How home ownership keeps blacks poorer than whites? (Atlanta, Roswell: mortgage, how much)

[lorilove]

Interesting article - I don't disagree with the observation but I am not sure if the problem is as straighforward as the neighborhood black %

One thing I have learned from participating on this board is how critical schools are to the value of a home and especially during the rebound out of a recession. I have never heard a Metro Atlanta school in a minority neighborhood recommended as being GREAT (good at times but not great). This starts to become a catch 22 because the area around the school is not as attractive to homeowners that can help elevate the school. I see this in areas like Smyrna that are not majority minority

[hatgirl007]

People in Atlanta live above their means. I often wonder why a single person needs a huge 5 bedroom house (other than to impress others) or a working class person tries to live in buckhead. Think. Think. Think. Home owner is great as long as you live within your means.

AT $50,000, why not buy a foreclosure for $100k in a decent neighborhood.
AT $100,000 a year, why not buy a foreclosure for $150,000 in a nice neighborhood.

People forget you have to think about repairs, expenses, car notes/car repairs, vacations, and your lifestyle. Living below your means are the best gift you can give yourself. Less stress, money to enjoy life instead of drinking water everywhere you go.

People have to emancipate their minds to achieve greatness. Life is less stressful and more enjoyable when you have money to vacation, enjoy hobbies, and live without so much stress of counting every dollar you receive.

Wake up!

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by hatgirl007

People in Atlanta live above their means. I often wonder why a single person needs a huge 5 bedroom house (other than to impress others) or a working class person tries to live in buckhead. Think. Think. Think. Home owner is great as long as you live within your means.

AT $50,000, why not buy a foreclosure for $100k in a decent neighborhood.
AT $100,000 a year, why not buy a foreclosure for $150,000 in a nice neighborhood.

People forget you have to think about repairs, expenses, car notes/car repairs, vacations, and your lifestyle. Living below your means are the best gift you can give yourself. Less stress, money to enjoy life instead of drinking water everywhere you go.

People have to emancipate their minds to achieve greatness. Life is less stressful and more enjoyable when you have money to vacation, enjoy hobbies, and live without so much stress of counting every dollar you receive.

Wake up!

Pretty much. That's why everyone flocking to the southern metros.

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by hatgirl007

People in Atlanta live above their means. I often wonder why a single person needs a huge 5 bedroom house (other than to impress others) or a working class person tries to live in buckhead. Think. Think. Think. Home owner is great as long as you live within your means.

AT $50,000, why not buy a foreclosure for $100k in a decent neighborhood.
AT $100,000 a year, why not buy a foreclosure for $150,000 in a nice neighborhood.

People forget you have to think about repairs, expenses, car notes/car repairs, vacations, and your lifestyle. Living below your means are the best gift you can give yourself. Less stress, money to enjoy life instead of drinking water everywhere you go.

People have to emancipate their minds to achieve greatness. Life is less stressful and more enjoyable when you have money to vacation, enjoy hobbies, and live without so much stress of counting every dollar you receive.

Wake up!

Home ownership is like buying a car for most people. They are just worried about the monthly payment amount and like Big L said, ignore the additional hidden cost of owning a home.

[DanBev]

What is being said here is a typical rut people have put themseves in,the run up in home prices screwed up home taxes also.
Criminal is what was done.
We as retiree's would like to return to Ct but are held back by taxes,the home that was run up to $180,000 and now can be had for $130,000 and will have no decrease in taxes.
We did move back in 2000 and paid $95,000 for a 864 sq ft ranch,taxes $1800,we sold it after a year and moved back to FL.This house was flipped to $140,000,then $174.000.It was foreclosed and sat in disrepair for 2 years and recently sold for $80,000 with $3800 taxes.This is a typical situation.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by arjay57

That's a good article, but the title mischaracterizes the issue. It's not home ownership that's the problem, but the effects of racial segregation.

well I understand it, but also think it can be short-sighted in ways too.

My past relatives lost a good bit of their earnings invested in their home in the past.

