Europe's Landlord: Wall Street http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/bu ... gages.html
Caption: "A local child rode a bike in Tyrrelstown, a suburb northwest of Dublin, where dozens of tenants had been served with eviction notices after being told their homes had been purchased by a Goldman Sachs investment fund."
The article describes the good:
and the bad:In places like Ireland and Spain, governments and banks for years fostered reckless, debt-fueled property booms. When the bubbles burst, the countries were saddled with bad loans and their economies faltered. Wall Street stepped in, buying mortgages on commercial properties, rental developments and even individual homes. The much-needed cash helped mend national finances, halt plunging property values and clean up banks’ books.
“Investment by foreign capital has helped restart the system and accelerate the adjustment and recovery,” a spokesman for Goldman, Sebastian Howell, said.
And the ugly: The article describes the "tax magic" that offsets the sizable profits that the Wall Street financial firms make in Ireland, Britain, etc, against large interest charges, management & audit fees, so that the firms pay little or no tax.Homeowners who have fallen behind are being pressured to accept harsher terms that could tilt them toward foreclosure. Residents are being plied with fees that make it harder to stay in their properties. And even tenants who have not missed rental payments are being forced out at a time when rising property values make it difficult to find affordable housing.