[dec0dedab0de]

If that is all it was, then that would be great. It would be nice If we had a handful of corporations that outsourced to local contractors to refurbish houses before reselling them, while taking a small profit for themselves.

The problem is that these companies are more interested in driving up the price of housing, than they are in fulfilling the need to facilitate a market, and make repairs. So you end up with prices artificially driven up, and many properties being used as investments against inflation. Which means that people in lower valued homes are now unable to upgrade, which means that there is less available at the low end, which leads to more homelessness.

I think local municipalities should enact speculator taxes, for anyone who owns an unoccupied property that was not recently inherited. Maybe you get 18 months after your parents die to either sell their home, or take on a tenant.

There are properties near my house that have been for sale for over 15 years. Which means the speculators holding these properties have likely paid more in taxes than they will ever get for them.

Basically I don't think that holding property hostage should not be a legal business, either you sell/rent it at the current market values, or you pay out the ass for the privilege to wait it out.

[nrmitchi]

> I think local municipalities should enact speculator taxes, for anyone who owns an unoccupied property that was not recently inherited. Maybe you get 18 months after your parents die to either sell their home, or take on a tenant.

I'd actually agree with this, with the addition of "or appeal as to why you can't". 18 months seems like a long time, but there are many situations where you just can't get something settled in that amount of time.