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I have a Master's Degree and do not earn 70k every year (and am paying off student loans so that ratchets my income down to around 36k a year, perhaps I should move to Arizona and deliver pizzas so the simple act of going to University does not necessarily mean you'll make 70k a year. How much does a mortgage of 250k plus HOA fees and taxes come out to each month, are you really telling me that one making 36k a year can afford that? I'd like to hear how.
Usually I've heard the rule of thumb for lending is 3x one's annual income, and for someone making 36k a year, that doesn't come anywhere near 250k.
Now that is the funniest thing I've heard in a long time, you don't have to be fairly wealthy in order to afford to spend a quarter of a million dollars on a home? I sometimes am surprised at how out of touch with the financial reality of a lot of the US some people are (although I suppose I shouldn't be).
As far as the original question is concerned? Hell no. Never.
$250K is the average going rate in the northeast, from Portland, ME down through CT (excluding NYC and Boston areas). Believe me, most people living in homes of that cost are not wealthy. It all depends what area you come from and what average salaries are.
250 is pretty average in Chicago as well, and no, a lot of the people who live in such places are not wealthy either. However, I do think that there is a huge disconnect between the lower entry level salaries and the housing market. I still am unsure how someone who makes 36k a year is supposed to buy a house when 250k is 'average'. And that was the point of my post. I suppose because I know are on the lower end of the income scale (I know a lot of civil workers such as city workers, teachers, cops, etc and a lot of blue collar sorts who work in factories, etc.) it is something that I think about a fair amount.
I was simply addressing a post that seemed to indicate that a guy who delivers pizza's could afford a quarter million dollar condo, when my sister's husband, who is a chef, could barely afford the mortgage on an 80k two bedroom cottage they bought out in the far suburbs (of course they have kids too).
Different perspective(I guess)..Where I'm from the median home price is an upwards of $1.4 million. There's no guarantee that just any job will buy you a house here. Forget the statistics and how much the Jone's make. You got to be creative. Remember that anything is possible. (I did it, and you can too.)
Remember, Many people have no financial worries REGARDLESS of how much money they make!
Just something to think about..(no answer needed)
How many businesses have you started in your lifetime? per/year?
What about investing-what percentage of your income do you invest?
Location: Finally made it to Florida and lovin' every minute!
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OK, I 'fess up. We bought into a gated community. Believe me, we're not wealthy. It is a 55+ community, but the residents seem to be on the younger side. I'm not deluding myself about the security aspect - the "guards" are actually hired from within the community and don't wear sidearms or billyclubs. So, if somebody wants in, they'll get in. But it does keep looky-loo's out. It's a golf community (which neither DH nor I do), but it has so many things going on every single day, from various exercise-based activities (tai chi, water aerobics, etc.) to sports (golf, tennis, bocce), to even bible study clubs and all the rest. We don't have to mow the lawn, clean or add chemicals to the pool or hot tub. We don't have to worry that the neighbor's going to have a '72 pickup without tires in the front yard, with the engine hanging from a tree. Yes, there are lots of rules, but I can live with them.
Different perspective(I guess)..Where I'm from the median home price is an upwards of $1.4 million. There's no guarantee that just any job will buy you a house here. Forget the statistics and how much the Jone's make. You got to be creative. Remember that anything is possible. (I did it, and you can too.)
Remember, Many people have no financial worries REGARDLESS of how much money they make!
Just something to think about..(no answer needed)
How many businesses have you started in your lifetime? per/year?
What about investing-what percentage of your income do you invest?
I see, so we are all supposed to be entrepreneurs and investors and if not well, then we're screwed? I don't follow that logic. Not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth, or the opportunities those of a certain strata of society think are afforded everyone.
OK, I 'fess up. We bought into a gated community. Believe me, we're not wealthy. It is a 55+ community, but the residents seem to be on the younger side. I'm not deluding myself about the security aspect - the "guards" are actually hired from within the community and don't wear sidearms or billyclubs. So, if somebody wants in, they'll get in. But it does keep looky-loo's out. It's a golf community (which neither DH nor I do), but it has so many things going on every single day, from various exercise-based activities (tai chi, water aerobics, etc.) to sports (golf, tennis, bocce), to even bible study clubs and all the rest. We don't have to mow the lawn, clean or add chemicals to the pool or hot tub. We don't have to worry that the neighbor's going to have a '72 pickup without tires in the front yard, with the engine hanging from a tree. Yes, there are lots of rules, but I can live with them.
Color me wimpy. :-)
I would love to live somewhere that you are free to have a 72 pickup in the front yard with an engine hanging from a tree. Can you please inform me where that location might be?
Location: Finally made it to Florida and lovin' every minute!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tallrick
I would love to live somewhere that you are free to have a 72 pickup in the front yard with an engine hanging from a tree. Can you please inform me where that location might be?
Thanks for the smile, Rick. C'mon up to northern New York. There's lotsa places like them there. I'll show ya 'round. Ya'll come back now, y'hear? ;-
)
What is your opinion of gated versus non-gated communities? Coming from the northeast I find something off-putting about gated communities. It seems like most of the newer developments are gated, but I like the freedom of being able to drive in and out without having to 'check-in'. There is something about them that I find very artificial and almost big-brotherish. I realize that they are probably more secure. Why are developments all going the gated route?
What is your opinion of gated versus non-gated communities? Coming from the northeast I find something off-putting about gated communities. It seems like most of the newer developments are gated, but I like the freedom of being able to drive in and out without having to 'check-in'. There is something about them that I find very artificial and almost big-brotherish. I realize that they are probably more secure. Why are developments all going the gated route?
In most cases they are no more secure, they just don't have an exit, you have to go out the way you came in. Very few have guards. They like to put up entryways with a fancy name on it that gives an air of being exclusive. Except for maybe a hedge, there is usually nothing keeping anyone out. It is very false security just a little better then living on a thru street. They would never even profess the place is any more secure for fear for being held liable if something happened. Home envisions happen in those type of places all the time.
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so the simple act of going to University does not necessarily mean you'll make 70k a year. How much does a mortgage of 250k plus HOA fees and taxes come out to each month, are you really telling me that one making 36k a year can afford that? I'd like to hear how.
Gated versus non-gated
