Nov 8 7:00 PM

Wall Street Landlords

Fault Lines investigates how Wall Street firms are returning to communities hardest-hit by the foreclosure crisis with a new bet on housing.

The Novshadyan family rented a home in Sun Valley, California, from Invitation Homes, a subsidiary of the Blackstone Group. They moved out within two months because of a mold growing in the house. With their belongings trapped inside the house, the family can't get back in and has developed flu-like symptoms believed to be caused by mold exposure. They're pictured in front of their current residence.
Nicole Salazar for Al Jazeera America

Private equity firms and hedge funds are buying up tens of thousands of foreclosed homes and converting them into rental properties. And they are creating one of the fastest growing financial investments by securitizing their tenants' rent checks.

It has been six years since the foreclosure crisis devastated millions of American families. And now, many former homeowners are renting from Wall Street. It's a landlord's market, and rents are rising across the country.

Fault Lines travels to California and Georgia to investigate if Wall Street’s rental gamble could jumpstart the economy or lay the foundation for a new crisis.


CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Mathieu Skene, Senior Producer: Carrie Lozano @carrielozano, Correspondent: Anjali Kamat @anjucomet, Producer: Nicole Salazar @nicoleasalazar, Director of Photography: Omar Mullick @cerulean_blue, Additional Photography: Paul Abowd @PaulAbowd, Joel Van Haren @joelvanharen, Thierry Humeau @telecamfilms, Nicole Salazar, Editor: Adrienne Haspel @adihaspel, Warwick Meade @warwickmeade, Digital Producer: Nikhil Swaminathan @sw4mi, Production Managers: Shannon Stanley @ShanStan, Dana Merwin @dana_merwin, Production Assistance: Mark Kurlyandchik @MKurlyandchik, Sara Lafleur-Vetter @lafleurius

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