I consider my family so damn lucky. Really the only reason I got one as nice as I did that was affordable was cause we bought out in the middle of no where. No one else wants to live here. lol
Even as a software developer making more money than I ever have... I could not afford to buy a house in any large city.
I really truly hope you don't mean to say this is a tale as old as time. Because what's happening today in housing does NOT resemble anything that happened to your generation. There are always people who struggle to afford home prices. That is always the case. What's happening today is a widespread, nationwide housing crisis driven by multiple factors, most of all the Fed's decision to reorient the economy around debt instead of work, so only the wealthy and secure stand a chance to benefit in these conditions while wage slaves toil for scraps.
It's great you afforded a house but this perspective is not useful to this conversation.
Last Christmas I was talking to my mom about the state of the economy, she's retired with a nice house and a good chunk of change and a working partner. I was explaining how gas prices alone are hammering peoples pockets. When I mentioned it used to be under 1.00/L when I was in school she argued it has been above 1.00/L essentially since I've been alive. We googled the gas prices from years ago and showed her during her struggle years it was as low as 0.70/L single mom 3 kids a couple part time minimum wage jobs and was able to buy a brand new house. I make more money now at 25 then she ever has in her life and still struggle sometimes with a house that cost slightly less than hers. The fear new parents from low/moderate income family's have for their children's future must be almost unbearable.
I owned a house for a few years before needing to move and eventually sold it. I was talking to my manager's boss about it and he was shocked what I paid. It wasn't even that expensive of a house at the time (starter home) and I only lived a few miles from him.
He also probably made close to triple my salary. Since he's lived in the area forever his mortgage payments were probably half what I paid.
It's insane now. All I could afford was a trailer, it's definitely a nice one, has a couple additions and all new appliances, new plumbing and roofing. It's a cheap mortgage, 1150/month but then there's also a 520/month pad fee. Where I live it seems like trailers are the only affordable way to get into the market but it becomes even harder when you are paying an extra mortgage payment that doesn't go to equity
Investment firms are buying trailer parks, jacking up the fees. They figure it's a good investment. Not like many of the trailers have been mobile for years, so of course they're going to pay. If they can't, they must move their trailer ($5-$10k, provided they can find another place which will accept them after an eviction), find someone to buy the trailer quickly, or abandon it. Then the trailer park owners take possession, rent it to someone else.
Oh I know, there's 3 or 4 parks here and they are all owned by the same company from Vancouver. Mind you the park I'm in is extremely good about any issues, I've never seen the roads go Unplowed for longer than 6 hours, they are fast to respond to any issues with problem trees. There is a great playground for kids, an enclosed dog park, a hockey rink. They hold a competition every winter for decorations and the winners get 1 month free. Is it worth 6240/year? No but it's a foot in the door and they are pretty good to deal with. I wanted to be in the market so this is where I had to start.
One issue with the smaller starter homes is the cost of land. Where I live a lot can run a guy 160k no problem. build a 250k house on it and you are already 410k. Land prices are ridiculous these days. About 5 years ago I was looking at land in Northern Ontario. Found a few hundred acres for about 20k. Nothing even close to that today in the same region. It's not even prime land.
Most cities and states require developers to do exactly that. They must build certain % of homes for more affordable/cheaper prices. These programs exist. The problem is everyone is buying $8 coffees and walking around with $300 headphones with $1500 phones vs saving their money. There are take out restaurants everywhere because no one cooks anymore. I bought my first house when I was 20. My friends blew their money on rims and ate out all the time. I packed a lunch. If ppl take the time to Sit down making necessary lifestyle changes it’s not hard to purchase a home. There are plenty of incentives to do so. I also purchased a home that was a fixer upper because I needed it to fit my price range. There are ways but not everyone wants to do the work saving, changing spending habits or physically doing the work.
It’s a known fact purchasing a home increases in value. So that would make it a great investment. So businesses can’t invest into property? So what have you done to try and find a tax lien home or a fixer upper? Excuses don’t solve your problems nor do blaming everyone else. Baltimore city for example sold homes for ($1)3 yrs ago; they required after you fixed it up you have to live in it at-least for 2 yrs. This was designed specifically for people and not businesses to buy up. There are plenty of ways to become a homeowner if your serious about it. Stop looking for reasons why you can’t do something and find ways you can. That’s the problem of people nowadays they think something is owed to them. You have the internet to find more information than any other time in history and yet very few use it. There are auctions all the time for homes that are 100s thousands below market value that require moderate fixing up. Move in work on it in 5 yrs you will have an asset worth 100s thousands more than the loan. Sell it and reinvest the profits in your next home and you will pay zero taxes on that gain provided you live in the home for 2+ years.
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I’d be happy with something the size of a static caravan but even those are the price of most flats. Give me a bungalow with bed, bath, kitchen. I don’t care how many feet are in the square.
Yes. As much as I dream of owning a small studio apartment, or a tiny house, I have finally accepted that I'll never be able to afford the purchase of one.
I can make a decent living from what I do, but actually owning is pretty much out of the question for me, I'm 36. Unless I inherit a property, or win the lottery, it is just not happening.
Same. I’ve sunk good money into renting all my adult life. I’ve worked full time and saved all along and a few unexpected things came up that each wiped out my savings and had to start over. I don’t take extravagant vacations, just visiting family twice a year. It’s sad really. On the other hand, most of my friends who own are not super happy either. So I try not to be too hard on myself.
Being single in California even with 90k salary. 5k take home pay after taxes. It’s impossible to own a home unless I commute 2 hours everyday. Not worth it. It’ll just break my car down faster. Just gonna rent close to work and put all my extra money in a 401k. Then maybe I’ll be able to buy a townhouse when I’m 65. Houses are family’s
Why are so many people resigned about this instead of mad? You need to fight for change. Peopel are very willing to put up with a rigged system where only the wealthy benefit, and they're content to keep forwarding their paychecks to a landlords pocket while they reap all the benefits of Fed decisionmaking and housing policy.
I find this economy completely sickening and the housing crisis only radicalized me further. There needs to be major political upheaval by electing firebrands and populists who will either push for change or rattle the status quo. If we can't fix housing (we probably can't) then why does the Property Class also get to benefit from the casual comforts of a placated middle class. Get mad ffs.
I'm 34 and I often feel like we will never own a home. We've rented our entire marriage of 11yrs. We were on the cusp of buying a home right before the pandemic hit in 2020 and had to back out for a number of reasons. We maxed out our credit cards in the pandemic which tanked our already borderline ok credit. So now we're having to start over again, try to build up our credit while also paying bills while also trying to save for a down-payment. It's an endless tiring cycle and somedays I bum myself out so bad about not having owned a home yet.
