Does it annoy you that homeowners are renting their basements (Fairfax: renter, home)

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by saganista

So much for the notion that illegal immigrants are stealing jobs from American workers.
.

i was only discussing this as it relates to NoVa, which has in a somewhat different labor market situation from the rest of the USA. Their impact on the labor market in other areas is off topic in this forum. Our good moderator has already warned us to stay on topic, so lets try to do so.

I would say that probably you are making this stuff up as you go along. There are undocumented immigrants living in NoVa. You don't actually who or where they are,

I related a story. I am NOT telling you exactly where I used to live. Just as I am not sharing more details of my daughters health with you. You can choose to believe my anecdote or to dismiss it. I was not doing so to argue for or against any particular public policy, but merely to relate something of the flavor of this issue in northern virginia. I am sorry if that upsets you.

Obviously my common sense reflections are not the equivalent of peer reviewed science. You can agree with me or not.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by saganista

Scientific consensus as against a bunch of vague, untested, personal assumptions. Makes sense to some, I guess.

lets see when I posted articles from Brookings on sprawl and infrastructure you insisted on specific projects for you to debate here.

Seems like anecdotes trump academic work, except when they dont. Got that.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by Alltheusernamesaretaken

Good point. From what I can see, we've been experiencing a change in our culture over the past 30, 40, 50 years to the point where a family of 3 or 4, say, is now accustomed to looking for a house much too large for them, too large for them to clean themselves (esp. if both parents are working), with a yard they cannot take care of themselves, etc. whereas 1/2 a century ago people tended to buy a house that was reasonable for their size family, even perhaps too small, and still made it work.

This has nothing to do with culture and everything to do with evolution within the financial system to the point where managers began to realize what fools they had been in so tightly restricting access to long-term credit.

Meanwhile, your projection onto others of what you personally happen to view as reasonable is not welcome. Neither your values nor your circumstances are universally shared by others.

If, by the way, as perhaps an empty-nester now with spare bedrooms in a basement or elsewhere, I choose to rent out rooms to students, professors, young couples just moving to the area, or whomever else I find to be acceptable tenants, people don't have any say in that until I ask them about it.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by brooklynborndad

if there are folks renting out basements DESPITE the quite legitimate safety concerns, imagine how many more find the economics of it desirable, but are only deterred by the safety concern?

That's a mighty big "if" in my opinion, and only one of several deterrents. Don't forget how many homeowners here have security clearances, for example. How many people would really risk that for the sake of making a few bucks from renting their basement to someone here illegally? Renting it out to your nephew who just got his first job and can't afford an apartment yet seems more likely.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by saganista

If, by the way, as perhaps an empty-nester now with spare bedrooms in a basement or elsewhere, I choose to rent out rooms to students, professors, young couples just moving to the area, or whomever else I find to be acceptable tenants, people don't have any say in that until I ask them about it.

As long as you stay within the limits of the rooming house laws.

[brooklynborndad]

Originally Posted by Caladium

That's a mighty big "if" in my opinion, and only one of several deterrents. Don't forget how many homeowners here have security clearances, for example. How many people would really risk that for the sake of making a few bucks from renting their basement to someone here illegally? Renting it out to your nephew who just got his first job and can't afford an apartment yet seems more likely.

I do not disagree with you at all about the likely future of NoVa basements. I am not trying to predict future NoVa basement usage. I am instead trying to tease out, from the facts we have about present NoVa basement usage, some further evidence regarding the demand for multifamily housing in the region. This, like other attempts of mine to use observed factoids to get a glimpse of larger trends, may be a hopeless exercise.

[Alltheusernamesaretaken]

Originally Posted by saganista

Meanwhile, your projection onto others of what you personally happen to view as reasonable is not welcome.

LOL!! This is an Internet forum. If you don't want to hear others' opinions, there's an "X" at the upper right corner which will allow you to close the window.

But for the record, if more people considered what was "reasonable" for them, instead of simply "desired,"
there would be far less of this housing mess people have gotten themselves into (jointly, with banks of course,
but the buyers share the blame. I'm just sayin'.)


If, by the way, as perhaps an empty-nester now with spare bedrooms in a basement or elsewhere, I choose to rent out rooms to students, professors, young couples just moving to the area, or whomever else I find to be acceptable tenants, people don't have any say in that until I ask them about it.

Hmmm. Again, when it's a topic someone posted on this forum, we sure as heck will discuss it. But thanks for playing!

It is clear that an enormous chip on one's shoulder can turn what would normally be
a civil discourse on society (local or otherwise) into constant [and sometimes, humorous] assault.

Injecting an extremely defensive stance into every post adds nothing
to the discussion except vinegar.
I hope to see more productive posts, like most of the rest, which are helpful to the OP.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by Caladium

I'm not sure how big of a house you're talking about here, but FWIW I live in a 4,000 sf house out in the burbs and taking care of it is not as difficult as you might think. I'm able to work, raise a family, clean the house, and do my own gardening. My neighbors seem to be able to do so, as well--although some have cleaning services and others hire the local kids to mow the lawn.

It's all different strokes for different folks. At some point, many homeowners end up having more money than energy. Some have volunteer or charitable work they want to devote time to as opposed to pushing a mower or a vacuum around. And some have family up and down the coast and invest their time in visiting. Intimations that for hiring a cleaning or landscaping service, these folks are somehow less noble or virtuous than all those hardscrabble folks of yore are basically just silliness.

Originally Posted by Caladium

Think about it--if you're living in a house would you rent out your basement to a bunch of scary people engaged in illegal activities? Maybe some would, but I doubt it's that common, and I think the typical person who rents a basement is more likely to be a local kid working his first job, or maybe a friend of a friend going through an expensive divorce, something like that.

Doesn't comport with the push. Anti-immigrant sources have put a lot of time and effort into associating immigrants with tenement- and flophouse-style living, rats and cockroaches, filth and disease, drunkenness, cars on blocks, urinating in public, and whatever other revolting type thing they can think of. Some people buy it to the extent that it's all they are able to see anymore.

[saganista]

Originally Posted by Caladium

As long as you stay within the limits of the rooming house laws.

Goes without saying. In addition to compliance with all applicable code, you do need a Home Occupation Permit from the Counmty in order to act as a landlord. All this was eventually covered earlier in the thread.

[Flamingo13]

I forget what the thread is supposed to be about ...........