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In the Fall after the hurricanes hit I started a thread about the impact of the storms on people especially poor people and it evolved into a good discussion on multiple topics. During the conversation I mentioned older and poorer residents stuck in towns in NC where they had not recovered from the previous hurricane and were stuck and unable to move for a multitude of reasons. Specific in my reference was Princeville which is 12th on the list. One of the realities is that if the houses were valued for more the residents couldn't afford to pay the taxes on them. Many of the homes have been in the family and were long since paid for. Home equity loans aren't available as they are to poor to be able to get a loan. They are trapped.
They would love for someone to buy their house except then what?
In plain English, those people are screwed.
No one is going to want to a house in an area like that. Even if they could sell it, they probably couldn't get enough out of it to buy in a more expensive area. With little or no income, they're unlikely to qualify for a mortgage. That's not counting the upfront costs of a move itself, which can be substantial.
You can retire pretty nice and cheap here in the Ozarks. If you stay out of the big cities it is even easier. I live in a rural county and it is cheap, cheap, cheap. Not much in services, but I do not require much. Of course living rural brings it own challenges, but I would rather deal with those.
I could sell my place today for more than I paid for it, but it is a cheap safe place that is very welcoming to me. I think if you look hard enough you could find this kind of place in a lot of areas in America. I do not work anymore so a job is not a concern for me.
But I could see how one might get stuck in this type of area. Not so bad though, it is better to be stuck here than in Detroit or Chicago or any other liberal city. Liberal cities make me shudder, you know San Fran used to be a nice place.
Which is one big reason not to move to places like these. Why choose to go to a place where you will become one of the people who are now screwed and can't leave if it turns out you really hate it.
No one is going to want to a house in an area like that. Even if they could sell it, they probably couldn't get enough out of it to buy in a more expensive area. With little or no income, they're unlikely to qualify for a mortgage. That's not counting the upfront costs of a move itself, which can be substantial.
They can’t even afford in many cases to repair their homes. Some were still homeless from the first when the second one hit. They were screwed before the first hurricane a couple of years ago. Just like many in Flint that is also on the list.
Which is one big reason not to move to places like these. Why choose to go to a place where you will become one of the people who are now screwed and can't leave if it turns out you really hate it.
Money buys you not only a nice home but also options. Some people don't have much of either. Again, the article is meant to give people options who may not want to live in subsidized housing in a large city. It's just an option. What happens to people who wait years to get into senior housing at a substantially reduced cost and then hate it? Aren't they also stuck there for at least quite a while? We're obviously talking about low income people with few resources.
The article isn't written for the vast majority of retirees nor suggests people of at least average income drop everything and move into a $25,000 house.
Flint- the real estate is cheap, the water is not so good!
My neighbor's parents have a home in a former factory town in Michigan. Owned it 50+ years so they are attached to it but he said he would be lucky to get 50K for it. While it is their "home town" the profit for selling it isn't worth the upheaval.
The downside to cheap housing, it can be tough to sell and rarely do you make a profit.
If my property doesn't rise in value above the rate of inflation, and/or I can't use to generate rental-income, then how is it an asset?
Assets by definition are things, the ownership of which places more money in one's pocket, than they take out. So, a fancy sports-car that depreciates in price, is not an asset. A fancy sports car that's rare and prized and rises in value, is most definitely an asset.
Ultimately, I don't care if I live in a refrigerator carton or a marble palace. I care about price-appreciation.
If someone is doing well enough in live where their choices are based more on personal satisfaction than squeezing the most profit out of everything they buy they might look at this differently than you do.
Vehicles in general are not good investments. Especially buying them new. Unless you only a put a few miles on them. I have a friend who bought a convertible sports car new. Puts about 1,000 miles a year on it. That could go up in value over time. But most people buy cars and drive them into the ground.
I sold two vehicles this week. both purchased used. I doubled my money on one, and nearly on the other. My mantra is buy from people desperate to sell, and sell to people desperate to buy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ohio_peasant
Sure, there's religion (for some), art or science (for some), family (for some), patriotism or community feeling (for some), career-achievement (for some)... I have no heirs. I'm driven by envy and insecurity.
Quite so. Happiness is impossible, which is why one's entire life-purpose devolves to a fool's errand. As to your point about your neighbor, consider that anecdotally the happiest people tend to be Buddhist monks... who own quite literally nothing, and don't even have a family.
But now we're delving into philosophy and theology.
Like I said before that is you, not everyone. As long as your net worth is growing you are happy. At least you know what makes you happy. Regarding my neighbor I am actually a little envious of him. Not that I want to swap lifestyles with him but I do like his attitude. Something can be learned from him and applied to one's situation.
Last edited by Oklazona Bound; 04-24-2019 at 07:35 AM..
Bada Bing! Until you sell you have to pay someone else a fee to access you home equity. Hardly a worthy asset. By fee I mean borrow against the equity in the home via a loan. I know you know what I mean but I am clarifying in case someone reading doesn't.
Look at what happened after 2008. Lots of people poured everything into buying a home. And then the price dropped to the point where it made more sense to just walk away from. It was no longer an asset but liability deep "under water."
Look at what happened after 2008. Lots of people poured everything into buying a home. And then the price dropped to the point where it made more sense to just walk away from. It was no longer an asset but liability deep "under water."
I never understood this. As long as you're employed what difference did it make that your home lost value? It's a place to live. You'd still have to pay rent somewhere else if you abandoned your home. Besides, home values in such cases as in 2008 always rebound with time like the stock market does, maybe slower, maybe faster but it still comes back almost everywhere.
Money buys you not only a nice home but also options. Some people don't have much of either. Again, the article is meant to give people options who may not want to live in subsidized housing in a large city. It's just an option. What happens to people who wait years to get into senior housing at a substantially reduced cost and then hate it? Aren't they also stuck there for at least quite a while? We're obviously talking about low income people with few resources.
The article isn't written for the vast majority of retirees nor suggests people of at least average income drop everything and move into a $25,000 house.
I agree, it's good to know where you can go as a last resort. Just want to remind people that places like these should be a last resort. If there's any possible way to swing it, other options are better.
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