I just saw this post about landlords being parasitic. While I agree in some points - mainly that by owning more property than you need for yourself, you’re driving up the price for others who want to buy a property. However, I don’t want to buy property when I move. I don’t have the funds for it, and I’m happy with a rented flat. Sure I want to get my own property at some point, however I’m also sure I want to move at least two more times in my life. Buying and selling each time sounds like a lot of hassle. Also, I live in a shared flat, that just sounds like a legal nightmare if the ownership changed every time someone moved out. How does this fit together? Are there solutions to this that don’t require landlords to exist?
I moved into one recently and the the process was pretty much like any other flat I rented before. You apply, get invited to visit the flat, you say yes or no, they say yes or no, done. The only difference was that instead of a deposit I was paying for shares of the cooperative. Maybe it’s different in smaller towns though, this was in a university town.