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If there is oversupply, why are rents here up 10 percent over the past year despite high unemployment and a tanked economy?
The Gov't certainly is doing their part fueling house/asset inflation!
Last year I heard on the radio that the Gov't was adding $500.00?/month to Section 8 welfare for a single mom with 3~4 kids ($2500.00?/month total subsidy). The landlords in Plano, Texas couldn't wait to get their soon-to-be tenants (from the Dallas area) to the better, safer schools & pristine neighborhoods. If I remember correctly, the talk of raising rents to help the community was discussed openly by the landlords & local Gov't.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I'm sure there are many life-long New Yorkers who have been renters their whole lives. I know my aunt and uncle in Brooklyn rented their whole lives as does my cousin. My parents didn't buy a house until they moved out of NYC.
I would agree. While there is more freedom in renting, the benefits to home ownership would certainly outweigh the benefits of renting, I would think. I'm so tired of "giving" my money away each month in rent. I rent from a relative, but still....it's not my home.
And even those working people that could afford the mortgage, might not be able to come up with the down payment - is 20% standard these days?
Quote:
Originally Posted by redvelvet709
10% is still do-able. I am actually looking into it, but 20% would be a tough call on most folks.
You can do an FHA at 3.5% down. That's absolutely true about the 20%. I bought a 942 s.f. condo for $180K, about the cheapest thing one could buy in NJ and still be within commuting distance of the city. There's no way I would have EVER been able to save up $36K to have a 20% down payment.
That's how I did it--bought my own place, a small condo, for the first time two years ago at the age of 51. Like the OP, I lived paycheck to paycheck and simply could not afford to buy a place of my own before that. (I was married and had a child, but divorced when my daughter was young, and my ex-husband only ever paid child support sporadically, so I could not rely on it. He'd throw me $50 or $100 or so once every couple of months.)
It is nice to be able to not worry about whether I can find a rental where I can keep my cats, or worry about losing my security because I painted my walls, or always be nervous because I might be told I have to move out when the lease is up because the landlord sold the house or whatever. Down side is that when heat or hot water or anything breaks, you have to get it fixed--but on the plus side--when you have a mortgage and pay it on time, you can get credit for those things if need be.
And of course it's nice to have a tax deduction instead of handing a huge chunk of your paycheck over to the government while everyone else gets the breaks.
I'm sure there are many life-long New Yorkers who have been renters their whole lives. I know my aunt and uncle in Brooklyn rented their whole lives as does my cousin. My parents didn't buy a house until they moved out of NYC.
That's different, though. In the city, most people do rent. Even if they have money, often people buy a summer house down the shore or out on the island.
There's a woman in my office who lives on the lower east side who has been in her same apartment since 1968!
To me, buying a condo is basically buying an apartment. Why would I want to buy an apartment?
Because a) it's affordable, whereas a s.f. house may not be, b) you cannot do yard work (I am a divorced woman in my 50s who works long hours--no way do I want to spent what little free time I have mowing the lawn and raking leaves or worrying about snow removal) c) you want the closeness and safety of neighbors/community, d) Most s.f. houses are too large for just one person.
None of these may be YOUR choice, but they are the best way for me.
There are first time homeowner programs out there that do not require a large down payment. FHA is a possible route. FHA requires 3.5% down. Depending the housing costs in your area, this can be a really great way to get into a house. My friend's daughter recently purchased a home in a rural area, she qualified for some sort of rural program and didnt need a down payment at all.
As far as whether there are folks out there that live paycheck to paycheck and have done so for many years? Absolutely. A whole lot more than people want to admit to.
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Crony-Inflation