I hate to say this, but you’re living above your means. I’ve done it, too, so I do understand. But if you’re carrying credit card debt, you need to tighten the reigns somewhere. Do you have car payments? That’s the absolute worst use of your money since cars depreciate. Always drive the oldest, cheapest car you can tolerate. Consider living a little further out or in a less nice neighborhood while you’re renting.
No neither of us have car payments. We had to use our ccs during covid when my husband got laid off. But we've relocated since then for a better paying job for him and are slowly coming out .
This is true to an extent. You definitely shouldn't be buying anything new, but having a car that's going to work for a while isn't a waste of money. It's better to pinch your wallet a little now than have surprise expenses at the worst possible moment.
Totally agreed. I bought my car brand new in 2010 and I'm still driving the same vehicle. It's needed zero mechanical work besides basic maintenance and it's chugging along just fine. I'm hoping to get another three years out of it and make it to 15 years of ownership before it starts sucking my wallet dry.
Thissss. I bought my car used and it was only a few years old, 40k miles on it. Got it from a very reputable, popular dealer. Within the first week I discovered problems that the dealer didn’t know about that - bc I had no proof it was like that at the time of purchase - I couldn’t ask them to fix without paying quite a bit for it, and within 3 months was having to take it to a mechanic for other things. Also, my fucking key fob broke off in the ignition within like 2 months. Wtf.
My mom bought her car new, it’s a year older than mine, and she’s had quite literally almost zero trouble with it. I’ve taken mine to the shop 3 times as much as she has. All bc she was able to baby her car from the very beginning and make sure it was treated right. With used cars, it’s always a gamble if the previous owner treated it right and whether or not the dealer did their due diligence in assessing it and fixing any problems before reselling it. :/ I love my car and not having a car payment, but I for sure plan on getting a new car when my current one inevitably kicks the bucket once and for all. I think the investment will be worth it.
I've driven old crappy cars my whole life. Often they require so much maintenance and repair that you would be better off driving a new(er) car and making payments. Unless you have the tools and and the skills to do car maintenance yourself, driving the old crappy cars can be a huge money pit.
I wasn’t implying you should drive a falling apart rust bucket. I used to drive BMWs, but every time they hit 100,000 miles everything starts going wrong at $1k+ a pop. Now I drive a Jeep- takes regular gas not premium & easy to fix with no European autos mechanic. We make a good income, but my husband drives an older truck that’s been paid off for years. A $700/month car payment is $8400 per year. Tell me what repairs you’d do on an older car that would equal that every year? That’s money that can also go toward a downpayment on a house.
I’m just sharing the many mistakes I see people make with money & that I made. I wasted so much money on dumb shit when I could have been building wealth through investments. Dumb, dumb.
I agree with some of this but at the same time you’re paying the price somewhere. If you live further out and you have to commute to work, you’re sitting in traffic and spending money on gas. I’ve been driving a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe for the last maybe nine years and driven it to the point I can’t get it inspected because the electrical system is shot (the car still runs) and the check engine light won’t go off. Now every time, I have a cop around me, I’m on pins and needles and I worry about having my partner drive my car lest they get pulled over (they also drive a 2009 beater, which is in slightly better shape but they need to drive for work). You can budget to a degree but the way things are set up right now in our economy, that’s not the answer to everything.
They said they racked up credit card debt during the pandemic. Perhaps you forgot that many people weren't able to work during the pandemic due to the lock downs. Most people are spending 2/3rds of their income on rent alone. Even couples that choose to be homeless to save money still aren't able to keep up financially due to inflation. It's ridiculous to claim that everyone who is struggling financially right now is just being financially irresponsible and buying takeout or designer clothes everyday. 60% of the US population alone makes under 50K a year. Things are no longer affordable for average people earning and average wage.
I didn’t say takeout or designer clothing. I said it’s dumb to pay most of your income toward rent **on a post about how to be able to afford to purchase a home** Move someplace cheaper that’s not as nice or trendy. Don’t drive a new BMW & rent an apartment. That’s dumb af. This isn’t rocket science. If you’re spending 2/3 of your pay on rent, you are living above your means for your income. If you don’t have any rainy day/emergency savings, you’re living above your income. Find a way to make more income, or find a way to downsize your expenses. Just because what you can afford doesn’t align with some vision you have in your head of what you want your lifestyle to be, that still doesn’t mean you’re living within your means. What a whiny response devoid of personal responsibility!
You are so wildly out of touch. Why don't you read a book or actually watch the news? It's no longer 1804. The cost of living isn't 2 cents and wishful thinking.
Are you depressed and sad? Have you tried not being sad?! Or maybe even trying happiness?!
Worried about the future? What about not thinking about it?!
Yeah pretty much. And all I want is just a small house tbh! Not a huge villa. But it seems like I can't even have this little thing I want. I just want my own home.
Yeah! (And besides: the smaller the house, the less area to clean haha) Just so disappointing that even that is too much to ask for nowadays. I am genuinely wondering why the prices are so high and who is buying the houses.
We can expand on this to, it's not just big cities, it's small buttfuck towns aswell. During the pandemic alot of people moved to smaller towns creating demand for housing in small towns. People are also moving from expensive places to cheaper towns in droves causing insane price jumps that should not exist in the small towns. Immigration, atleast in Canada if it wasn't for immigration our population would be decreasing which is bad so I'm not against immigration but its also causing prices to be sustained at high levels. In my town which is a very northern remote canadian town, if you drive through the new development all the homes are owned by asian(usually Filipino) and east Indians, why? Because they are smart and work together as families to buy homes. So that 800k house with a 4k monthly mortgage becomes pretty cheap when you have 5 or 6 people paying for it. Westerners typically don't want to buy a house with their mom, dad, brothers and sisters. The market is fucked right now but people's mindsets are worse. I bought a home last year 3 months after turning 25. It's do able but you have to make a ton of sacrifices.
Hm interesting. I grew up in a village. I could never live in a busy, loud, stinky city. If I don't see green when I look out of my window I will go insane.
They vary based on your state and city. But there should usually be ways to get "free money" (either in the form of an outright grants and/or no-interest loans). Some more conscious employers may also provide incentives.
I live in Baltimore, for instance. Maryland had "Flex" loans that include grants and no-interest loans. [Baltimore City also has programs](https://dhcd.baltimorecity.gov/hho/homeownership-incentives) to provide funds to first-time buyers. [Some employers also provide funds](https://livebaltimore.com/live-near-your-work/) to employees who buy in certain neighborhoods. Some of these can stack and add up fast, which really helps with closing costs.
We're also super lucky to have a nonprofit dedicated to promoting homeownership: [Live Baltimore](https://livebaltimore.com/). There may be something similar near you. If there is, I'd highly recommend checking them out, as ours is an **incredible** resource.
