WaPo: The American Dream shatters-in Prince Georges County (foreclose, renting)

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

This has never been the case in the history of America. lol



I think the only thing that will help is if white people change their mindset and determine to move into black neighborhoods. Not necessarily to take over, but to actually want to be a part of making neighborhoods more diverse. Black people alone will never be able to be equal to whites in this regard unless those with the power and resources (whites) want the same thing. Until then, everyone chooses to live separately for the most part. And that creates the inequity in the housing market.

In simple words, white people have to be okay with living near minorities who may not be on the same socioeconomic status - to not care about how they will be perceived living around minorities. I think this will raise the bar for everyone. But that remains to be seen.

The market is efficient, if prices are low enough others will notice.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

^^^^Folks really underestimate maintenance costs. Rule of thumb is to set aside 3-5% of home value a year in maintenance.

especially if you have kids who have a tendency to run into walls and break things. lol

[adelphi_sky]

Hmmm and the articles keep flowing. lol

Prince George's County has three out of ten of the richest black neighborhoods in the country according to one publication from Atlanta. I guess from all of the talk about crashing dreams, PGC is still holding its own in this category. Which could be a bad thing if you think about it. lol

10 of the Richest Black Communities in America - Atlanta Blackstar

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

This has never been the case in the history of America. lol

And unfortunately it likely never will be.

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I think the only thing that will help is if white people change their mindset and determine to move into black neighborhoods. Not necessarily to take over, but to actually want to be a part of making neighborhoods more diverse. Black people alone will never be able to be equal to whites in this regard unless those with the power and resources (whites) want the same thing. Until then, everyone chooses to live separately for the most part. And that creates the inequity in the housing market.

In simple words, white people have to be okay with living near minorities who may not be on the same socioeconomic status - to not care about how they will be perceived living around minorities. I think this will raise the bar for everyone. But that remains to be seen.

That's tough because I think it's kind of unfair to white people to expect them to move to minority-majority neighborhoods. Every other group of races seem to live with others who look like them, so I can't completely blame them when evidence shows that their behavior isn't really unique. I think the bigger issue is when black or hispanics move into their neighborhood, are they going to be more willing to stay? That to me is a bigger issue because that is probably the only realistic way more whites would be open to integrate more, since most will likely not move on to a minority majority community on their own accord.

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

I think where a lot of people go wrong is one, they don't follow the 29% rule, which includes homeowner's insurance, and utilities. Two, I think when people sign for mortgages on 3k+ sqft homes, they don't take into account how much it will cost to heat those large homes in the winter and cool them in the summer. Usually large homes carry two water heaters. And as homes are now becoming more electronic (ti's insane how many plugs we need now) electricity bills are going to continue to rise. Utilities can add an additional 10% to 20% of housing costs.

Agreed.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

The market is efficient, if prices are low enough others will notice.

It has worked and that's something they mentioned with Fairwood. Fort Washington has become more diverse too as a result of the prices. If you have enough amenities and a fair market price, people will definitely consider regardless of the demographics, but I don't know if it will ever be what it would be in a white neighborhood.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Hmmm and the articles keep flowing. lol

Prince George's County has three out of ten of the richest black neighborhoods in the country according to one publication from Atlanta. I guess from all of the talk about crashing dreams, PGC is still holding its own in this category. Which could be a bad thing if you think about it. lol

10 of the Richest Black Communities in America - Atlanta Blackstar

Yeah I have seen this article a million times. It's a year old and it's very misleading. Who distinguishes Friendly and Fort Washington as two different places? Mitchellville and Woodmore? Some would argue that they are one and the same.

[EducatedBro82]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Hmmm and the articles keep flowing. lol

Prince George's County has three out of ten of the richest black neighborhoods in the country according to one publication from Atlanta. I guess from all of the talk about crashing dreams, PGC is still holding its own in this category. Which could be a bad thing if you think about it. lol

10 of the Richest Black Communities in America - Atlanta Blackstar

Originally Posted by justtitans

Yeah I have seen this article a million times. It's a year old and it's very misleading. Who distinguishes Friendly and Fort Washington as two different places? Mitchellville and Woodmore? Some would argue that they are one and the same.

Agreed...

Kettering aka LARGO is majority AA.. The pic of the house is actually in Perrywood... I have clients in that neighborhood, I seen dozens of dozens For Sale signs... Some with Foreclosure or Bank Owned on the signs as well... Some are just abandoned.. Beautiful neighborhood though..

