo or more for glorified shoeboxes in someone's basement since that's all that was getting listed at the low end.
I was fast approaching my deadline to being homeless, though, and getting into a place had odds on par with winning the lottery so I had to quickly slap together a plan to move to a new state based mostly on whether they had affordable housing available (Just as long as it wasn't some rural buttcrack state that doesn't even teach evolution. I have standards.). This was without having a new job lined up and without having permanent living arrangements lined up. Just drive to a new state and start from scratch in a hotel. The only other option was to move into a hotel in my own state and keep playing the housing lottery while hemorrhaging my savings. Keep in mind, I was full-time employed and making decent money but I was still staring down homelessness...
Anyway, 9 months later and I have a new job and a stable place to live in my new state. It is still absolutely **insane** how much difficulty I had to go through for a basic human necessity, though. I think about just how absolutely insane it is on a regular basis. People shouldn't be fighting so hard and paying so much for crappy 1 bedroom apartments. People need to be able to save money, buy a house, prosper, etc. This is untenable.
i live in korea, and i enjoy this show every week. from this piece, i have one thing to share. in korea, there is a phrase... what's above the Lord is the landlord.
This so so accurate! My voucher took 16 years. There's a time limit on the voucher, you have to find a place fast! So we took a terrible small place, the landlord died and his brother lied and said we owed money..well, we have an eviction record now. Even if your case is dismissed, the court record remains.
I believe you can petition the court to have it expunged - I suggest you ask a lawyer
@@splooie02 great suggestion, I'll ask. Thanks!
Landlords don't want to rent to Section 8.... Middle class people don't want to live around Section 8 residents.
Even without an eviction on your record, it can be incredibly difficult to get a home loan without a sizable down payment. It’s so difficult to save up for a house when over half of your income is going towards just rent and utilities. If I can reliably pay $1200 dollars a month for rent, why can’t you trust me to pay $800 towards my mortgage every month?
Same man. I've never had a late rent payment in my 10 years of adulthood and I've had a full time job since 18. I can't even rent an apartment without my dad cosigning. I pay 1700 a month rent, yet the bank won't grant me a loan for a 1100 mortgage. Apparently I'm not hard working enough.
Mortgage is the banks money. They wouldn’t give you a loan with no collateral to pay your rent either, so it’s kind of a false equivalence.
@@kevinc8955 Is the down payment not collateral?
The house is the collateral
THIS IS THE EXACT ISSUE I AM HAVING! I LITTERALLY AM HAVING A HARDER TIME GETTING INTO A RENTAL THAN I DID WHEN I BOUGHT A HOUSE . I am moving to a new state and before I can purchase again I need to work my new job for atleast 30 days. But in the meantime I have to RENT while I work. And for some crazy reason I need to already earn 3x the rental amount plus admin fees and application fees 😑 and I have still been denied even after paying hundreds of dollars in app fees
As someone who is 18, this hurts the most.
I personally don't have a great family, I couldn't afford college, and covid took a massive hit on my income. I'm desperately trying to find a way to move out and live on my own but there are so many places that are way too expensive for me to rent.
I plan to stick where I am for another year and work my ass off to get as much money as I can so I can get an apartment, house, tennent, whatever so I can move out.
Wishing you abundance and safety ✨
Join the military. Seriously, that's how I got my start and it put me way ahead of my peers.
Dont join the military. The few that survive war come either severely injuried or mentally scarred for life @@Aboutaprincess
Im in the same situation, but it hurts that i dont have a choice, and i have to rent even if it means not having any money at all.
I'm on disability, I get 12k a year, and an additional 2k in food stamps. If I did not have very loving partners who allowed me to stay with them rent free, chipping in on chores and food, I would have no where to stay. I searched in a 50 mile radius and no where accepted housing assistance of any kind and the only low income places were 800/m at minimum for a studio place not much bigger than my current bedroom and be unable to afford anything else. I get so emotional when I hear about other people, because despite being so poor, having very little and being able to do little, I'm still very lucky to have parents to take on a few expenses I can't, and to have found loving partner's at exactly the right time.
Our system is so messed up, that the only way I can live, is to have family and friends take me in rent free
It's good that you have that sort of social support, and I hope that you continue to have that sort of support around you. It's wrong that someone would *need* to have that sort of support because the system has failed them. Everyone deserves to have stability in getting their basic needs met, regardless of income or social support systems.