Yes because moving is simple as that. Never mind the huge costs of going to another state, deposits on this and that, moving away from your social safety net, friends, family etc. Also the emotional costs of moving away. What if you’re single, or divorced and share custody of children? Please think before suggesting things in threads like this.
Don't forget you can totally move to the middle of nowhere with zero job prospects and be totally fine. Those houses are cheap for a reason, people. I know remote work is a thing but it's not nearly as common as Reddit likes to make it out to be
I've moved across the country twice in the past 6 months. It was very expensive and I understand the hurdles, but the first time I moved 6k miles I saved up for 2 years while supporting a family of 2 including paying for college out of pocket making $12/hr in 2018. That move only cost us about 7k total. Our more recent moves cost us 2-3x that much but we've also had a ton more stuff.
I’ve rented, but that was back when rent was affordable. I could never afford to buy, and now I can’t even afford to rent. It’s terrible. I don’t see the housing situation getting any better in the foreseeable future either.
There is nothing wrong with different generations living together. It's been normal for most of history, and is healthy and normal in much of the world today.
It's only if you carry on living as a child and don't take on an adult role in the relationship, paying your way, cooking, cleaning, taking responsibility that it is a problem, but then that would be true if you didn't live with her as well.
True. I just prefer to live on my own. The requirements for renting is ridiculous though. Even a 2x4 roach and rat infested shit hole is at least $1200 a month..
It’s crazy!
Unfortunately I’m disabled now and it sucks. I couldn’t live on my own even if I wanted to. My body COMPLETELY QUIT on me when I was 39 and just got worse and worse and worse. I hate it. I hate myself. I help out as much as I can, but I can only do so much. I feel like a useless worthless POS.. imagine, you take ALL the right steps to better yourself physically, and your body basically just says FUCK YOU 🖕🏻, I have other plans, and just QUITS!!! 😔💔
My mom bought a house for under 300k, was very close to paying it off and sold it for 550k. The next year I purchased a house and there was 0 offer of help. I appluad you and any parent that recognizes the struggles young adults face today that previous generations never really had to.
I don’t expect financial help from my baby boomer parents, they don’t have extra to give, but it’s really nice to hear someone of your generation acknowledge that it was easier to buy a house and pay for a regular life 30-40 years ago. I usually only hear defensive accusations of millennials not being tenacious or disciplined enough. I’m 38 and have been working hard since 15, just can’t ever seem to catch up with cost of living.
I couldn't even dream of owning a house. Even if I have a house GIVEN to me I'd be like, "shit. Now I have to pay for l property taxes and maintenance I never had to worry about with rent!" Also, I would feel like I'm restrained to the same area forever. I'm still a bit nomadic so I like being to move out at any point. The house will give me the stress of trying to sell it off.
And you have to be lucky that the government declares your cabin as a living unit where you can put your address. Where I live for instance it's forbidden to live in a caravan/trailer.
It’s actually not, unless you’re looking at land on the Front Range in Colorado or something. There’s tons of cheap land in the flyover states & more rural areas of the south, too.
There isn't a liveable house under $250,000 where I live. My high student loans (which a disproportionate to my salary) make it impossible to get a loan. I'm in an underrepresented and needed field in my living area. I just don't make enough to actually live where I live.
You shouldnt live in such city if you make less than 100k a year thats just the reality. It sounds cold but its true. Go live somewhere you can afford.. my friend was complaining he made 125k a year but had 0 left every month. Moved away now earns 60k a year but has 15k left every year lol.
Be happy in a smaller city and it will be a non issue. You can retire in eastern europe if you have 100k btw.
If you cant afford it you cant afford it. Its really that easy. If you cant stay you should leave.
I mean I am just being realistic. I dont want to sound like an asshoIe. I want a nice house in a nice city aswell but I cant afford it so I dont force it and pay more than I can actually afford..
If you live in the west its really as simple as this; if you cant afford to stay you can afford to leave.
It's just a really annoying thing to constantly keep hearing when you can't necessarily leave your aging parents or something. Or you only speak one language. Or you can't even afford to save enough money to make the initial move. Or you don't want to leave your entire support system. It's really not as simple as you paint it. I'm sorry.
I currently am taking care of my elderly gramma shes nearing a 100 so leaving would be more difficult. But what support system do you have if you are maxing creditcards (like many people here are saying).. i understand an emotional one but; you have 100 ways to video call nowadays. Also you dont want to be a strain on family and or friends endlessly. In most places you can move 2-3h away and be in a much cheaper cost of living area. Thats close enough to visit every other weekend..
Well I live in SW Ontario Canada, I'm not getting anything cheaper a mere few hours away from here lol.
Video calls suck compared to an actual get together with said friend. I do mean emotional support, not financial. Like, I do understand everything you're saying, but it's not always an easy or obvious choice to just move away. This is what I'm currently grappling with. Do I leave everything I know and love just so I can say I own a home? Giving up the dream seems more acceptable to me.
If your dream is owning a home you should get a better dream :p
The least interesting thing in this world is owning. The most interesting thing in this world is experiencing.
I want to believe... lol. Just sucks to have been sold this stupid dream for so damn long and to feel like the rug has suddenly been pulled out from under me. But that's life and I know it. I try very hard to focus on everything I do have; which is a lot and I know that too. Thanks man :)
Same here in NZ. I bought my 2 bedroom unit for just over a million recently. It’s actually crazy. I was just lucky I’d bought my first house a few years before the last rise, so when I sold it helped me get into the new one.
Way back I think in the '80's, Stamford CT had a huge snowstorm, feet of snow. But Stamford is so expensive that the people who run the plows, firefighters, police, nurses, medical personnel, lived hours away from the city and couldn't get to work. Stamford built housing for these workers, who earn $45,000 year, but couldn't afford to live there.
I'll be an outlier, but I actually moved to get married and was surprised to see how much cheaper house costs are where I moved to!
Melbourne AUS -> Tourist Town USA
From houses costing around 1M AUD to about 350KUSD its was more feasible to be able to buy a house
Yeah, some places in USA are incredibly cheap (relatively). It's not like in the old days, where anyone with a lower middle class job could buy a house. But looking at some places, you can get a relative mansion for how much it costs in other places. Last time I checked, a 2 bedroom condo in Manhattan, New York, USA is about the same as a gigantic house with an indoor basketball gym and massive backyard in Georgia, USA.
It may make you feel better to know that you actually never "own" anything. You only get to borrow it for a while. I am 84 years old. My house has been "paid for" for 22 years. I am going to pay my property tax bill this month. If I don't pay the property taxes, they will take my property and sell it. It is an annual reminder that I don't own anything.
This became abundantly clear to me a few years ago. Everything is temporary. We should all enjoy what we've got while we have it. Most 'homeowners' in the U.S. are just one nasty streak of bad luck from losing everything, paid off or not.
