Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Much of the rest of your post is how one spends their money and budgets themselves, we all have different experiences when it comes to that.
No one is living well paying a $250K mortgage making around $50K a year.
$50K a year nets you about $3,100 a month if MFJ assuming no deduction in to 401K in Oregon. A $250,000 mortgage has a payment around $1,600 with taxes, interest and insurance included. That leaves a couple with $1,500 pre-any other bill. Electric, water, trash, sewer and natural gas will eat up about another $300 at the least. That leaves them with $1,200. Let's assume they are conservative eaters (no eating out) and can get by on $300 a month for food, that leaves $900. Gas to get to work will run them another $300 at least, that leaves them with $600. Now let's add in a cell phone and basic cable bill (Comcast $100 bundle) and $75 cell phone bill for both...now we have them at $425 left. What if they have a car payment (or 2)? That $425 is gone, but let's say they were able to obtain cars from their behinds...
$425 to split between retirement investing, home maintenance, home repair, lawn care, clothes, shoes, God forbid if they eat out once in a while. Furnace goes out? You can try to finance it but you probably don't have good enough credit to do that as you don't make enough money and couldn't afford another payment anyways...get ready to wear sweaters indoors a LOT. Need to repair the roof on that 100 year old house you bought for $250K? You're in a similar situation as the furnace. Want to go on vacation? Better start planning 3 years in advance to do anything meaningful. Want to retire one day? LOL good luck. Want to start a family? Better start working 2 jobs...each.
No matter what way you cut it, most people would describe the situation above is very-very far from desireable. Sure you and 1 out of a million people may somehow value trees and topography over living hand to mouth, but most people want some flexibility. Portland isn't the place to be for that. End of subject.
No one is living well paying a $250K mortgage making around $50K a year.
$50K a year nets you about $3,100 a month if MFJ assuming no deduction in to 401K in Oregon. A $250,000 mortgage has a payment around $1,600 with taxes, interest and insurance included. That leaves a couple with $1,500 pre-any other bill. Electric, water, trash, sewer and natural gas will eat up about another $300 at the least. That leaves them with $1,200. Let's assume they are conservative eaters (no eating out) and can get by on $300 a month for food, that leaves $900. Gas to get to work will run them another $300 at least, that leaves them with $600. Now let's add in a cell phone and basic cable bill (Comcast $100 bundle) and $75 cell phone bill for both...now we have them at $425 left. What if they have a car payment (or 2)? That $425 is gone, but let's say they were able to obtain cars from their behinds...
$425 to split between retirement investing, home maintenance, home repair, lawn care, clothes, shoes, God forbid if they eat out once in a while. Furnace goes out? You can try to finance it but you probably don't have good enough credit to do that as you don't make enough money and couldn't afford another payment anyways...get ready to wear sweaters indoors a LOT. Need to repair the roof on that 100 year old house you bought for $250K? You're in a similar situation as the furnace. Want to go on vacation? Better start planning 3 years in advance to do anything meaningful. Want to retire one day? LOL good luck. Want to start a family? Better start working 2 jobs...each.
No matter what way you cut it, most people would describe the situation above is very-very far from desireable. Sure you and 1 out of a million people may somehow value trees and topography over living hand to mouth, but most people want some flexibility. Portland isn't the place to be for that. End of subject.
The person only making $50k probably isn't the person buying a house in Portland.
A couple making $40-50k each are going to fair much better when buying a house. Seeing that there are people who are buying homes in and around Portland leads me to believe none of them are making minimum wage or barely above minimum wage.
The person only making $50k probably isn't the person buying a house in Portland.
A couple making $40-50k each are going to fair much better when buying a house. Seeing that there are people who are buying homes in and around Portland leads me to believe none of them are making minimum wage or barely above minimum wage.
So now your argument has switched to a couple needing $100K to live comfy on a $250K mortgage in PDX? Remember it wasn't too long ago in this thread whereby you were posting as if $50K gross income for a $250K mortgage was attainable and reasonable. In any event, now we're getting somewhere
Can you even get approved for a $250K mortgage on $50K? Many of the numbers in this thread seem off the mark. In my experience it's more like two people who make $90K are getting outbid on a $440K house in Hawethorne or Sellwood by someone parachuting in from California with $800K in cash. Or like the typical 22 year old from LA moving up there to be a barista and scrambling to find a room for less than $800.
It's possible in a variety of ways. For one thing, option ARM loans have quietly come back into the market. Assuming you can get approved for one, in year one (on a 250k mortgage) your payment is under $900/month. Totally "affordable"!
But there are other ways to make the math "work." As a side note, if you didn't see the news last month, Fannie/Freddie agreed to looser credit standards and smaller downpayments for conforming mortgages.
If the housing market starts looking rough (dropping prices, lagging inventory) it's entirely possible we'll see other interventions on the financing side to try and reconcile that there are plenty of households income around the median that are stretched for opportunities to buy affordably around median housing prices.
Do you actually read what I write before you respond, there are so many inaccurate things in your post that I am not even sure I know where to begin.
Me saying Milwaukie is a nice town for one who is on a budget doesn't mean I have given up on Portland. My wife and I were in Jersey for 2 years. And in those two years we were here in the summer getting married.
Also I don't recall ever saying Spokane was a liberal city, it seems like only you have made that claim. I mentioned Spokane because you seem upset that housing prices have gone up so much in Portland, yet one can still find a house in Spokane pretty cheap because prices there haven't risen 400% in 30 years. Personally I wouldn't want Portland to be more like Spokane, but that is me.