I’m in a very similar situation. I am unbelievably lucky to have parents that are willing to support me emotionally and financially because if I didn’t, I would probably be dead. I empathize so much with this
I’m disabled too. Happened while I was living abroad, and now I’m worried about my move back to the states. Is it true that you can’t have more than 2K at a time in order to remain on disability?
I’m moving to the states in about a month with 7k I’ve saved up… Is that going to be an issue? Or is it that you can’t have more than 2k from monthly income at any time? I just remember a poor girl getting kicked off of her disability because she sold something that made her bank account go to just $2 over $2000.
And then I was looking at the housing in Georgia, and if you want accessibility to public transportation like the marta system, you would either have to live in extremely rich neighborhoods like Midtown for US$4000 (which is HALF the size of the home I’m currently living in abroad, for double the rent money), or poor neighborhoods that report hearing gun shots since 2017. AirBnBs are also expensive (Surprisingly even more expensive than the housing…..), And of course everywhere else requires a car because America was dumb enough to focus all infrastructure on everyone having a car and making car payments.
Loving partner(s)? What the heck is that
They are forced to parasite off others just to afford living
"I am benefitting from this program, and I do not need to be." John Oliver is so good he is willing to advocate for others, even at his own expense. A shame others aren't more like him. Well done, J.O.
Really, that is so brave of him to say that
You know, he doesn't have to take that deduction...the fact that he is benefiting from it it's an obvious hypocrisy. I don't understand why people can't see it.
Not really any skin off his back to announce that though, eh?
@@oceanusn more than you can offer as a nobody
As a left leaner, I found myself agreeing with the right wing talking point about "welfare being a leech" but only in it's current state, where companies like walmart benefit off ignoring paying well and referring it's employees to welfare, and said, "currently, it feels like welfare for the rich." This was reinforced by that statement.
My landlord is one of the decent ones, and he is an absolute needle in a haystack. He charges us less than half of the market rates, and he's still paying off the mortgage. As far as I can tell he pays himself a small stipend to mow the lawn, but nothing else. The gratitude I feel about having an affordable place to live is frankly unhealthy, but I know that most renters in my neighborhood are paying at least twice what we are. No John Oliver segment should make me want to bake cookies for my landlord but here wr are
Good luck and hoping for longevity here for you. Be careful and not fully comfortable I’m so sorry to say. It sounds crazy but I feel so much more fear for people in your situation because the sudden change of pricing can be utterly destabilizing if you were top of your budget already. Just…have back up plans please for any unexpected change.
That’s the way it should be. Rental properties shouldn’t be get rich quick schemes. Landlords shouldn’t be allowed to charge much more than their own mortgage on the property is worth.
@@The93Vector Even then your affordable rent still relies on the kindness of a fellow consumer. If he decides he needs more of anything, its most likely going to come from you.
That's one person. All landlords are scum though
Dude.. bake cookies for him. Just do it. Provide incentive to his kindness so he never goes corrupt.
Best break down on the housing crisis I’ve seen yet. 👏🏻
The stress of not being able to find a house cannot be overstated. The survival responses are keyed up to the top
I've moved a few times in the last 3 years and I can confidently say my work performance has suffered tremendously. Hard to focus on work when your constantly worried if you will have some where to live.
@@ZaximusRex "iTs MiNd OvER MatTeR. We AreNt HoMoSapIenS; We ArE RoBoTs BeEpBoOpBeEp"
@@ZaximusRex Moving, is a huge stressor up there with death, marriage, birth, divorce, falling in love, breaking up, any big change.
I'd like to challenge other landlords with this: When Covid started, before any moritoriums happened, we told our tenants that we were not evicting anyone for late rent. We have not raised rents on existing tenants in years. We'll adjust between, but only to account for the difference in property taxes. We fix problems as promptly as we can. Our rents are not set based on how much profit we could possibly squeeze out of a place, but on a reasonable profit based on our costs.
Our turnover rate is very low. Every property has had some late rents, but they literally all catch it up as soon as they can, and they prioritize it. I've helped tenants get housing aid rather than losing the tenants because turnover is expensive, and angry turnover is even more expensive.
