Free Republic

For millions of Americans, buying a home no longer feels like a goal. It feels like a gamble they are destined to lose. Prices rise faster than savings. Mortgage payments outpace wages. Each rejected offer chips away at confidence.Donald Trump says that cycle must stop.His plan to ban large institutional investors from buying houses has struck a nerve across the US. It speaks directly to people who believe the housing market no longer serves them.The message is blunt. Homes are for people, not corporations.A Promise Built on FrustrationFor many, housing affordability defines their daily lives. Their circumstances have changed; many...

President Trump on Wednesday called for a ban on “large institutional investors” buying single-family homes in a bid to address the issue of affordability. “I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, adding that he will discuss the topic, including further Housing and Affordability proposals, at the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month. The proposed ban could prove to be a way in for Trump and Republicans to...

Zohran Mamdani repeatedly told people who he was during both the NYC mayoral primary race and the general election campaign season, whether it was on the subject of the Israel-Hamas war, 9/11, his soft-on-crime stances, his desire for "free" stuff for New Yorkers - which of course would be paid for by the "rich," or his race-based approach to "solving" the city's housing crisis.And on other issues, past tweets and videos dug up by internet sleuths gave us an even more complete picture of the man who eventually was elected mayor of the Big Apple, with perhaps the most revealing...

New York Councilwoman Vickie Paladino is sounding the alarm about a line in Mayor Zohran Mamdani's inaugural speech. There was a lot in Mamdani's remarks to parse, including his assertion that New York will move toward the "warmth of collectivism" rather than "rugged individualism." As many pointed out, collectivism has a pretty high body count.But socialists like Mamdani don't care. They'll do whatever it takes, and stack as many bodies as necessary, to achieve their utopia. Mamdani made a boatload of promises in his address, including free universal childcare, free buses, and a $30 minimum wage.There was also another line...

About one in three U.S. households rents, a ratio that has stayed surprisingly steady over the past six decades.But with mortgage rates soaring from 2.7% in 2020 to almost 7% today - and home prices continuing to climb - the share of renters has edged up.Today, it takes $121,400 to afford a typical home, or 43% higher than the average salary.This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows the share of Americans renting versus owning by state, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.A Closer Look at Renting vs. Owning in AmericaAs the table below shows, states with the...

Specifically, income producing property? If one has rental units that sold, does that person pay a higher Medicare premium for a year? Any adverse consequence other than a capital gain tax?

Chicago homeowners are asking for answers as property tax bills continue to climb, with several residents saying they’ve seen little improvement in return. In Lawndale, a neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side, residents told ABC7 Chicago that despite higher property tax bills, little has changed on their streets, leaving them frustrated over where their money is going. Community leaders and the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation gathered citizens at a local church for what they called a "property tax bonfire," the local station reported. "There's been a divestment in this community for the most part, but it seems like now that people...

Homeowners vote red. Renters vote blue. Will President Donald Trump's 50-year mortgage make a red voter out of you? That is what the president hoped on Saturday, when he posted the idea of stretching out the customary 30-year repayment terms for home mortgages to 50 years. Turns out, that idea is smoke and mirrors. But at least Trump is recognizing that home affordability is a real crisis, not fake news. "Affordability" is the campaign pledge that produced big wins on election day, and most of the winners were Democrats. Affording a home is increasingly out of reach. The median age...

A Penn Yan woman is facing multiple charges after police say she refused to leave an apartment during a landlord-tenant dispute and then resisted arrest. Carol Briggs, 63, was arrested by Penn Yan Police for obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest, and trespass following an incident at an apartment where she had no legal right to be. Officers responded to a call involving a dispute between a tenant and Briggs, who is a family member of the landlord. Police say Briggs entered the apartment without permission, became upset with the tenant, and demanded they leave the property. Police informed Briggs that...

Summary Ruling could encourage other US states to adopt similar laws ACLU argued Florida law discriminates against Asians DeSantis said 2023 law meant to deter Chinese Communist Party influence Nov 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday cleared the way for Florida to enforce a law restricting real estate and land purchases by Chinese citizens, rejecting claims it violates federal law and discriminates against Asians. The 2-1 ruling opens new tab by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals could encourage other states to adopt so-called alien land laws, which were once common but fell out of...

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said the Trump administration will buy more buildings in Chicago for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Noem said more buildings were purchased “to operate out of.” “We’re purchasing more buildings in Chicago to operate out of,” Noem said to President Trump during the meeting. “We’re going to not back off. In fact, we’re doubling down and we’re going to be in more parts of Chicago in response to the people there.” “I was there a few days ago and looked at...