Ft. Washington and Friendly are the same... The house in the pic is Tantallion...

Woodmore and Mitchellville is just that... Mitchellville... The house is in Waterford neighborhood, which was just constructed in 2013... nice homes in the area... However, the "excellent" schools are misleading... Only good school is Woodmore Elementary, Just Middle, and Flowers HS arent that great of schools that they are zoned too...

Unless they are talking about Riverdale Baptist, Dematha, or Palotti..

[armory]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

The most liked comment made a good point. The couple grew up in subsidized housing and were the first in family to go to college. They didn't have the financial literacy that many solidly middle class people often pick up from their parents.

I don't think people realize that there is more to being middle class than just income. There are a set of values and behaviour that go along with being middle class as well.

Thank you; I can't seem to put this sentiment into correct words when trying to convey this fact of life to people. I grew up middle-middle class and moved to upper middle class when I moved away from running construction jobs and joined the professional suit-and-tie office setting work place. You shake hands differently. There are no gangland signs and bro-hugs aren't de rigueur. It's a professional handshake; firm grip and all. Cussing with your friends is one thing but doesn't necessarily fly well in the middle class world. There is an image you present with the set of values/behaviour/morals; typical of solidly middle class folks. Towns like Overland Park or Leawood in south Kansas City, KS are ideal examples of what I speak. Sprint's HQ are there = plenty of white collar tech work.

[armory]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Hmmm and the articles keep flowing. lol

Prince George's County has three out of ten of the richest black neighborhoods in the country according to one publication from Atlanta. I guess from all of the talk about crashing dreams, PGC is still holding its own in this category. Which could be a bad thing if you think about it. lol

10 of the Richest Black Communities in America - Atlanta Blackstar

I am confused as to which of the following descriptive are factual for PGC neighbourhoods...wealthy, prosperous, upper middle class, thriving....what?

Rich and wealthy don't allude to high salary employment with the US federal government, where most of the money in question originates. Take away those paychecks and who pays for those homes?

Rich and wealthy is what you have in investments or holdings. A lot of people living in those homes are not as prosperous as the article may suggest; especially when they are also paying for the usual entrapments a large salary attracts. FIOS, a smart phone for every family member, the assorted automobiles one must drive to fit into a clique (sedan, SUV and cars for the kids), fuel/insurance/maintenance for said vehicles, house utilities and maintenance, clothing, food, entertainment and other stuff to throw money at.

This is true for any demographic...salary does not equal wealth unless it is from one's own business, substantial dividends or capital gains. In any of these cases, the person of wealth has skin in the game. One receiving a salary from their own business is most likely also paying other's salaries and lots of taxes because of said business. Dividends/capital gains are only possible if one saved and invested rather than spending all they ever had.

Good luck with retirement as the government doesn't offer the same retirement plans as it once did which places saving squarely upon the individual. Hopefully, a lot learned how to along the way.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by armory

I am confused as to which of the following descriptive are factual for PGC neighbourhoods...wealthy, prosperous, upper middle class, thriving....what?

Rich and wealthy don't allude to high salary employment with the US federal government, where most of the money in question originates. Take away those paychecks and who pays for those homes?

Rich and wealthy is what you have in investments or holdings. A lot of people living in those homes are not as prosperous as the article may suggest; especially when they are also paying for the usual entrapments a large salary attracts. FIOS, a smart phone for every family member, the assorted automobiles one must drive to fit into a clique (sedan, SUV and cars for the kids), fuel/insurance/maintenance for said vehicles, house utilities and maintenance, clothing, food, entertainment and other stuff to throw money at.

This is true for any demographic...salary does not equal wealth unless it is from one's own business, substantial dividends or capital gains. In any of these cases, the person of wealth has skin in the game. One receiving a salary from their own business is most likely also paying other's salaries and lots of taxes because of said business. Dividends/capital gains are only possible if one saved and invested rather than spending all they ever had.

Good luck with retirement as the government doesn't offer the same retirement plans as it once did which places saving squarely upon the individual. Hopefully, a lot learned how to along the way.

A lot of articles and stats indicate wealth in terms of household income. Others focus on "absolute" wealth which is in terms of assets minus liabilities. This has been discussed at length in many threads in this forum. I read two recent articles that indicates wealth in terms of household income.

The study defines the wealthy as having family incomes above $108,650, while the poor earned less than $34,160.

Of course if they adjusted for cost-of-living, the numbers would have different meanings.

Rich are 8 times likelier to graduate college than poor - Feb. 4, 2015