Chronicle’s Front-Page TIC Story Ignores "Victims"?
The sensationalists at BeyondChron have a complaint piece today about the Chronicle’s coverage of TICs.
“In Thursday’s Chronicle story, “Strangers sharing mortgages,” it is not until the 35th paragraph of a 40 graph story that readers are informed that “TIC’s displace renters and erode the city’s stock of affordable housing.” Up to then, the article largely resembled a sales brochure for the real estate investors and agents who profit most from the TIC industry (even sales brochures cite some of the risks).”
I know I am probably beginning to sound pro-TIC or even pro-eviction, but that’s not the case. I just want to highlight the fact that evictions are NOT about TICs. Evictions are about lack of housing stock. If we keep fighting about TICs, how can we possibly focus on building more housing?
When will the ‘us vs. them’ attitude take homebuyers into account? The majority of homebuyers are currently tenants and they are TIRED OF RENTING. They want to own property. They want to have a say in their own destiny. Instead of hoping that Ted Gullicksen can create a protest or Brian Basinger (AIDS Housing Alliance) can incite a riot on their behalf, they are purchasing a home in whatever manner they can. They have no evil intentions. They just want a home.
Why are first-time homebuyers not “victims”? Because they have jobs? Because they have different priorities than lifetime tenants? That’s just patently unfair to make a statement like that.
Even better, the story continues by saying that “With the housing boom starting to wane, expect the Chronicle news section to engage in even greater distortions to keep its real estate advertising revenue flowing.”
Maybe this writer should get out on a Sunday to see how many buyers make up this ‘waning’ housing market… Or ask the 27 buyers that just wrote offers on one Noe Valley property this week…