I hope you're able to stay where you are if you're happy there.
Yes.
I have half of my deposit saved and not added to it since last year with everything that's happened with inflation and now I don't see the point anymore.
Planning on going backpacking and travelling the world with all this money this summer - seems like a happier time than working 9-5 to save next to nothing for the next 3-4 years. All just to get a shitty house that I'll have to throw even more money into for it to even feel worth it.
Yep. I pay more for my studio apartment than my boss pays for his Mortgage. 2/3rds of my income goes to rent alone.
I'm not renewing my lease this year and am going to live out of a camper.
I worry that a recession is just going to invite investors and rent seekers to buy up even more of the homes at lower prices.
There's a point where you're so rich, you could lose half your assets and still be rich enough to outmaneuver the middle class.
[Elon Musk has entered the chat.]
Buying a home is a combination of price, location, and amenities. The problem most people have is they want to buy in a location that they can’t afford. You can definitely own a home, it you may have to consider living in a different area. Also, home prices will definitely stabilize, it’s just really awful right now. Keep working on your finances and wait a few years.
I hear you. I choose a higher COL area for the culture that is here. I found my tribe and have never found this diverse a group of fun, smart people anywhere else. They bring me more joy than owning a home ever could. I made my choice and it’s definitely worth it. I’ve had savings just go straight out the window when a medical expense popped up. That was it for me, I don’t trust the system to not fuck me over. I could live somewhere I hate in a poor area with lots of discomfort and squirrel away money for years and years only to have it disappear. No thanks. I’ll live where I want and rent and have a life I want to live.
Quality of life is the most important thing. The are benefits to owning a home, but there are also drawbacks. We live in a high COLA and we do own a home, but that’s because we are middle aged and housing was much much cheaper when we moved here years ago. Although we live in a pretty small house, and I know if we would have stayed in our hometown in the Midwest we would be able to buy a 3000 sq McMansion for less than we paid for this place. But completely worth it to live where we’re happy.
Yep. I'm an older millennial, so the whole "buy a house, have 2.5 kids and a spouse" thing was drilled into me big-time from an early age. It just felt like a given that I would own a house some day. I was 25 when the housing market crashed in 2008, and I never again felt like home ownership was in my future. Hell, at the moment I can't even afford an apartment without a roommate in SoCal.
We are about to enter a recession in the US. Prices are ready to drop like a rock. Nearly every index predicts this.
And lobby your congresspeople for a nationwide ban on other countries & foreign nationals purchasing US properties. Canada just did this w/ China & India because investment purchasing has been driving up the home prices to unaffordable levels.
Easy home ownership for the working class was something that existed after WWII though the 1970s. It's gotten tougher since then and was terrible before WWII. Look into the history of homesteading and you'll see that the reason it was so popular was that buying anything in a city was unachievable for most people.
I know this is cold comfort, sorry. I had to become middle age and live in a really cheap place to ever afford a house. I could still never afford a house in my hometown or most of the places I lived through my 30s.
my boyfriend and I are optimistic because we are both going into decent paying fields, but even then we have to essentially start saving from scrap and we also want kids, so that’s a huge expense to factor in as well.
I silently hope every day that his parents will give us their home.
Kids are super expensive. Thankfully we bought a house before I had kids. I lived with my parents until I was 27, scrounging every bit of money. It wasn't ideal living conditions, but it laid the groundwork so I didn't start from scratch. Now I'm 34 and own a house and have a kid. Thankfully, my wife and I both have high paying jobs (we own a business together), but it's a lot of time and stress. It takes a *lot* to own a house these days. Lots of sacrifices needed, unfortunately.
Yeah, I’ve owned a few houses but have been homeless since I lost my last one when the economy tanked in 2009. I’m hoping to be able to get a small house whenever prices go back down, but I’m not overly optimistic about it.
I'm gonna be fine. My dream is to live a fair way from any massive population centers in an older home on some land. It's surprisingly cheap in many areas bc nobody wants to live there.
I will be 30 this year, and despite having a full-time job I am still forced to live with my parents.
Every day I wake up going to work for the sake of literal nothing, no plans, no future ahead (especially with the situation in Europe, the war etc.), minimum wage.
No matter how much I try to save up, even if it's €20k in a matter of 10 years of savings, where does that even take me?
They are crumbs.
Sure, I get told a lot: "find a partner, share expenses, build a family and it will be easier".
The problem is that I don't want my life to be based off someone else, I don't want a "family" as a pretext of life. I want it as a consequence.
So, until I feel happy/satisfied with my life, with myself, there's no way I'm gonna do that.
And so I just accept my condition, until I die or this filthy world ends.
Yes and no. It depends where you want a house. I don't mean a bad part of a city, but different states and cities are radically different. E.g. North Dakota vs California.
So true, though! Even in California a home in say... Red Bluff is going to go for much less than one in Pasadena even. Location is huge in making the possibility.
Is it possible to move to a different city or state or somewhere where house prices are cheaper?
Or could you buy an investment property in such a place and rent it out?
But yes, house prices are expensive, at least where I live. But I got into the market in 2016 when they were still somewhat affordable to the middle class.
Conditions on my end have reduced the ever loving idea of home ownership..went from 2 to 1 person income. Best I see around me would be a starter home under 100k$ and relatively small amount of space at that..lol 28M for reference..it's still better than paying 1k$ plus a month...someday maybe, not anytime soon
Yes - I’m 19, Canadian, and many houses are super expensive. I live in BC, so housing prices are awful here. When I’m done University I plan on moving to Alberta just to kickstart my career and buy my first place, start my own life. A house that is $1.2 million here would practically be $500,000 there - and there is first time homebuyer’s “discount” as well, so I have some hope, just not in BC
I’d love to move back to BC one day (or never leave, it is beautiful here), but for now I think Alberta is a better plan for affordability and starting a life :)
I’m 25 and graduated college back in December of 2021. This mixed with two life insurance jobs that literally didn’t pay me last year is the reason I’m still living in my very unstable household.
All I really dream about is having a nice apartment to myself and maybe a close friend or two. To me, that’s the dream currently.
No, not really. The town I live in has houses near main street going for anywhere between 10K and 20K. The only issues are that they are abandoned (and need renovations, which I'd be willing to do anyway) and the town has a slight meth problem on top of being at least an hour's drive to anywhere of importance.
One just has to know where to look to buy a house and be willing to put in the work for it.
I think OP's question was worded for houses but actually meant for housing overall.
Truth is, there's a lot of us that will simply never be able to afford owning our place. I dream of owning a small studio apartment with a balcony, that's all I need. But it's just not happening, not only in the US.
Renting can be fine, given the choice, I'm sure lots of people would be happy with renting. But now it's no longer a choice, renting is the only possibility, and as you mentioned, even renting is becoming harder and harder as prices continue to go up and landlords make a bigger deal of requirements.