What dose that get us? Well, our last turnover involved an apartment so clean we were able to rent it out immediately, there were zero hours between tenants. It gets us tenants invested in their homes, which we let them paint and put pictures up in. Every once in a while there's a major repair expense, but overall we still make money, without feeling dirty about it.
If you've figured out a way to not feel guilty for actively sabotaging poor people and evicting people with cancer? You've lost your soul.
We had a period of months where people were struggling to pay. One tenant didn't manage to get entirely caught up for a year. And then they did get caught up. Completely. If we'd evicted? We'd have had to eat all of the loss, because most people who flat out can't pay rent are pretty near judgment proof. Why ruin someone's life? Being homeless isn't going to help them get you the money they owe.
ALL of them caught up. And without me being a dick about it.
Hey buddy really cool story. you are still a terrible parasite standing in an incredibly long line of evil men and women that stretches back thousands of years. Your contribution to humanity is forever stained. But good speech or whatever
It's honestly the bankers fault, they have not shown any leniency and sh!t rolls downhill
I'd argue all of your tenants eventually catch up BECAUSE you're not a dick about it.
Safe and affordable housing shouldn't be up to your whims, but well done for being a decent human being when you're legally allowed to be a monster instead
have you ever encountered tenants who seem to make no effort in paying late rent?
I admire how John Oliver puts himself up as an example of someone who is benefits but doesn't need it. Most people won't put a spotlight on themselves like that
It's something everyone should do at least internally. We need to be aware of how we've been given the upper hand in some aspect of life and then with that knowledge try to help others who haven't been so fortunate.
@@NyxHunter Yup.
Everyone gets a standard deduction. I am a homeowner but my standard deduction is higher than if I itemized and tried to deduct mortgage interest so I don't. In that sense I'm not better off than a renter. Mortgage interest deduction really only helps if your income is low and interest high, which is almost an impossible situation because how would you qualify for a mortgage to begin with.
I hate the lawyer shouting about tenants being too stupid to understand a contract. Gee, if only there was someone they could go to to help read through and understand the specifics of a contract… like a lawyer.
You can read a rental contract. It's easy to understand. If you don't understand it, you really should not sign it. You should not take on more debt in housing costs than you can afford.
An eviction notice was brought against me when I left my apartment for 3 months to care for my dying mother- I left my roommate in the apartment while I was gone and she wasn’t on the lease so they attempted to evict me. I spent 10k for a lawyer, fought my eviction and WON and still couldn’t rent in the city. I was blacklisted for 7 years they told me. My husband ended up being the primary leaser on any apartments we rented. The whole thing is garbage.
That's tragic. Sad.
I mean, you violated the terms of the lease. Which you signed and agreed to. You would be pissed if the landlord disregarded terms of the lease too
When will good people finally start fighting back against the greedy. Violence is never the first option but it definitely needs to be on the list
@@bidmcms3 dying mother.
@@bidmcms3 Depends on the reasoning, princess.
If the landlord was legally obligated to return my calls but literally CARED FOR THEIR DYING MOTHER instead, you don’t think I’d behave like a civilized human being and cut them some slack??
Is THIS really the hill you’re gonna die on? Pathetic
I'm surprised he didn't mention specifically properties being scooped up for AirBnB but in general these investment companies buying up properties that could be used for affordable homes are a plague. Some governmental oversight needs to be implemented.
Air bnb is an issue where I live. But the biggest issue everywhere is people being terrible with their finances
Government oversight is literally the last thing anyone in the world needs.
@@BG-bx4ey well people generally wouldn't have financial troubles if inflation wasn't running rampant and they taught financial literacy in schools, the list literally goes on.
He didn't mention investment companies because they're not the cause or even a contributor to the housing crisis. The problem is a lack of supply. Investment companies put these homes on the market to rent. They don't disappear.
it's a city by city issue. some have passed laws requiring that some 1% of the luxury apartments get set aside for section 8s or otherwise offset the deficit on the overall market. very spotty success with that
Who else is HEATED that our grandparents could work part time and buy a home and now we are dealing with this?
And it is clearly just because we are too lazy to work as hard as they did, right? I mean, you just need to get a job and work hard and then everything will work.
*It hurts that this is barely even sarcasm of what they tend to say*
@@Chaosmancer7 spot on.
boomers went to college and bought a home for the combined price of less than a brand new pickup truck nowadays and they have the gall to complain like this.
