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Lease requires signature of privacy violating addendum (lemmy.world)

submitted 5 days ago by Okokimup@lemmy.world to c/actually_infuriating@lemmy.world

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Just got approved for a new apartment and reading through the lease before signing. They have an addendum that gives them permission (without compensation) to use your name, written statements, likeness in photos, videos, or voice, without exception or limitation, in any kind of marketing materials or social media. It explicitly applies to all residents including minors. It gives them permission to alter these media as they see fit, for all of time, and you waive your right to deny them or sue for libel or violation of privacy.

At the end of the addendum, it does say you have the right to revoke your consent to all of this via written notice. But you are required to sign this addendum. So now I have to write my own legalistic revocation of consent to go with it.

This is an absolute "fuck you" to

victims of DV, stalking, or other crimes where they need to keep their identity/living situation confidential
people who do not like having their picture taking (enjoying your time at the pool in spite of feeling bad about yourself in a swimsuit? Too bad, everyone can look at you now.)
everyone who cares about their privacy for its own sake.

Did I leave anyone out?

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[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Added info as requested. Averaged over 25 years it's $600/mo more but still nothing crazy.

I moved here from across the country on about a 2 week notice, and booked 3 weeks in a motel but ended up staying with a relative, while looking for a place. I don't know if I would be able to close a sale and move in that quickly depending on the market.

Again I grant there are obvious benefits to homeownership, but not many have $50k+ lying around (those with parents who have that money lying around have bought houses for their kids), and so I wouldn't say renting needs to die in a fire. Homes have been assumed to be a perpetually appreciating asset but that's what has attracted private equity and speculators so I really think that assumption needs to die first before renting.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 0 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

By your stated numbers, your net expenditure is $1600/mo in housing expenses when you buy, and $2500/mo when you rent. $1000 in interest, $400 in condo fees, $200 in taxes, insurance.

The remaining $1900 of your $2900 monthly mortgage payment is effectively being moved into your savings account called "Equity". That's still yours. You may not like being compelled to transfer it to a different "account", but you're not actually losing that money, so you don't get to count it as an expenditure.

$1600/mo to buy. $2500/mo to rent.

Those are the numbers that you provided. I feel they were skewed in your favor from the start, especially since you started with a condo instead of buying something free and clear. But even your wildly biased numbers prove my point. Your numbers tell me you are paying a $900/mo premium to your landlord for the privilege of not having to move $1900/mo from your checking account to your "savings" account.

You are paying $900 so you don't have to save an additional $1000.

Yes, "savings account" is the appropriate metaphor. Again: If you need it, you can access that money with a home loan, a HELOC, a cash-out refinance, etc.

Also, you glossed over appreciation: A normal savings account earns less than 1% interest. Money market accounts earn about 3% on what you put into them. Your "equity-brand savings account" earns 2%-4% interest on $500,000. Not the $1900 monthly payments you keep adding. 2%-4% interest on $500,000 you didn't have, from day one.

Are you beginning to understand why I am so fucking pissed at the entire idea of renting?

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

No, I'm being fair and doing my best to steelman your argument. I rounded up my rent to $1900 and I rounded down the purchase price from $530k to $500k and rounded associated interest payments down to $2900 and as you requested applied the same timeline to averaging 25 years of rentership compared to a 25 year mortgage even if in my timeline I expect to stay for 5, probably, and you know that less goes to principal at the start of a loan term than the end. My rent didn't even go up this year despite the legal maximum being 2.3%, which I used, I think our property manager is currently slightly worried about people moving out from cooling rents. I already said ownership of even a rowhome would either be 50% more expensive or I'd have to move much further out of the city.

I can understand why you'd be upset but even after looking at these numbers, there are undeniably benefits in my opinion it's still not as big of a deal as you think it is.

As a second anecdote, buddy of mine in Toronto bought a semi-detached house in Scarborough to live in with parents' help for $1.1m, prices now are 900k to 1m, he's paying $4400/mo after needing to refinance to a 30 yr mortgage. 45-50% (averaged over 30 years) of the payments are toward interest, though at this moment 95% of his payments are towards interest. He feels stuck there.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 0 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Buddy, you're trying to backpedal $10,800 of losses per year. Further, you didn't include the same percentage of appreciation on the market value of the house. Using your 2.3% figure (which is less than inflation, and thus absurdly conservative) that's another $11,500. By renting under the terms you described, you are pissing away $22,300 per year.

They say that the lottery is a tax on people who are bad at math. Renting has a much worse ROI than the lottery. This is why I suggested an RV, or couch surfing, or even living in a car until you can afford an RV.

With the amount of value you are losing due to renting, you could literally buy a new car (albeit an economy car) each and every year. If you pulled a $50 bill out of your wallet each and every day, and just set it on fire, you would lose less than renting under the terms you described.

for $1.1m, prices now are 900k to 1m,

Sure. He's got a theoretical loss in value of $100-200k. He presumably put down $220,000, so worst case, he still has $20,000 of value in the house, plus the payments he's made against principal. What is that house going to be worth next year? In 5 years? What would have to happen for the value of that house to stay under $1.1m for the next 25 years? Even if he had bought at the height of the housing bubble in 2008, by 2012-2016, prices had dipped and rebounded.

45-50% (averaged over 30 years) of the payments are toward interest

Yeah, that sucks.

at this moment 95% of his payments are towards interest.

That sucks more. You know what sucks more than that? 100% of payments going towards "interest", and no equity. That situation is called "rent".