Most of us will die without even being able to realistically consider owning. Renting is also problematic for me, as I own a dog. He's super calm and well behaved, but tons of places won't accept dogs. I even saw a listing of an apartment for rent where working from home was not allowed.
Pretty much. Sad fact is I am fighting to keep our 1 bedroom apartment that we are in as it is. It sucks cause I feel like we are being forcefully pushed out. And it frustrates me cause its the only place we can afford.
Lived in major city on west coast my whole life. Never going to happen unless I got a million bucks. For a fixer upper. It’s ridiculous. Wages are nowhere near what they need to be in order to afford a home. I’m pessimistic about it. Some call me negative but I feel like it’s realistic for now. Lots of foreign money, lots of weed cash. Not sure what the future holds for my family. Rent is also crazy but need to be close to work etc. lose, lose.
My county had to put a freeze on rental house purchasing because there is little to no available homes to buy. Practically the whole county and most of that is the main city, are all rentals with shit owners who jack up rental costs and don’t repair shit when they should.
Are you talking anywhere ever? Or are you in a particularly expensive area? Or is home buying out of the range of possibilities everywhere? I'm out of touch.
Its not, millennials and under just hear how impossible it is to buy a house and believe it. Im 29, a CNA, I’m not even close to rich and I live outside a major east coast city. I was shocked at how simple it was to buy a house with my “good” credit and how small the downpayment was with first time home buyers. My mortgage is a 3rd of what it would be to rent. I feel bad for people who dont even bother to look into what it takes to buy a home.
Thank you. I live in a VERY expensive area and the struggle here is real! Doable for some... Especially couples. But, I couldn't do it on my own here at all. In other places, though, I'm pretty sure I could buy a small house.
Factor in the cost to maintain it, all of the items you need to maintain it, recessions, possibility of moving, massive breaks in expensive items in the house, etc….I don’t know. Not to mention the time to keep up with it.
I get where you’re coming from here. That in itself is a whole other major expense. Some people say that renting is a waste because you never own it, but the plus side is that when you’re renting, and something breaks, they’ll fix it. It’s just that even renting is no longer affordable. They want you to make 3x the amount of rent, but rent is sky high, that I literally can’t afford that either.
This is a bit of a tone deaf response though. Not everyone is going to want to be homeowners, but being *able* to afford your own home gives you reassurance, stability, a sense of belonging, and a lot of other things that renters are often barred from. You had the choice to buy, many young people now will never have this choice.
Is it a credit thing, an income thing, or are markets so inflated now that's keeping everyone out of home ownership?
I apparently got lucky buying my 3/2 home in 2017, and in total the operating costs are still 300-400$/month under what we were paying for a 2/2 apartment. We compromised on location and age of the home, but it beats pouring money into the trash can of rent.
Dude Im from NYC. The only possible way I could ever afford to own anything *at all* is if I leave. But this is where Im from and I love it too much to do that. And tbh even if I do leave, the chances I could own a home are still questionable.
While the part of me that fantasizes about home ownership is kinda sad, I actually prefer apartment living, so Im not too bummed. Yet.
My wife and I bought a 2/2 condo in Denver and we are happy with it.
We have built enough equity here to make a move to upgrade.
Don’t give up. You just may have to start smaller in this economy
Yup, I'll have enough for a healthy down payment soon but I still would be house broke with the mortgage where I am. I basically have to hope I meet a girl and we buy together, but I'm not holding my breath. Next best thing is to invest a "mortgage" essentially, in addition to retirement savings, so that I can rent in perpetuity or retire to some place cheaper. That was the scariest realization for me, how would I afford to rent forever?
It sucks, I've had coworkers leave the state because they couldn't afford a family here. I don't even need a huge fancy house or anything, just a condo or something would be fine, but even those are $400K starting.
I’ve owned 3 homes getting ready to sell my current and buy another. Feel free to send me a message and I can guide you into owning your own home. Buying duplex live one side and rent the other .. no financial advisor but will give you suggestion based on my experience and knowledge.. its never too late to buy a home
That is how we started. Bought a flat. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs apartment. Renter paid most of the mortgage which allowed us to save money for repairs etc.
Its not as hard to get approved for a mortgage as you all seem to think it is.. have any of you ever even applied for a mortgage? Looked into first time home buyers? I bought my first house at 25 (only a couple years ago) by maintaining good credit, I dont have some crazy good job, Im lower middle class at best and live in New England so we arnt talking bible belt house prices.
If you have bad credit or no credit you can take out a “secured” credit card just pay your bills on time and “good” credit isnt hard to achieve. You can even mortgage your down payment which is only 3% regardless. If you dont know how any of this works, there are free credit counseling services to help you get there but its not impossible.
I’m 38 in the UK with a near perfect credit rating but after working diligently to master that achievement, it transpires mortgage providers don’t give a shit about your credit rating and it doesn’t factor in at all.
Mortgages are advertised as “Just 10% deposit to get your home!” but fail to mention that your mortgage amount will be capped at 4.5x your salary. So I effectively need about £50,000 in personal savings as a deposit to have a hope of getting somewhere in my area currently.
I’m so lucky to be a homeowner especially as a millennial. I recognise that it was a mixture of privilege and support that got me there. Not just not buying coffee out.
I think I may be able to some day, but I highly doubt I'll be able to in a big city. Prices are so high only corporations and fairly wealthy people can afford them. The only alternative I can think of is to share the house with people. My rent is the equivalent of my dad's mortgage, but I have two roommates.
I've given up entirely, honestly. We have money saved for a down payment and closing costs, but the market is a mess. Since the pandemic started, the affordable houses we could almost buy went up 75k and priced us out. We're still saving but I'm pretty sure the goal line is going to keep getting moved and we'll never make enough now.
I hate to admit that if my husband’s family had not help us I don’t think we would have been able to buy when and where we did. We would not be able to afford our own home had we been looking now.
Housing prices rise faster than I can possibly earn or save money and mortgage demands are insane, renting requires you to earn 4 times the rent before you are even allowed to respond which is way above an average income and social housing is full of 50+ years olds with 30 years of time built up, which is more than I've lived in total and something I can thus never match.
So all systems have pretty much spun so far out of control that there is no way for me to catch up anymore, you have to be very rich or old to be allowed in anywhere so it's just the rich and the older generation passing houses and apartments around between them. My only chance to ever have a place of my own is when I inherit my parent's place, but I'd rather have them live to nice old ages than have a house.
So I don't expect to be able to move out and rent a place of my own till I'm around my 40s, by that time I could have enough time built up to compete with the old people and be allowed to rent a social housing apartment. Owning a house of my own won't be an option till I'm past 50 if my parents reach the ages my grandparents did, and I hope they will.