My favorite thing is their ignorance. I had to explain to my parents and other relatives about the cost of housing, cost of living, and wages. They didn't believe till their kids college tuition, car costs, and mortgage started to weigh down on them. 🙄
White people could, black people often still couldn't as they were prohibited by the FHA from buying in the suburbs, and also because of legal housing discrimination.
Boomers are so out of touch it's unreal.
Tell it, John! Preach!!! ❤
As a real estate agent I appreciated this so much. I have 2 clients that were approved to BUY homes that were priced out of the market and could not get a rental! They both almost ended up homeless. One is currently renting two rooms from a work friend for her and her three kids, the other I had to send to an AZ program for housing for vets. Both had to move from their current homes because the landlords raised rent by more than $500/month. I don’t know what to do.
Jesus Yikes!
My AZ rent went up 40% last year. This August, my landlord is wanting to raise it another 10%. I can't afford it, so we're moving to another state. We had be saving to buy a home in AZ but have been pushed out of the market.
Thank you for caring enough to find your clients some resources.
@@MH-nt5me similar story, different process. My rent increased by a small amount, but my landlord took costs that were previous included in rent (trash, water, et cetera) and made them secondary costs. On paper my rent went up less than 5 percent. In reality, net renting costs increased by about 15%. My job had a $2/hour wage increase to keep up w/ inflation but 100% of that is going to my cost if housing and nothing is left to address raising gas, food, or other needs.
@@simonw560 I’m so sorry to hear that. I’m just at a loss.
My mother and I were evicted when I was young, and it led to us being homeless for 15 months. The rent had been increased so as to be untenable, and after that, the Social Security Dept. had a hiccup with her checks, while a motel clerk scammed her out of the rest via credit card fraud. Three things went wrong, and so we slept on the streets.
@@cabbagenut my mom works with disabled versions getting them homes and more often then not people who are repeats in her office are addicts, mostly for PTSD related reasons, and the situation they are in is thier fault. Treatment programs exist, section 8 housing required you to be drug free and not abuse alcohol.
This is a story I hear everyday here in South Florida one Domino falls in the rest fall behind it. But all of them have ended up on the streets there is no safe haven for anyone in America who is lost everything. Not due to poor choices but due to a poor environment
@Dark Cloud you're correct this is a giant Ponzi scheme and it has been since 1988
@@peacemaker63604 let's not forget about the corporations, govts and everyday people pushing alcohol use on them. Making it one of the most accessible products for any level of income or lack of income. But somehow it's all these people's fault for it being shoved down there throats and being accessible even by homeless. Be nice if the same companies could keep the rent prices low, affordable and attainable like they have with alcohol.
@@marty5182 I have no experience with this stuff so I am trying to relay a second hand story to show how not everything is caused by others and those who have financial difficulties aren't to blame. Personally I agree with the corporate angle, but at some point people need to take responsability, I work part time because I can get ssi for a developmental disability and yet I still recognize that when I overspend I am at fault. Are you going to try and say that someone with a developmental disability isnt at fault for buying too much when 9 times out of ten they are very much aware of what they are doing and dont care at that moment?
Here is the sad list if anyone is curious what was on it:
Getting evicted during chemo
Dog Deaths
First Ten Minutes of Up
Doing Improv in your thirties
Getting dumped by a DJ
Losing Your Wedding Ring
When a bird hurt!!!
The music video to Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt"
The State of Ohio
Losing your wedding ring during medieval times
The thought of Ben and J.Lo breaking up again
When your kid calls the babysitter "mama"
Trying on jeans in the store
Finding your wedding ring in medieval times but now you have to joust for it
Reality television stars unverified on Instagram
Landlord doesn't get rent
Celebrities tweet about a shitty airline experience
White guy not allowed to rap all the lyrics
Currently live in Ohio. Can confirm.
The medieval ring bit is hilarious 🤣🤣
You’re doing the Lord’s work
Hero
No way you resisted the temptation to mess around. You made up one or two of these, didn't you?
He was right. Raising rent doesn't make you a bad christian. One could argue externalizing blame, in this case, blaming the market, actually makes you a good christian.
