Economic pain train's a coming (Boston: health insurance, tenant, income)

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I posted a globe article above and it does mention elevators being an issue. Are staircases much better? And if someone is handicapped? My work has an elevator and it can be beyond slow and busy. By the time it would get to the 1st first it felt like boarding the train at rush hour.

I would absolutely take the stairs if that were an option.

[Bridge781]

Yeah. Or just work from home.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

How would someone be under water on a mortgage if they continue to make the same amount ?

The value of a house is not related to one's income. If you paid $500k for a house and now could only get $400k, you'd owe more than you could get. That's underwater.

[Bridge781]

Right but not everyone is looking to sell their home.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I posted a globe article above and it does mention elevators being an issue. Are staircases much better? And if someone is handicapped? My work has an elevator and it can be beyond slow and busy. By the time it would get to the 1st first it felt like boarding the train at rush hour.

Sorry I posted before I got the end of the thread.

Originally Posted by massnative71

I would absolutely take the stairs if that were an option.

I have always opted for the stairs whenever possible. My first job out of school was on the sixth floor of a building in Quincy and I used the stairs everyday. There was only one work location I ever had where I could not access the stairs from the lobby and that was in the financial district. My department was on the 27th floor IIRC. I stayed there for a year and half and grew tired of the routine. That was 13 years ago now. Office building elevators are slow, smelly and unpleasant, on par with the T.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by skeddy

if you bought in the last 5 years, you will likely be under water on your mortgage.. Expect prices to drop 20%.

Not necessarily. If you put at least 20% down, you probably won't be underwater. I also think this will vary by area. I don't think prices will fall 20% or more inside 128, at least not for a while and if this is prolonged and we go into a depression. Plus, if you bought 5 years ago, you've been paying at least some of the principal back. So, while some people could go underwater, I don't think you can say most to all.

Originally Posted by Bridge781

How would someone be under water on a mortgage if they continue to make the same amount ?

As brightdog indicated, your income is irrelevant. If prices fall significantly, and your home value falls below the outstanding amount of your mortgage, then you're underwater. A lender could require you to obtain additional mortgage insurance, but there are plenty of people for whom their house going underwater isn't going to make a difference in their day to day lives. If they still have their same income, and can continue to make their payments on the mortgage and on all their other bills, and they are not planning on moving anytime soon, it won't make much of a difference. It only becomes an issue when someone needs or wants to tap into the equity in their house for some reason, or if they are selling the house, if they sell it for less than the outstanding mortgage amount, they may need to pay off the remainder of that mortgage when they sell. (Often a lender will agree to take less and will release the mortgage claim for the amount of the sale, especially if there is a widespread issue in the housing market, but this will also affect the credit of the mortgagor.)

[robr2]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I posted a globe article above and it does mention elevators being an issue. Are staircases much better? And if someone is handicapped? My work has an elevator and it can be beyond slow and busy. By the time it would get to the 1st first it felt like boarding the train at rush hour.

Cushman & Wakefield has put together a video www.sixfeetofoffice.com (scroll down for the video) for some ideas. Elevators will be tough as they show 2 circles on the floor to remind folks where to stand. At 8 AM and 5 PM everyday, the elevator is going to be a long wait.

[mdovell]

With respect to elevators there is a huge backlog of inspections due to a lack of inspectors. There's no way companies can add more elevators without being inspected. There's a complex in Springfield where they have 30 floors and three elevators. Two of which have issues leading half an hour wait times.

Imagine a two person maximum for elevators with similar wait times in Boston. How many flights of steps are you willing to walk for work? I'd argue few will go beyond stories.

https://www.masslive.com/business/20...aker-says.html

Of course the other issue here is going to work. If they relied on public transportation and due to the cuts cannot accommodate them what? Private shuttles?

The easiest way to accommodate is telecommuting. The logistics of building and heath needs for employers create a high switching cost that could be very high to justify.

[Bridge781]

Right the easiest most cost effective way to handle things for a while is working remotely. It makes no sense to me that companies are trying to go out of their way to get people physically in the office anytime soon like with temp checks, masks or accommodating them (or not) to drive in. I guess some places need to physically seem clients/customers so that might be a different situation.

My husband and I have to go into a law firm this week to sign something. I get the impression they’ve been open through all of this. It’s a small firm and we each have to go in separately to sign a form.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Right the easiest most cost effective way to handle things for a while is working remotely.

Not every job is able to be performed remotely...even essential jobs.

Originally Posted by Bridge781

My husband and I have to go into a law firm this week to sign something. I get the impression they’ve been open through all of this. It’s a small firm and we each have to go in separately to sign a form.

Have you been out much since the non-essential shutdown? You'll find a mix of places shut down completely when you drive by office parts with 1 or 2 cars in the parking lot...and then you drive by a Target where it seems like it's just any other day and people are going in to buy a new set of Tupperware.