Inaccuracies? Really? Are you kidding me, kiddo?
From your post history, I thought you didn't care about inaccuracies, you seem to spout them all the time as truth.
I know where to begin even if you don't.
Once and for all, I am not upset about anything that happens in Portland.
Other than owning some property in Portland, I happily don't live their anymore.
I took your advice long ago (on 7-30-2012 to be exact), and moved someplace that has all the amenities I need, is "close in" enough for me, has a lower cost of living, has less crime, and overall, a much better standard of living.
I was able to do that because so many nice people with 100k+ incomes found Portland a very desirable place to buy a house and settle down!
So, I am very happy for them, and I am very happy for me.
You should be happy for me too, instead of raggin' on me all the time when I honestly explain why I did move out of Portland.
I'm sorry you are upset because you got here a little too late to take advantage of Portland's reasonable housing prices.
That fact that I don't live in the CoP anymore also won't stop me from opinionating on my hometown (of more than half a century) by the way.
I'll tell it exactly like I see it, just as you are doing.
Please, I wish you would stop telling me what I think and how I feel about Portland, 'cause you just plain don't know, and have it all completely wrong.
It's almost like you are fishing for someone to argue with.
If you don't like my posts you don't have to respond to them.
Please, stop trying to bait me all the time, it's very tiresome.
It's seems as though your "New Jersey" background is showing through!
As far as Spokane goes, I would like to gently remind you that you were the one that first compared Spokane to Portland, not me.
Also, no matter how you interpreted my statement, I never said that Spokane was a liberal city.
Also, no matter how you interpreted my statement, I never said I was upset about Portland home prices either.
See what I mean?
Pay attention pretty please?
Last edited by pdxMIKEpdx; 11-06-2014 at 03:54 PM..
So now your argument has switched to a couple needing $100K to live comfy on a $250K mortgage in PDX? Remember it wasn't too long ago in this thread whereby you were posting as if $50K gross income for a $250K mortgage was attainable and reasonable. In any event, now we're getting somewhere
It sounds like there is a communication issue here. A combined income of $50k is just barely over minimum wage, so no those typically won't be the people buying in Portland, they would at most be looking in the metro at most if home buying was a feasible thing for them.
Portland has a home ownership of just over 50% so it would typically be the ones that either bought a decade of two ago or people making more than a combined income of $50k that would be in the market to buy a house in Portland.
Inaccuracies? Really? Are you kidding me, kiddo?
From your post history, I thought you didn't care about inaccuracies, you seem to spout them all the time as truth.
I know where to begin even if you don't.
And once and for all, I am not upset about anything that happens in Portland.
Other than owning some property in Portland, I don't live their anymore.
I took your advice long ago (on 7-30-2012 to be exact), and moved someplace that has all the amenities I need, is "close in" enough for me, has a lower cost of living, has less crime, and overall, a much better standard of living.
I was able to do that because so many people found Portland a desirable place to live.
So, I am very happy for them, and I am very happy for me.
That won't stop me from opinionating on my hometown (of more than half a century) by the way.
I wish you would stop telling me what I think and how I feel about Portland, 'cause you just plain don't know, and have it all wrong.
It's almost like you are fishing for someone to argue with.
If you don't like my posts you don't have to respond to them.
Please stop trying to bait me all the time.
As far as Spokane goes, you were the one that compared Spokane to Portland, not me.
And BTW, I never said that Spokane was a liberal city.
I never said I was upset about Portland home prices either.
See what I mean?
Pay attention please?
Could you at least pretend to read my posts when you respond to them. This entire post has nothing to do with what I said.
So you are indifferent about home prices going up in Portland by 400% in 30 years or whatever.
The point I was making about Spokane that you seemed to have missed is that in the past 30 years the home prices there haven't gone up 400% therefore I was asking you if you would somehow prefer Portland to be more like Spokane?
It sounds like there is a communication issue here. A combined income of $50k is just barely over minimum wage, so no those typically won't be the people buying in Portland, they would at most be looking in the metro at most if home buying was a feasible thing for them.
Portland has a home ownership of just over 50% so it would typically be the ones that either bought a decade of two ago or people making more than a combined income of $50k that would be in the market to buy a house in Portland.
Ok SO THEREFORE WE GET TO THE ORIGINAL POINT OF THE ARGUMENT WHICH IS.... People living at the median household income can *not* afford PDX housing and will in all likelihood need to rent unless they inherit, bought in yester-year or are barely scraping by.
Could you at least pretend to read my posts when you respond to them. This entire post has nothing to do with what I said.
Oh, but it has everything to do with what you say and have said! And I do read your posts, and very thoroughly, I might add!
So you are indifferent about home prices going up in Portland by 400% in 30 years or whatever.
Yes, Now, I am indifferent because it doesn't matter to me anymore. Portland is for Portlanders! Why does that surprise you? Is it a bad thing or something?
The point I was making about Spokane that you seemed to have missed is that in the past 30 years the home prices there haven't gone up 400% therefore I was asking you if you would somehow prefer Portland to be more like Spokane?
I haven't missed a thing. And although Spokane isn't the best city in the US, it's not the worst city in the US like you are making it out to be. Why the Spokane bashing? Why do you hate Spokane so much?
If you are going to quote me, please stop editing my posts to make them seem like they're something they're not, OK???
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