I can vouch for the housing problems discussed here. I've been disabled since my early 20s. I remember thinking what a miracle a program like Section 8 was when I was lucky enough to get into it. Fifteen years later, I honestly just... don't know how much longer I can take it. When you're a kid, you're taught that if you're a good person who works hard and doesn't give up, you'll be ok. That's simply not true. I hope other people out there somehow find better fortune than I have.
Yes, such a myth that we can always control how well we do in America. And it's caused a lot of discrimination and disrespect of poor people.
That is because the logic is flawed.
The faulty logic is: "You should be a good person who works hard and does not give up, because that guarentees that you will be OK"
The correct logic is: "You are not guarenteed to end up OK, so you should be a good person who works hard and does not give up."
See how even the direction of the logic (what leads to what) is warped.
So what is the truth in it?
The working hard part: Even if society is to blame for a problem that hurts you, you shouldn't wait until society solves that problem for you. Because it may not, or it may take too long a time. That doesn't mean society shouldn't fix its problems (it should!!!), but their 'patience' should not trap you. I think the better phrasing should be to 'always keep trying to make your life work'.
The not giving up part: Sometimes you might lose your patience. You think that all effort is futile, so why put in any effort at all? Of course reconsidering your life is a good thing (!!), but giving up completely is the quickest way to not accomplishing anything. And sometimes things do actually improve afterwards. After periods where you think that all is lost, that is. A roof cannot stand on one wall alone. If you were building a house, building one wall will not help shelter you. But after building four walls, suddenly your house CAN support a roof, and your life does become more sheltered/comfortable. If you let yourself be discouraged after building three walls in the rain, you won't have a roof someday. Sometimes things will be OK, even if you cannot possibly see why or how they will be OK.
But indeed, none of this guarentees any success. In fact, two assumptions are wrong:
"If you are a good, hard-working, determined person, you will be OK."
"If you are not OK, you where not good enough or hard-working enough or determined enough."
These statements are logically equal. If 'X means Y' then 'not Y means not X'. Tiny problem: both statements are equally wrong.
The first statement helps you work through the hardships of life, untempted by ideas about giving up and screwing others over.
The second statement allows successfull people to pretend understanding why unsuccessfull people are unsuccessfull.
But you are right. Doing good things does not guarentee that you'll be OK. In fact, you can never be guarenteed OKness. Even if you do good things, even if you do everything right, other people might screw you over, or society might screw you over.
Doesn't that sting? Isn't that unbearably cruel?
Well, this is why it matters to be a good person, and to build good societies. We could disagree about what that means (and we should, otherwise we could not reconsider our society), but the principle remains. Only in societies built on good policies built by good people, can you expect a good life. It is precisely because reality alone will not build us a good life, that we must build it ourselves. Precisely that is why it is important and *valuable* (!!!!), to be a good person and to build a good society.
There is the 'being a good person' part that I owed you.
I'm was on disability in Section 8 units from 1980 till 2000. IMoved from my ghetto Baltimore City Section 8 unit in 1998 going to college in Columbia Maryland. Took Voc. Rehab. later that year,entered community college major in Computer Science. Enrolled in TRIO's, Special Student Support Programs. Kept a 4.0 GPA in all my classes. Got on the Deans list. Got an internship in the federal government. Got what turned into a 6 figure job in the computer field. Brought my home, invested in my 401K, Worked hard 20+ years got promoted & have pension. I'm recently retired, own my home, doing well. I prove YOU Can Succeed If YOU TRY!
The myth that if you are honest, work hard and play by the rules you will get ahead is a LIE the rich tell us to preserve their power and victim base. Turns out honest people are suckers, Hard workers are good slaves, and people that play by the rules won't come after them and put their heads on the guillotine where they belong.
@@AUTISTICLYCAN My disability isn't the sort I can get better from, or work around, but I'm very glad you were able to work hard and build such a beautiful life for yourself. I wish I could do the same.
Yup, this is exactly what's happening. I'm 25 and a high school dropout because of homeless parents. In the last 5 years my rent has doubled and any possible income for someone like me has stayed exactly the same. I just had to sign a lease renewal for a $300 a month increase because I have no where else to go.
Well, soon the Supreme Court will make being poor a criminal offense and then you'll have a room in prison. Not very encouraging, I know.