They bought into Southwest Dekalb when everything was new. It was very much a white working class neighborhood. When the neighborhood began to change...it didn't happen overnight. However, in the end there are two truths. Crime rates spiked and home prices hit rock bottom. They didn't leave quickly and never actually intended to actually, but when life conditions forced them to they simply couldn't get much for their house at all. They spent the final 10-15 years of their life renting a cheap apartment, whereas if they bought into a similar working class neighborhood further north or east their home would have maintained more value.

So they, in a way, were punished financially for not packing their bags at the beginning.

However, to turn the issue... it can go the other way too. If you own a home before an area gentrifies, particularly for minorities. You get the advantage to buy low, sell high (or enjoy the ability to live in a trendy area for less...for part of your stay there).

There is also another added benefit for newer neighborhoods. It is easier for families with more limited means to get into those neighborhoods from the get go, but the down fall is the property will not necessarily be as great of an investment.

As for the other comments on the thread from others... and the large houses, 5 bedrooms, happy with a 1 bedroom in Manhattan... Alot is being lost here...

that is fine for one person or maybe a young couple, but families giving children their own room is nice. home offices can be productive, as are playrooms and arts and craft rooms. Any space that is good at teaching kids to be creative and productive really. Many people commonly don't just live at home, but operate a business out of home. To an extent space can help foster productivity.

With that said... I'd never argue one needs to spend $700,000 to get a 5 bedroom house. That can be found in many areas for far less.

[roadtrip75]

That's a remarkably poor essay.

Cwkimbro is correct that the author cites the decline of black home values when whites move out while ignoring the increase in black home values when whites move in. But we need not even get to that point, since she says:

Yet most blacks decide to live in majority minority neighborhoods, while most whites live in overwhelmingly white neighborhoods.

This sentence invalidates the entire thesis, since it means that the effects of mixed race neighborhoods is negligible.

In fact, the situation is the opposite of the title. Blacks in Atlanta have a huge financial advantage over whites in that their cost of housing is lower (even if we ignore welfare). You can buy a large house in good condition in South DeKalb for $50-100K. It's not a dangerous ghetto, just a middle class neighborhood. Apartment rents in minority areas are vastly lower.

This leaves black and Latino families with more free cash flow than white and Asian families.

[Atlwarrior]

Actually well established areas like Cascade, Fayette, and Dekalb Middle and Upper class blacks were not affected when they did loans the right way before the Sub prime greed era.

[bryantm3]

so the answer is basically, because people that aren't black don't like black people. which means racism is still a huge problem in this country. the article isn't very good— it seems to point out that yeah, people are racist *******s, but somehow it's the fault of black people because they aren't purchasing enough stocks. what??

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

so the answer is basically, because people that aren't black don't like black people. which means racism is still a huge problem in this country. the article isn't very good— it seems to point out that yeah, people are racist *******s, but somehow it's the fault of black people because they aren't purchasing enough stocks. what??

See the author didn't fully study that or find the right data to answer that question. In all fairness, I don't think she tried to.

The problem is a known fact... African Americans as a group don't have the same amount of purchasing power. Individually, many do, but most have less. The mean and median is lower.

This means more within the group have less budget to work with and are ultimately forced to choose areas that are well located, but something is wrong with it (schools, crime, etc..). Or it is a good area, but it isn't accessible to high-paying jobs, just low paying jobs.... or possibly a long drive to any jobs.

The research problem here is you have to divide out the economic differences too.

In most high demand areas that have goood schools, safe, and high access to high paying jobs... you won't find too many majority black neighborhoods. You will find many diverse ones.

So its hard to separate out the different effects.



One example... most of the high demand has grown north, but so has the jobs. Many people choose to not move to Southern Dekalb, because you might get to downtown, but it is pretty brutal getting to Perimeter, Cumberland, or Gwinnett where there are another million jobs, many high paying.

So many people with the economic ability to do so, will follow the jobs. Most of the areas I know that counter this are areas with a large concentration of old apartments or near industrial districts (less desirable).