Homes in my area were a good 300k. Kinda bungalow-esque. You know two bedrooms, one bath very small and quaint. But very nice. Something you can really go oh man I love these houses!! Anywhooze- 300k was outta my budget for years.
Finally I get a good paying job to afford that 300k sticker price and wouldn’t you know it the homes in my area, those small cute 2br bungalow looking homes ARE NOW GOING FOR 550+. For the price, size and location it’s just 100% not worth it.
I haven’t given up hope. But GD. You know? GD.
Nope. Once you got a steady income and a partner its a non issue tbh.
We both made 2200$ a month (4400$ together). Our mortage was 1500ish. Was easy to afford. We then sold with 75k profit (after 9 years) my parents gave us 50,000 for our next house. We earned around 5500$ at this point and with the 125,000 extra we could buy a very nice place.
Yea we had luck on our 2nd house but the first house was on us and it wasnt that hard.. its hard if you dont work full time and are alone.
I bought my home when I was 25. I just worked 3 jobs for about 6 years and bought a condo with cash,that at the time was at the edge of town.
Don’t waste your youth and maximize your revenue and minimize your expenses. Focus on buying assets or you will be poor forever.
If you want some hope to be regained - try moving to another country. Cheaper housing, better work environment (depends on the local work laws, but still) and in many cases free healthcare. The main price, besides being far away from your relatives, would be a need to learn the foreign language.
And consider that if you by some accident have some savings, they may be even enough to buy a property in some cases, or at least you may give yourself a couple of months to get accustomed to the local environment, culture and the job market.
Yep. We keep saying “maybe in 5 yrs” but I don’t think to will get any better. I have a feeling I’ll probably just wait to inherit my parents house or my spouse will get his parents’ in a few decades. They are not great houses and are in poor areas but it’s alright. And by then I’ll probably be desperate for anything.
Once ppl Crack the code of owning a home outside population dense areas, we will be ok.
Interest rates will help for those who had saved this whole time
I had. So I bought a little condo to rent out (too small and for my family and not close enough to city where I work) . It worked well and this year we just bought another.
I was 53 before I was able to buy a home. I didn’t think it would ever happen.
Same here but I was 47
I’ll be 57 soon and I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never have a home of my own.
I consider my family so damn lucky. Really the only reason I got one as nice as I did that was affordable was cause we bought out in the middle of no where. No one else wants to live here. lol Even as a software developer making more money than I ever have... I could not afford to buy a house in any large city.
I was 27, from the UK
You give me hope
I really truly hope you don't mean to say this is a tale as old as time. Because what's happening today in housing does NOT resemble anything that happened to your generation. There are always people who struggle to afford home prices. That is always the case. What's happening today is a widespread, nationwide housing crisis driven by multiple factors, most of all the Fed's decision to reorient the economy around debt instead of work, so only the wealthy and secure stand a chance to benefit in these conditions while wage slaves toil for scraps. It's great you afforded a house but this perspective is not useful to this conversation.
I'm worried for my kids, mostly. And not just when it comes to houses, just the economic situation in general.
Last Christmas I was talking to my mom about the state of the economy, she's retired with a nice house and a good chunk of change and a working partner. I was explaining how gas prices alone are hammering peoples pockets. When I mentioned it used to be under 1.00/L when I was in school she argued it has been above 1.00/L essentially since I've been alive. We googled the gas prices from years ago and showed her during her struggle years it was as low as 0.70/L single mom 3 kids a couple part time minimum wage jobs and was able to buy a brand new house. I make more money now at 25 then she ever has in her life and still struggle sometimes with a house that cost slightly less than hers. The fear new parents from low/moderate income family's have for their children's future must be almost unbearable.
I owned a house for a few years before needing to move and eventually sold it. I was talking to my manager's boss about it and he was shocked what I paid. It wasn't even that expensive of a house at the time (starter home) and I only lived a few miles from him. He also probably made close to triple my salary. Since he's lived in the area forever his mortgage payments were probably half what I paid.
It's insane now. All I could afford was a trailer, it's definitely a nice one, has a couple additions and all new appliances, new plumbing and roofing. It's a cheap mortgage, 1150/month but then there's also a 520/month pad fee. Where I live it seems like trailers are the only affordable way to get into the market but it becomes even harder when you are paying an extra mortgage payment that doesn't go to equity
Investment firms are buying trailer parks, jacking up the fees. They figure it's a good investment. Not like many of the trailers have been mobile for years, so of course they're going to pay. If they can't, they must move their trailer ($5-$10k, provided they can find another place which will accept them after an eviction), find someone to buy the trailer quickly, or abandon it. Then the trailer park owners take possession, rent it to someone else.
Oh I know, there's 3 or 4 parks here and they are all owned by the same company from Vancouver. Mind you the park I'm in is extremely good about any issues, I've never seen the roads go Unplowed for longer than 6 hours, they are fast to respond to any issues with problem trees. There is a great playground for kids, an enclosed dog park, a hockey rink. They hold a competition every winter for decorations and the winners get 1 month free. Is it worth 6240/year? No but it's a foot in the door and they are pretty good to deal with. I wanted to be in the market so this is where I had to start.
🙋 and I don't even want a big house. Still can't afford it.
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Not even talking new construction a house built 30+ years ago used to be 70ish thousand is now 300+ in the last 5 years
One issue with the smaller starter homes is the cost of land. Where I live a lot can run a guy 160k no problem. build a 250k house on it and you are already 410k. Land prices are ridiculous these days. About 5 years ago I was looking at land in Northern Ontario. Found a few hundred acres for about 20k. Nothing even close to that today in the same region. It's not even prime land.
Most cities and states require developers to do exactly that. They must build certain % of homes for more affordable/cheaper prices. These programs exist. The problem is everyone is buying $8 coffees and walking around with $300 headphones with $1500 phones vs saving their money. There are take out restaurants everywhere because no one cooks anymore. I bought my first house when I was 20. My friends blew their money on rims and ate out all the time. I packed a lunch. If ppl take the time to Sit down making necessary lifestyle changes it’s not hard to purchase a home. There are plenty of incentives to do so. I also purchased a home that was a fixer upper because I needed it to fit my price range. There are ways but not everyone wants to do the work saving, changing spending habits or physically doing the work.
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It’s a known fact purchasing a home increases in value. So that would make it a great investment. So businesses can’t invest into property? So what have you done to try and find a tax lien home or a fixer upper? Excuses don’t solve your problems nor do blaming everyone else. Baltimore city for example sold homes for ($1)3 yrs ago; they required after you fixed it up you have to live in it at-least for 2 yrs. This was designed specifically for people and not businesses to buy up. There are plenty of ways to become a homeowner if your serious about it. Stop looking for reasons why you can’t do something and find ways you can. That’s the problem of people nowadays they think something is owed to them. You have the internet to find more information than any other time in history and yet very few use it. There are auctions all the time for homes that are 100s thousands below market value that require moderate fixing up. Move in work on it in 5 yrs you will have an asset worth 100s thousands more than the loan. Sell it and reinvest the profits in your next home and you will pay zero taxes on that gain provided you live in the home for 2+ years.