Sorry to hear about your situation. This county is shit now.
join the miitary get out of the race for a while, make money, form a strategy for your life
@@elirivera3880 That is a dumb response to a serious problem
@@elirivera3880 make money in the military as a grunt. Hilarious
Rent increases because the market increases so if they build more housing it will go down
We have owned our home for 13 years now. We have never been able to take a break on our taxes for mortgage interest. John is 100% right, really only those who have higher income and can afford to purchase larger homes can claim this benefit. My home was $100k in 2009, in the recession. Good luck finding that value again in our area.
I grew up thinking 500,000 would get you a mansion, now I'm looking at million dollar houses that need 100k in remodeling and are squished between houses.
My parents got their house up here in 2001 for around $300,000. If they sold it now, it would be somewhere around $689,000. Crazy shit.
Thank nimbys and zoning for the high prices.
If by own you mean you don’t owe the bank anymore than this is correct. However, if you still owe the bank and this is your primary home then you can indeed deduct your mortgage interest. In fact, there is not some minimum amount your house must be worth but actually the opposite, there is a cap.
@@homersimpson5964 Where I live you won't even be able to buy a studio appartment for 500k €
I work at a homeless shelter where I help house people and this is infuriatingly accurate of what all of our clients go through. Housing is a human right.
"I am benefitting from this program and I do not need to be." John, we need more people like you in this world.
He can always pay more to the government, but by his on confession he takes advantage of it.
You need more millionaires working for a billion dollar company who manipulates data just to advocate for more government regulation which caused the problem to begin with? You clowns advocate for your own oppression, John Oliver doesn't have a clue what the average American is going through and believe Government, the same government who can't even provide proper healthcare will fix everything
And most (99.999%) of us don't have John's income.
@@vanodne Actually, only about 91.2% of Americans don't have John's income.
His income is about $5M per year. Meanwhile, Elon Musk's income is about a thousand times that.
Millionaires like Oliver are closer to us than they are to billionaires.
@@LeBonkJordan You think that 9% of Americans EARN $5m per year? Yeah uh fucking no. Top 1% income is around $240k last I checked.
You're conflating INCOME with NET WORTH.
And Musk doesn't really make money. His assets just change value. Some years he loses billions by the same logic.
When I was a young adult first living on my own I really thought I had a chance on life because my rent was about $400 for a really nice place that was in walking distance to my job downtown and I felt wildly optimistic about it all. (1993, very small town)
Cut to 10 years later, that small town was a medium sized town on the rise and rent had doubled.
Cut to 25 years later, as someone who's nearly 50 I couldn't even afford to live within 50 mi of that same small little town. I would basically have to live up on a mountain somewhere and hope I could pay for the gas and car to just get anywhere. . . For groceries, the doctor.
Some of those places were apartment complexes that were absolutely crap when I lived in them but I was young and didn't really care and fighting out that they have triple or even quadruple their rates yet done nothing to make the apartment complex better except maybe add a little playground area or some nonsense. . . That shit blows my mind. Those places were barely held together with some wood glue and nails and I'm sure another 25 years has done them no favors much like it is done me no favors. So how did it triple or quadruple in price when it still the same wood rotted, moldy, bug infested shit hole that it was back in 1999?
Fresh paint?
Inflation?
@@thehealthpolicychannel1229 you didn’t watch the video huh
@@joelle4226 did you? The buying power of our currency has halved since OP here first was renting, & it's a valid thing you have to consider to get a more accurate picture than John likes to cherry pick & present.
@@bbbbbbb51 invlation is cerntainly an driving force but its going to fast not have some wacky shit going on
@@bbbbbbb51 the piece very clearly pointed out that rent prices were rising faster than inflation?
Its crazy like I was raised with my parents being home owners my entire life, but when I turned 19 years old (I'm 23 now) they went into a monstrous divorce which left both of them with huge depts, having to sell our house. Now 4 years later I have to work to pay 50% of my rent with my own mother, if I decide to go live with a roomate she will not have a place to go, she is 55 years old and now she has to work a 8 hour shift to help on rent.
So much changed in 4 years, crazy how I once had my own home men, it seems like it was another lifetime ago.
:( this is probably so many people i'm glad your mom at least has you and you have each other
You're not alone. My grandfather on my father's side offered to pay off our house after the 2008 financial crisis left my mother without a salary to afford our mortgage payments and she was threatening to start pulling child support payments out of my dad, who had never paid them nor supported us whatsoever. When my grandfather paid off the house, he demanded the home be put in his name.
