Private Equity: The New Neighborhood Loan Sharks Veterans of the Contract Buyers League hit the door

[turbinetree]

Mike Gallagher double-checks the address on his smartphone and walks up the cement steps of the brick two-story house on Detroit’s west side. He rings the doorbell, and after waiting a minute knocks loudly on the door. A dog barks and a shirtless black man in his mid-thirties cracks open the door.

“Good afternoon. I’m Mike from the Home Savers group. We’re talking to people who have a land contract from Harbour Portfolio. Is that your situation?”

“Yes,” says the man, whom the visitor may have just woken up. He cautiously looks at Mike, who is white with unruly short white hair.

“A lot of people are finding these rent-to-buy loans may not be such a good deal. Sometimes they’re worse than being a tenant, since you have to pay for all repairs and maintenance. But you don’t build any wealth until you make the last payment. How long is your contract loan?”

“Thirty years.”

http://prospect.org/article/private-equity-new-neighborhood-loan-sharks

[justhanginon]

1. This is absolutely sickening. These are the kind of problems that

congress and/or the powers that be should be working on to alleviate if they had any sense of decency not to mention compassion for their constituents. Unfortunately for the American people they seem to be more concerned with lining their campaign coffers with money from the very people and vile corporations causing the harm.
Avarice has become the new norm for too many people and corporations in this country and in someway needs to be dealt with.