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Comment by 1270018080 | Hacker News Reader

If you're buying a home and living in it (which is what it sounds like the boomers are doing), I can't really find room for criticism. I think having a chance to build equity in a home you live in is a great thing.

If they're snatching these houses to rent out, deny others a chance at equity, and profit off of (overcharge) the less fortunate, especially during a housing shortage with no end in sight, I have a problem.

Building more housing will always be the primary solution to the housing crisis, but not letting the greedy steal homes would be a nice short-term bandaid.

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Is it really a problem if boomers are buying second, third, or even fourth homes to rent out? This has long been a common path for the elderly to afford healthcare and living expenses in their golden years rather than relying on the government.

I feel large companies and financial institutions that are buying up swaths of residential properties are trying to find a scapegoat and they have found one in boomers. I imagine we will see more propaganda pieces like this one, pinning the blame on them.

The younger-than-Boomers (ytBs…is that an actual acronym?) have something they can do about investors buying properties. If you control the estate of Boomers who owned residential property, sell the house(s) to people who will reside there, not use it as rentals or as an “investment”. Might get less money upfront, but you will sleep better at night.

Another thing ytBs (looks ugly, might not use) could do is develop aging-in-place tech to make it unnecessary to rent that second house. Aging-in-place is already much cheaper than nursing homes

https://journals.healio.com/doi/10.3928/19404921-20110802-01

What new tech would allow the elderly to age-in-place more efficiently? The elderly are too old to develop it themselves…

I don’t agree with the premise that there is a problem with boomers buying a home and renting it out to someone who would rather rent than own.

I see the problem is rather monopolies and hedge funds buying homes by the thousands and driving up the prices in select markets.

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