A property investor who owns over 180 homes has branded a squatter's rights activist a 'cry baby' after the activist declared all landlords 'morally reprehensible'. The clash occurred during a debate on SBS program The Feed, where panellists discussed whether housing should be treated as an investment.
Jordan van den Lamb, known for his Instagram page 'Purple Pingers' and for encouraging followers to squat in vacant properties, told the panel that investing in property was 'morally reprehensible' and that no one should profit from others' need for shelter. Buyer's agent Eddie Dilleen, who grew up in Mount Druitt and now owns over 180 properties, disagreed, saying that without renting, his family would have been homeless.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Dilleen called socialists like Mr van den Lamb 'cry babies' who were unwilling to make sacrifices to enter the property market. 'There was just so much complaining,' Mr Dilleen said. 'They have all these ideas of how we should move to a communist kind of society where everyone gets given everything.'
Mr Dilleen argued that many Australians struggle to buy a home because they are not prepared to lower their standard of living. He advised potential buyers to live in share houses or granny flats, save for a deposit, and noted that a five per cent deposit is sufficient to purchase a $600,000 unit in Sydney. However, experts have warned that high loan-to-value ratios can lead to dangerous debt levels, especially amid rising interest rates.
New data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that loans with loan-to-value ratios of 95 per cent or more rose from $3.3 billion to $5.4 billion in the December quarter, now accounting for a record four per cent of new owner-occupier loans. AMP chief economist Shane Oliver cautioned that the scheme encourages inexperienced buyers to take on debt they may not be able to manage.
