Listening to BP podcast, announcing book about 1st time homebuyers.
What if there was a gov't program that allowed landlords to set aside part of a tenant's rent in an HSA-style savings acct for the tenants to buy their first home? Landlord still gets full rent but say $20 or $50 or whatever the gov't wants to support goes to a savings account.
1. Landlord gets a token amount for participating in program + gets better quality tenants.
2. Tenants have to have a clean record in order to participate.
3. It shows in real time, every single month that landlords want to help their tenants live successful lives & the gov't supports landlords in finding higher quality tenants.
The relationship between tenants & landlords is at an all-time low & the relationship between gov't & landlords is quietly antagonistic at best (Gov't literally forced landlords to subsidize tenants rather than taking the cost of this on themselves.) A program like this would help ease all those tensions, turn things around.
It looks like Path to Ownership was an attempt at this but didn't involve landlords? I took a look at their site but it didn't seem to fit what I wish was out there. If anyone has any contacts in any part of HUD, give them a nudge? Bigger Pockets community could brainstorm & outline the program in a heartbeat. We're putting our blood, sweat, and oh-so-many tears (at least I am), our livelihoods, all of it, on the line to support better housing and creating a web of mutual support... we could build that. And if it has already been built in a way that I could participate in it tomorrow the same way I participate in Section 8 / MSHDA vouchers in Michigan, let me know.