Then, by the time I'm a month away from turning 18, he informed us we would need to move out and find a new place to live. Not his problem. Which, once we had moved out, he took the home we had lived in since I was a newborn and made a 100% profit. Told him to go fuck himself and I have never seen him since. Im subscribed to my local newspaper so I can check obituaries and celebrate when he's dead.
We lost in a civil case fighting the whole process and were poorer for doing so. We then found a rental and I immediately started helping at 18 with rent, and here we are 7 years later, doing incrementally better, but at 64 years old and myself at 25, if I don't help her out then I don't know or want to know what would happen to her.
There are so many stories so similar and it's infuriating.
I'm in a slightly similar situation. I left a relationship 5 years ago with 2 kids and nowhere to go. My mom and brother took us in and I've been able to get on my feet helping split bills and rent. Now I'm in a place to go out and have my own space with my kids, but my mom hasn't worked in 6 months and would be homeless if I weren't there to pay the rent.
The only reason I am not on the street is my folks. I had worked jobs while working my degree. I was told "having a degree at all can help get a job," and "you need one for a job." Now, I am lucky to be having the job I have and I can barely get enough shifts to pay them, rent. Like. I'm lucky. It's as much privledge as it is chance. Like. I'm 29. It took me years to get that degree.
If this trend continues, I'll be smoked or dead on the street. And, I have it EASY compared to most. SOooooooo easy. It's terrifying out there. I can't imagine how rough it is for you both. But, I won't have to if this shit continues. It's a mess.
Capitalism fault
That Kissinger life expectancy joke was brilliant!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
"People who think that investments deserve more respect than basic human needs."
Yeah, that sadly sums up a lot of problems..
Yup, just look at the BLM stuff. People were more upset about property damage than the entire damn point of the protests.
Capitalism
Exactly! I think this is the foundation of nearly all of our current economic issues.
Everything that is wrong in the US in a nutshell.
We all make our own choices and choosing to live beyond your means signed High interest rate loans charge up the credit cards and not save for a home is one's prerogative. You cannot hold it against responsible individuals who over years saved to put themselves in a better position. Obviously that's not every situation but for the most part bad credit is a choice.
Whoa, this was a really great rant John Oliver! People who are struggling and/or homeless don’t have the energy or resources to speak up, thank you for this!
What people don't realize is that being homeless IS a full time job.
Milwaukee resident here, in addition to what John mentioned, landlords here can file eviction paperwork with just a first and last name no middle initial or d.o.b. so everyone with that name now has a eviction in the system. My girlfriend literally had to go to court 4 times for 4 separate evictions just for the landlord to say I didn't rent anything to this young lady. Absolutely ridiculous
What the fuck... that's dystopian
What fresh dystopian hell is this??
Parents need to start getting creative with names.
Could you just file an eviction against the landlord’s kids?
@@Gnefitisis lmfao 😂
Thank you, John, for giving voice to this topic. I was homeless and might be homeless again if my landlord sells this house due to a lack of making enough money on it. Housing insecure is what they call this. I have been homeless before and it frightens me. I live in San Francisco, and the graph you showed on workers versus rent in cities including SF across the country was so spot on. I work hard, yet the rent in this city should be a crime. I was wondering and worried about the woman who accidentally went to the wrong courtroom. What happened to her and her child? Please tell me she found housing.
This one hits home hard. I work full time at a decent, non-minimum wage job and I can't afford to live in an apartment in my own state. And it freaking HURTS
Am I gonna pay bills this month or eat more then one almost meal a day idk
@Johnny Deep 🅥 You are a low-quality human being.
I feel ya, yep, hurts BAAADDDD here too
@@hunterfarrar4204 it's a damn racket, everywhere 💯💯💯💲💲💲💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
Man, it’s almost like designing & maintaining a system intended to maximize extraction of profit from working people to the idle rich at the cost of literal human lives ain’t the best way to organize a society.
Huh, can you explain why?
Lol
@@aluisious because it's inevitable that, as the wage gap widens, the lower class will come together to rise up and rebel. Like ants, one is easily squished, but millions working together will win.
whoa whoa whoa whoa. What.
