The Politics of REI; A Lesson in Framing

[James Free]

National news today is giving us a lesson in framing, teaching us why we should be careful about privacy and how we can be attacked in the public sphere.

An example: http://money.cnn.com/2018/04/23/media/sean-hannity-real-estate-hud/index.html

This has nothing to do with your views on Sean Hannity personally. What matters is how badly real estate investing is framed in this and a hundred similar articles today.

His LLCs are called "shell companies" (ooh, scary!), and he is demonized for buying foreclosures and using HUD-backed mortgages and programs. All of these things are legal and constitute good advice frequently given here at BP. Hannity has defended himself as we all would - as someone who fixes up dilapidated properties and improves communities by providing quality housing. The public framing, of course, is that he must be kicking poor people out of their homes to make a buck.

In the end, this case study shows us the benefits of using LLCs and property management, not only for legal protection, but also for personal protection. Catch the ire of an angry busybody in this day and age, and you'll be a monster on social media before you've had your morning coffee.

I hope this community continues to do good work, rehabbing and improving properties all over the world. I don't want us to be intimidated by politicization like this, but we do need to protect ourselves.