Love how you're getting downvoted for making clear and logical arguments. Notice how no one has, or will have, a rebuttal?

It ain't the landlords kids, it's the real estate empires fucking you over. The answer is federal legislation saying any single entity can only own, I dunno, 10 or 100 houses? Devil and details and all, but these megacorps should not be able to own 10,000 homes. And of course, we need exceptions for lenders like banks that have an inventory of foreclosed properties that don't magically get insta purchased and fall off the books.

Who am I kidding. There's too much money to ever turn that boat around.

A bit off topic from your point, but there is no way to get screwed if you just invest for 10+ years in all market index funds from something like vanguard. The only way you're going down in that situation is if the whole system goes down for good. Also government bonds go well above inflation. There are options for regular people, but both of those options likely mean financially supporting things you might not believe in. Like a imperial government and a dirty energy focused economy. The only way it's a casino is if you buy individual stocks. Index funds are the safest way for regular people to make more money than inflation, you just have to be willing to let your money sit for a long time. You don't invest in index funds if you're unwilling to wait for the boom and bust cycles to pass a few times.

I don't have a problem with the players necessarily, just the game.

I'm lazy so I invest because I don't want to deal with being a landlord. Anyone who chooses to be a landlord deserves no sympathy. They chose to be a landlord instead of investing. You can get easy R.E. exposure by just being R.E.I.T.s so any extra work is your problem. On top of that landlords expect extra respect for something that REITs do. It's all the same game so all should be looked down upon.

Wanting to play as a boot when the game rewards playing the boot is ok so long as you advocate against the boot. But a lot of these people glorify the boot and try to become one sooo bad and for that, all of them can have the death penalty on them.

In short, want real estate? REITs, do you want to become a boot? Invest. But most importantly of all, be a boot abolitionist. If you're a boot defender then you rightfully get criticism.

I think your saying doing something physical is better than through an app. It makes no difference. It's all the same. But I do agree more awareness needs to be had with REITs. The solution is not to go easy on landlords but rather to go hard on REITs.

maintenance that the renters NEVER do

But why would the tenant maintain the property? I mean, I'm a tenant and will carry out low level repairs if I cause any damage, or if entropy means that something looks shabby. But beyond that? It's not my fucking house. My landlord just put my rent up by £50 a month to cover "the rising cost of maintenance". They've not done a single bit of maintenance in the year I've lived here.

I can hate both the players and the game, because it's rigged.