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Sorry to hear you lost that house Cato. It's bad enough when you have to bid against other buyers without connected builders getting into the mix. And yes.....a lot of times there is more going on between builders & town officals than people might be aware of. though that can cut both ways. I've seen builders who are not favored by a town get the run-around.
So the house you wanted, in the town you wanted, sold for the price you wanted but you didnt get it. Im waiting for the 'elitist' part. Were you dilligent in monitoring the listings in Lexington when this particular home came on the market or were you just crossing your fingers that the letter you wrote would find its recipient? Definitely the latter and apparently not the former. Or is it that you just cant afford a house in Lexington? Its not that you dont 'belong' in Lexington but instead that you simply cant afford it and now you are bitter or envious of others who can afford to be there.
So? It doesn't quite make sense to me to complain about one of the most expensive towns in Massachusetts being too expensive. I think the problem isn't that Lexington is elitist--I think the problem is that you don't make the cut and will have to look in a different town.
Uh you might want to look up what elitism is. Greater Boston area has seen stagnant incomes over the past decade. The major growth industries in Mass in health care and biotechnology are facing severe cutbacks in coming years. When a starter home is $600k, you've got a major problem with your economy. This is a house of cards leveraged on rock bottom interest rates.
So? It doesn't quite make sense to me to complain about one of the most expensive towns in Massachusetts being too expensive. I think the problem isn't that Lexington is elitist--I think the problem is that you don't make the cut and will have to look in a different town. Is there something wrong with Arlington or Burlington?
It also doesn't make sense to me for a $50k house to be on a $500k lot. I can understand being upset if your neighbor overbuilds for their lot, but I don't see the obligation to keep mediocre houses around so that they are affordable to you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guineas
Uh you might want to look up what elitism is. Greater Boston area has seen stagnant incomes over the past decade. The major growth industries in Mass in health care and biotechnology are facing severe cutbacks in coming years. When a starter home is $600k, you've got a major problem with your economy. This is a house of cards leveraged on rock bottom interest rates.
e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism (-ltzm, -l-)
n.
1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.
2.
a. The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class.
b. Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class.
Nope, don't see how that is relevant to my comment. Complaining that Lexington is elitist because you can't afford a house there would be more defensible if it were the only community in the area. It isn't. There are dozens of more affordable towns nearby that are good replacements (such as Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Bedford, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Reading, Wakefield, Waltham, Wilmington, and Woburn) except for things that are related to the fact Lexington is expensive (schools, cachet).
It's certainly you're right to feel put-upon by society that you can't afford to live where you want to live, but don't expect sympathy from the host of people who can't afford to live in Lexington so they just bought a house somewhere else.
It's certainly you're right to feel put-upon by society that you can't afford to live where you want to live, but don't expect sympathy from the host of people who can't afford to live in Lexington so they just bought a house somewhere else.
e·lit·ism or é·lit·ism (-ltzm, -l-)
n.
1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.
Maybe you ought to read your above definition and your earlier quote a little bit more carefully.
It's people like you that got us the 2006-2007 housing bubble in the first place. It's not that I can't afford it, it's that there is something seriously wrong if a starter home is going for $600k. The average income in Lexington is two earners making $65k each, hardly kings and queens when it comes to earning power. You overestimate the earning power of Greater Boston. Should one fall sick or lose his job, they will suddenly find themselves in a very precarious situation. The other towns you site aren't much cheaper to be honest.
Your insinuation that anyone who complains about this state of affairs is either too poor or too envious is way out of line here. With rock bottom interest rates, it's not difficult to afford $600k housing, the real issue is is it good for our economy to leverage this much on housing and leave so little room for error or life happening? I thought our housing bust had already proven the folly of overleveraging housing, but apparently Massachusetts has not learned this lesson due to fewer jobs lost in this last recession. But with significant belt tightening in government and health care expenditures foreseeable in the next decade, who knows how that will affect MA's economy. Lexington was always an expensive town, but 20 years ago people had a much smaller mortgage to income ratio than they do now. Rich people in Lexington used to have enough sense not to pay $600k on a starter home. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should, and the same applies for $500k starter homes in Arlington or $350k starter homes in Framingham.
Maybe you ought to read your above definition and your earlier quote a little bit more carefully.
It's people like you that got us the 2006-2007 housing bubble in the first place. It's not that I can't afford it, it's that there is something seriously wrong if a starter home is going for $600k. The average income in Lexington is two earners making $65k each, hardly kings and queens when it comes to earning power. You overestimate the earning power of Greater Boston. Should one fall sick or lose his job, they will suddenly find themselves in a very precarious situation. The other towns you site aren't much cheaper to be honest.
Your insinuation that anyone who complains about this state of affairs is either too poor or too envious is way out of line here. With rock bottom interest rates, it's not difficult to afford $600k housing, the real issue is is it good for our economy to leverage this much on housing and leave so little room for error or life happening? I thought our housing bust had already proven the folly of overleveraging housing, but apparently Massachusetts has not learned this lesson due to fewer jobs lost in this last recession. But with significant belt tightening in government and health care expenditures foreseeable in the next decade, who knows how that will affect MA's economy. Lexington was always an expensive town, but 20 years ago people had a much smaller mortgage to income ratio than they do now. Rich people in Lexington used to have enough sense not to pay $600k on a starter home. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should, and the same applies for $500k starter homes in Arlington or $350k starter homes in Framingham.
I don't believe that people who can afford more are better, or deserve more say in the affairs of society, only that they can afford more. What's the alternative? Fixed prices followed by random lottery to determine who gets to live where? Is that the only non-elitist way of doling out housing? Is that how you would sell your house?
I certainly don't think the people in Lexington are any better than the people in Burlington or Waltham, certainly not to the point where I got upset when I couldn't afford to live in Lexington. I didn't even argue that Lexington wasn't elitist, only that it's folly to complain about that an exclusive town is out of your price range. It's like complaining that the Lexus isn't really in your price range anymore and what a shame that is.
And what makes you think I don't agree with you that houses are overpriced? I don't think the housing costs are necessarily sustainable. I also don't think the gold price is necessarily sustainable, but I don't complain about not being able to shower my wife with gold jewelry. If you think houses are overpriced, then don't buy one. If you think rent here is too expensive then move somewhere else. There are enough people who are willing and--at least for now--able to to pay those inflated prices that the market settles higher than what you think it should be.
And it's definitely not people like me that got us in to the 2006-2007 housing bubble, I'm not quite sure why you're saying that. It's the people who think that they deserve something they can't afford and rather than just deal with it they overextend themselves financially to make it happen.
And it's definitely not people like me that got us in to the 2006-2007 housing bubble, I'm not quite sure why you're saying that. It's the people who think that they deserve something they can't afford and rather than just deal with it they overextend themselves financially to make it happen.
yep
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