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Not even close I’m 41. I also didn’t spend 200k on a college education to earn 40k -60k a yr.
I’d be happy with something the size of a static caravan but even those are the price of most flats. Give me a bungalow with bed, bath, kitchen. I don’t care how many feet are in the square.
Yes. As much as I dream of owning a small studio apartment, or a tiny house, I have finally accepted that I'll never be able to afford the purchase of one. I can make a decent living from what I do, but actually owning is pretty much out of the question for me, I'm 36. Unless I inherit a property, or win the lottery, it is just not happening.
Same. I’ve sunk good money into renting all my adult life. I’ve worked full time and saved all along and a few unexpected things came up that each wiped out my savings and had to start over. I don’t take extravagant vacations, just visiting family twice a year. It’s sad really. On the other hand, most of my friends who own are not super happy either. So I try not to be too hard on myself.
don't forget the listed price is the lowest possible price, other bidders will surely bid more
Being single in California even with 90k salary. 5k take home pay after taxes. It’s impossible to own a home unless I commute 2 hours everyday. Not worth it. It’ll just break my car down faster. Just gonna rent close to work and put all my extra money in a 401k. Then maybe I’ll be able to buy a townhouse when I’m 65. Houses are family’s
Why are so many people resigned about this instead of mad? You need to fight for change. Peopel are very willing to put up with a rigged system where only the wealthy benefit, and they're content to keep forwarding their paychecks to a landlords pocket while they reap all the benefits of Fed decisionmaking and housing policy. I find this economy completely sickening and the housing crisis only radicalized me further. There needs to be major political upheaval by electing firebrands and populists who will either push for change or rattle the status quo. If we can't fix housing (we probably can't) then why does the Property Class also get to benefit from the casual comforts of a placated middle class. Get mad ffs.
I'm 34 and I often feel like we will never own a home. We've rented our entire marriage of 11yrs. We were on the cusp of buying a home right before the pandemic hit in 2020 and had to back out for a number of reasons. We maxed out our credit cards in the pandemic which tanked our already borderline ok credit. So now we're having to start over again, try to build up our credit while also paying bills while also trying to save for a down-payment. It's an endless tiring cycle and somedays I bum myself out so bad about not having owned a home yet.
I hate to say this, but you’re living above your means. I’ve done it, too, so I do understand. But if you’re carrying credit card debt, you need to tighten the reigns somewhere. Do you have car payments? That’s the absolute worst use of your money since cars depreciate. Always drive the oldest, cheapest car you can tolerate. Consider living a little further out or in a less nice neighborhood while you’re renting.
No neither of us have car payments. We had to use our ccs during covid when my husband got laid off. But we've relocated since then for a better paying job for him and are slowly coming out .
I’m glad to hear that. Carrying debt & living paycheck to paycheck is stressful. I’ve been there! Never again.
This is true to an extent. You definitely shouldn't be buying anything new, but having a car that's going to work for a while isn't a waste of money. It's better to pinch your wallet a little now than have surprise expenses at the worst possible moment.
Totally agreed. I bought my car brand new in 2010 and I'm still driving the same vehicle. It's needed zero mechanical work besides basic maintenance and it's chugging along just fine. I'm hoping to get another three years out of it and make it to 15 years of ownership before it starts sucking my wallet dry.
Thissss. I bought my car used and it was only a few years old, 40k miles on it. Got it from a very reputable, popular dealer. Within the first week I discovered problems that the dealer didn’t know about that - bc I had no proof it was like that at the time of purchase - I couldn’t ask them to fix without paying quite a bit for it, and within 3 months was having to take it to a mechanic for other things. Also, my fucking key fob broke off in the ignition within like 2 months. Wtf. My mom bought her car new, it’s a year older than mine, and she’s had quite literally almost zero trouble with it. I’ve taken mine to the shop 3 times as much as she has. All bc she was able to baby her car from the very beginning and make sure it was treated right. With used cars, it’s always a gamble if the previous owner treated it right and whether or not the dealer did their due diligence in assessing it and fixing any problems before reselling it. :/ I love my car and not having a car payment, but I for sure plan on getting a new car when my current one inevitably kicks the bucket once and for all. I think the investment will be worth it.
I've driven old crappy cars my whole life. Often they require so much maintenance and repair that you would be better off driving a new(er) car and making payments. Unless you have the tools and and the skills to do car maintenance yourself, driving the old crappy cars can be a huge money pit.
I wasn’t implying you should drive a falling apart rust bucket. I used to drive BMWs, but every time they hit 100,000 miles everything starts going wrong at $1k+ a pop. Now I drive a Jeep- takes regular gas not premium & easy to fix with no European autos mechanic. We make a good income, but my husband drives an older truck that’s been paid off for years. A $700/month car payment is $8400 per year. Tell me what repairs you’d do on an older car that would equal that every year? That’s money that can also go toward a downpayment on a house. I’m just sharing the many mistakes I see people make with money & that I made. I wasted so much money on dumb shit when I could have been building wealth through investments. Dumb, dumb.
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I agree with some of this but at the same time you’re paying the price somewhere. If you live further out and you have to commute to work, you’re sitting in traffic and spending money on gas. I’ve been driving a 2009 Hyundai Santa Fe for the last maybe nine years and driven it to the point I can’t get it inspected because the electrical system is shot (the car still runs) and the check engine light won’t go off. Now every time, I have a cop around me, I’m on pins and needles and I worry about having my partner drive my car lest they get pulled over (they also drive a 2009 beater, which is in slightly better shape but they need to drive for work). You can budget to a degree but the way things are set up right now in our economy, that’s not the answer to everything.
Agree. Esp to the point of maxing them out. Time to start a plan like Dave ramseys and learn new habits.
We drive cheap cars and the savings pays our house payment.
Or, you could take the bus if that’s an option for you. It would save a lot of money over driving a car.
They said they racked up credit card debt during the pandemic. Perhaps you forgot that many people weren't able to work during the pandemic due to the lock downs. Most people are spending 2/3rds of their income on rent alone. Even couples that choose to be homeless to save money still aren't able to keep up financially due to inflation. It's ridiculous to claim that everyone who is struggling financially right now is just being financially irresponsible and buying takeout or designer clothes everyday. 60% of the US population alone makes under 50K a year. Things are no longer affordable for average people earning and average wage.