Well, here we go again. CNN tells us that a property tax revolt is spreading, with a nationwide movement to eliminate property taxes on the march.Most of us are familiar with the basic scenario of property taxation. Every state is replete with numerous political subdivisions commonly known as “municipal corporations.” These are counties, cities, school districts, fire districts, water districts, sewer districts, diking distraction, etc., etc. Each of these is known as a “taxing district” because state statute authorizes these districts’ legislative authority to adopt an annual budget and levy that budget as a tax on the property owners in...

Dear Chuck, My parents are retired and have a very low interest rate on a small amount of remaining mortgage. They told me they want to sell their home and rent, thinking they will save money. I am gathering information to help them. Would you suggest they rent or keep owning their home? Retired: Rent or Buy?Dear Retired: Rent or Buy?It depends. I don’t have the full financial picture of your parents, so I don’t want to give advice based on false assumptions. Let me disclose a few assumptions from your question:They are feeling financially insecure.Their home value is...

The value of a college degree has been called into question lately — and for good reason. Parents might be shocked to learn what they’re paying for. At the New School in Manhattan, a four-year private university where the $60,240 tuition doesn’t cover housing, students at the university’s Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts can learn “How to Steal.” Noting the sociology seminar is not about “petty crime,” the course catalog explains it is an exploration of “the politics, ethics, and aesthetics of theft in a world where accumulation is sacred, dispossession is routine, and the line between private property...

(a) An individual is entitled to defer collection of a tax, abate a suit to collect a delinquent tax, or abate a sale to foreclose a tax lien if:(1) the individual:(A) is 65 years of age or older;(B) is disabled as defined by Section 11.13(m); or(C) is qualified to receive an exemption under Section 11.22; and(2) the tax was imposed against property that the individual owns and occupies as a residence homestead.(b) To obtain a deferral, an individual must file with the chief appraiser for the appraisal district in which the property is located an affidavit stating the facts required...

Run Time 54 m. / " started noticing something was off in home appraisals,” says Mitch Vexler, whistleblower and expert on property valuations. He tells Daniela Cambone: “They were inflating property values to jack up taxes, and that was feeding into trillions in school bond debt that I believe will spiral.” On the scope of the problem, Vexler is blunt: “We’re talking about $5.1 trillion in school bonds that are based on these inflated appraisals. That’s massive—this is a ticking time bomb for local governments and taxpayers alike.” He warns of consequences for the bond market: “School districts are relying...

Thinking of buying a starter home? Be careful!The above image from John Burns Research.💭 When do you think owning will feel affordable again for first-time buyers?— John Burns Research and Consulting (@JBREC) July 2, 2025Burns CriteriaHome payment, entry-level home mortgage5 percent down, 30-year fixed mortgagePrincipal, Interest, Tax Payments, and Insurance (PITI) payment plus mortgage insurance payment Annual maintenance costs ranging from 0.85 percent to 1.25 percent of home price One might put down 10 percent to avoid mortgage insurance. Looking ahead Burns see homeownership costs stubbornly high, 95 percent premium all the way through 2028.That means home prices remain stubbornly...

The cost of a typical American home has raced far ahead of paychecks.This graphic (and below video), via Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao, charts how the median sales price of a newly-built privately-owned residential units (including houses and apartments) and the median household income have moved since 1967.Data for this graphic is sourced from the Census Bureau (both home prices and household incomes).The Federal Reserve’s CPI-U index was used to convert both to 2023 dollars for an apples-to-apples comparison.Tracking U.S. Home Prices vs. Household IncomesThe median sales price of a new U.S. home reached $428,600 in 2023. That price was more...

In California, some radical far-left ideas don't seem to be drawing the applause they were expected to draw.Which brings us to one state Sen. Ben Allen, a Santa Monica statehouse senator who put out a proposed law so stinky, so stanky, so vile, he skedaddled backward as fast as his little legs would carry him.At a time when the County of Los Angeles has witheld rebuilding permits for all but seven of the 17,000 homeowners who lost their homes in the fires they caused, Allen's SB 549 authorized the state to go around buying up burned properties in fire-ravaged areas,...

A resurfaced clip of Zohran Mamdani explaining how when he runs out of money—because he’s decided to quit his job—he’ll just live off his parents is going viral: ... He’s got absolutely no qualms about producing nothing, being unemployed, and living off of someone else—which is to say he’s just your average socialist/communist. Recall that Karl Marx lived off of handouts from Freidrich Engels, and was once so broke that he left his wife to pawn his last pair of pants instead of just getting a job to support his family (walking around in his skivvies for who knows who...