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Back to To the Point

To the Point

Is a 'Rentership Society' the Next Phase in the Housing Crisis?

Major investors with lots of cash are scooping up foreclosed homes and converting them into rental properties. In Riverside, California — an area hard hit by the housing crisis — one company is buying up five to seven foreclosed homes every day.

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By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

Major investors with lots of cash are scooping up foreclosed homes and converting them into rental properties. In Riverside, California — an area hard hit by the housing crisis — one company is buying up five to seven foreclosed homes every day. Warren Buffett says rentals are much more profitable than stocks, and he'd like to buy up "a couple hundred thousand homes." Prices are way down, mortgage credit is hard to get and the time is right to out-bid individual families. Will traditional, first-time home-buyers have a chance against private equity funds? Will home ownership be possible for fewer and fewer Americans?

http://www.kcrw.com/insight.

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    Warren Olney

    former KCRW broadcaster

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    Katie Cooper

    Producer, 'One year Later'

  • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

    Sonya Geis

    Senior Managing Editor

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    Gideon Brower

    Independent Producer

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    Motoko Rich

    New York Times

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    Barry Zigas

    Consumer Federation of America

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    Sharon Kinlaw

    Fair Housing Council of the San Fernando Valley

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