Hold on that can't be right. Everyone said that capitalism was the bEsT? Did........did they lie?
🤔😪😪😪👊✌
@@notkerrystolcenberg so Karl Marx was right?
I'm in a shelter right now with my child who is disabled.
We just couldn't afford this rent and now...no clue how we'll get out. 😔But it's her birthday tomorrow and I'm doing my best to make it nice for her. Her SSI and my small small income just isn't enough anymore to pay rent. You can't find rent for less than 1k for an APARTMENT anymore (1 bedroom) where we live..it wasn't always this way ...THANK YOU John for bringing light to this.. Disabled housing is 7 year waitlist
I'm really sorry for you. I hope things do get better, for your family and for everyone else in this situation.
you're not alone! and for what it's worth, i would like to personally wish her a happy birthday!
Naomi , please start a fund and place a link through so I can contribute.
@@silvasilvasilva thank you so much! I stayed up till midnight last night making her a pinata. It was just made from construction paper and tape, but I'm used to making her toys so I think she'll love it!
@@iconoclast137 thank you so much! I know she would thank you if she could!🌻🌺
As a fan for over forty years, I'm confident Rush is appalled that man is wearing their hat. Happy to see John make a joke about it.
I'm so used to spending half my income on rent, I can't imagine 30%. My life would look a lot brighter if rent were only 30 or even 40% of my income.
Exactly.
Yeah once I did the math it was crazy. Imagine being about to save and have disposable income
Half of salary should be EMI not rent.
Rule of thumb was 25% of income for rent. I did that, with nice but simple rentals while my coworkers went for "luxery" and had to take a succession of weirdo roommates. I could afford to live peacefully alone in the real world while they struggled, to have a communal pool, gym they never used and gated "security" Pool? The beach was walking distance and their gates didn't bring safety.
30% before taxes. So you can't do retirement or healthcare without losing 40 to 50 percent of your check.
I'd like to point out one thing that isn't being talked about in all this: This problem is by design in the US. What does every housing talk get around to? property value. I don't want X built here; I don't want Ys living near me; I don't want Z style of home on this lane....Because it would lower property value. And what is property value used for? Selling your house at the highest value possible, as an investment. Houses aren't treated as something to live in; They're treated as a monetary investment the same way stocks are.
And when someone buys an investment, do they sell it for less? No, of course not. So every successive generation, when someone sells their house, that house is now significantly more in price, because the buyer has to make their profit now. 'Cept, the price is now to the point where you need three people's full time income for a mortgage. Meaning, unless this idea is flipped or changed, when this generation of houses is sold, it'll be even higher for our kids and grandkids. And this is the system working as intended.
Another major factor is America's obsession with suburbs. Think of your average suburban neighborhood. Now imagine that same amount of land but with various apartments or condos instead. You get a lot more apartments and condos into that same area. Which would also mean a higher housing supply which lowers prices. You don't even need to jam them in together all ugly either. You'd still be able to have plenty of space for parks or pools and such.
This a very well written and thought out point, I completely agree with you.
You're absolutely right. 1.5 miles from downtown Nashville. My mom's house was worth 51,000 in 1994. Today her house is worth $870,000. She has the largest property on her block. Enough space to fit two houses. It has never been about the house but the property that it sits on.
@@Confron7a7ion7 All the dying malls would make great apartments
@@Confron7a7ion7 YES THANK YOU!! I was really disappointed John didn't mention how terrible suburbs are for everyone, and how it's ILLEGAL to build anything other than a single-family home in most zones. Meaning the only kinds of housing that can be built are contributing to suburban sprawl and the lack of affordable housing. The most unsustainable and inefficient types of houses are the ones that the current laws are encouraging us to build more of.
The line "people who think investments deserve more respect than basic human needs" explains so much about a scary part of American culture.
yea, It's called capitalism baby!
@@kayleelockheart8208 i would simply round up the landlords and [REDACTED]
@@sirius1696 And compost. They'd probably give all of us tummy aches. Anyone got a guillotine?
@@kayleelockheart8208 From the outside: the american experiment looks very failed right now. US capitalist are complete savages, it's disgusting.
That’s kinda what slave owners thought too.
The fact we let our single family homes in this country legally get gobbled up completely by private equity is disheartening beyond belief.