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One issue is past generations were happy in more modest homes. I am in my early 50s, when I was growing up their was an area just north of the then country club that was were the rich lived. There were two distinct portions to it, the mansion district where the manufacturing magnets lived and then the other good are where the Doctors, Lawyers and CEO types lived. This latter area was mostly very well made brick ranches (built in the 50s and 60s) and Cape Codes. Most were two bedroom 1 bath homes and a few three bedroom 1 bath, very little in the way of 2 bath homes back then. This was the place my parents drove us through on Sundays to see how the rick lived. It was a place to aspire to.
So, a few decades later I bought a one of the ranches in the area. By then the doctors and lawyers were gone and most of the houses were owned by teachers, policemen, and firemen. Now they are gone an ethnic minorities are moving in. The area is still very nice, but what has happened is people simply moved a bit west to newer constructions, 4 bedroom 3 bath homes with 2-3 car garages. Along with that increase in home size came an increase in expenditures. Bu that is where you now find the policemen, firemen and teachers. The Doctors and Lawyers, they moved out to a new community with much higher average incomes and housing prices. As I know the finances of many of these folks, I'll just say they may have a large house but not a lot else in terms of assets or equity in their home.
The point is you can pretty much chalk it up to conspicuous consumption. What was good enough for a doctor or lawyer 40 years ago is not even good enough for teacher or police officer today.
I wish neighborhoods like that exists in the Bay Area. Nowadays it's 500 grand for a former lower middle class neighborhood in the ghetto.
why does it matter? I have no problems paying my mortgage. and they aren't my property to sell for my own benefit.
I am just wondering why so many people still have mortgage/rent payments "by necessity" if they're able to inherit paid-for houses from the previous generations. Why can't they sell the last generation's houses to pay off their own?
Not what I said. I said honobob seems to think that you can have a net worth of $200 with a paid off mortgage, thus, I concluded he must think net worth is something other than assets - liabilities...
I DID say you can have a PAID off house and a net worth of $200. But I CORRECTLY state that net worth is A - L. It is sad that you and lowerexpectations have almost 2,100 posts between you and CAN NOT figure this out.
I am just wondering why so many people still have mortgage/rent payments "by necessity" if they're able to inherit paid-for houses from the previous generations. Why can't they sell the last generation's houses to pay off their own?
Not everyone inherits anything much less a paid for house. And if you do, you might be splitting proceeds with siblings and receiving much less than the value of the home.
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