The alternative would’ve been where banks don’t own half of everything, but here we are. Next best thing would be that government would’ve kept prices in check, but instead are incentivized for prices to go up because even after it’s paid off the owner is still responsible to pay property taxes. If those taxes went toward preventing homelessness, I think would make more sense.

Not OP, but the normalization of something necessary requiring to borrow a lump sum and take 20-30+ years to pay off plus interest. Even the valuation of homes is ridiculous in itself, since those numbers are somewhat based on subjective values or “how much can I get away with charging?”. Sure, you have a baseline of materials and labor but the subjective part is just what’s around that property. Even if you lived in a shed and someone builds a mansion next door, now your value magically goes up? It’s a gimmick that only further drives inflation with fluff being added to demand. The shift of practically all US housing markets from the pandemic (people changing employment, vacancies created from those who died) went into a boom because companies or those with extra money started buying the excess supply so fast that it inflated demand. I’ll stop ranting but I think it’s all ridiculous and unsustainable and would like to mention that renting is just a subscription of residence.

This personally irks me. I bought into their marketing on the first elite controller, but the switches on the small board for the paddles were easily damaged from the metal paddles. I had even called M$ trying to get a warranty replacement (accessories only have 30 day warranty and mine was less than a year old) quote for repairs, or where to get parts to sauter new switches. Though the pricing for that same board for the 2nd version is half the price of a new replacement, and only $10-20 cheaper then a replacement of a non-generic standard controller. Glad I didn’t bother giving them a 2nd chance.