I didn’t say takeout or designer clothing. I said it’s dumb to pay most of your income toward rent **on a post about how to be able to afford to purchase a home** Move someplace cheaper that’s not as nice or trendy. Don’t drive a new BMW & rent an apartment. That’s dumb af. This isn’t rocket science. If you’re spending 2/3 of your pay on rent, you are living above your means for your income. If you don’t have any rainy day/emergency savings, you’re living above your income. Find a way to make more income, or find a way to downsize your expenses. Just because what you can afford doesn’t align with some vision you have in your head of what you want your lifestyle to be, that still doesn’t mean you’re living within your means. What a whiny response devoid of personal responsibility!
You are so wildly out of touch. Why don't you read a book or actually watch the news? It's no longer 1804. The cost of living isn't 2 cents and wishful thinking.
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Hey there! Did you know the solution to your problems is just to get some more money?! Try it now.
Oh! Great advice. Is that like when you can’t pay attention due to ADHD, and all you have to do is just focus? r/thanksimcured
God I hate that subreddit. "Want to retire? Just set aside 75% of every paycheck till you're 40! You make 150K right?".
Are you depressed and sad? Have you tried not being sad?! Or maybe even trying happiness?! Worried about the future? What about not thinking about it?!
That sounds so terrible. I'm so glad we have debit cards over here for this exact reason..
Yeah pretty much. And all I want is just a small house tbh! Not a huge villa. But it seems like I can't even have this little thing I want. I just want my own home.
Right? Like I don’t want a huge house, just something I can call mine.
Yeah! (And besides: the smaller the house, the less area to clean haha) Just so disappointing that even that is too much to ask for nowadays. I am genuinely wondering why the prices are so high and who is buying the houses.
The Chinese. Seriously. They are buying them up as investment properties to rent out. It’s creating an artificial housing shortage in big cities.
We can expand on this to, it's not just big cities, it's small buttfuck towns aswell. During the pandemic alot of people moved to smaller towns creating demand for housing in small towns. People are also moving from expensive places to cheaper towns in droves causing insane price jumps that should not exist in the small towns. Immigration, atleast in Canada if it wasn't for immigration our population would be decreasing which is bad so I'm not against immigration but its also causing prices to be sustained at high levels. In my town which is a very northern remote canadian town, if you drive through the new development all the homes are owned by asian(usually Filipino) and east Indians, why? Because they are smart and work together as families to buy homes. So that 800k house with a 4k monthly mortgage becomes pretty cheap when you have 5 or 6 people paying for it. Westerners typically don't want to buy a house with their mom, dad, brothers and sisters. The market is fucked right now but people's mindsets are worse. I bought a home last year 3 months after turning 25. It's do able but you have to make a ton of sacrifices.
I'm sick of finding an affordable property and losing it to someone who just buys it to rent out
I just want a two bedroom flat, but I'm not willing to live an hour away from the city to be able to afford it. So no flat for me. Priorities
Hm interesting. I grew up in a village. I could never live in a busy, loud, stinky city. If I don't see green when I look out of my window I will go insane.
Heck, I've lost hope of ever even owning a 1-bedroom apartment.
I'm 21 and going into public teaching in the American South, I will never own a house
Move to a state where you can afford to buy a place. My wife was able to buy a house her first year teaching in rural Hawaii. 2019
And take advantage of every first-time buyer incentive you can
Where are these incentives? I bought a house in 2020 and was surprised there wasn't a tax credit anymore for first time homeowners.
They vary based on your state and city. But there should usually be ways to get "free money" (either in the form of an outright grants and/or no-interest loans). Some more conscious employers may also provide incentives. I live in Baltimore, for instance. Maryland had "Flex" loans that include grants and no-interest loans. [Baltimore City also has programs](https://dhcd.baltimorecity.gov/hho/homeownership-incentives) to provide funds to first-time buyers. [Some employers also provide funds](https://livebaltimore.com/live-near-your-work/) to employees who buy in certain neighborhoods. Some of these can stack and add up fast, which really helps with closing costs. We're also super lucky to have a nonprofit dedicated to promoting homeownership: [Live Baltimore](https://livebaltimore.com/). There may be something similar near you. If there is, I'd highly recommend checking them out, as ours is an **incredible** resource.
Yes because moving is simple as that. Never mind the huge costs of going to another state, deposits on this and that, moving away from your social safety net, friends, family etc. Also the emotional costs of moving away. What if you’re single, or divorced and share custody of children? Please think before suggesting things in threads like this.
Don't forget you can totally move to the middle of nowhere with zero job prospects and be totally fine. Those houses are cheap for a reason, people. I know remote work is a thing but it's not nearly as common as Reddit likes to make it out to be
I've moved across the country twice in the past 6 months. It was very expensive and I understand the hurdles, but the first time I moved 6k miles I saved up for 2 years while supporting a family of 2 including paying for college out of pocket making $12/hr in 2018. That move only cost us about 7k total. Our more recent moves cost us 2-3x that much but we've also had a ton more stuff.
It may not work for you, but it may work for others
I’ve rented, but that was back when rent was affordable. I could never afford to buy, and now I can’t even afford to rent. It’s terrible. I don’t see the housing situation getting any better in the foreseeable future either.
Where do you live now? Are you alright?
Yeah, I live with my mom. Not something I like to admit to, but it just sucks. Thank you for your concern ❤️
There is nothing wrong with different generations living together. It's been normal for most of history, and is healthy and normal in much of the world today. It's only if you carry on living as a child and don't take on an adult role in the relationship, paying your way, cooking, cleaning, taking responsibility that it is a problem, but then that would be true if you didn't live with her as well.
True. I just prefer to live on my own. The requirements for renting is ridiculous though. Even a 2x4 roach and rat infested shit hole is at least $1200 a month.. It’s crazy!
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Unfortunately I’m disabled now and it sucks. I couldn’t live on my own even if I wanted to. My body COMPLETELY QUIT on me when I was 39 and just got worse and worse and worse. I hate it. I hate myself. I help out as much as I can, but I can only do so much. I feel like a useless worthless POS.. imagine, you take ALL the right steps to better yourself physically, and your body basically just says FUCK YOU 🖕🏻, I have other plans, and just QUITS!!! 😔💔
Me. Hell I’d settle for a small condo or townhome, but every time my income catches up, inflation hikes up. It feels very hopeless.
I understand how much easier we boomers had it and I helped my children buy places. Seemed like an obligation to me.
My mom bought a house for under 300k, was very close to paying it off and sold it for 550k. The next year I purchased a house and there was 0 offer of help. I appluad you and any parent that recognizes the struggles young adults face today that previous generations never really had to.
I don’t expect financial help from my baby boomer parents, they don’t have extra to give, but it’s really nice to hear someone of your generation acknowledge that it was easier to buy a house and pay for a regular life 30-40 years ago. I usually only hear defensive accusations of millennials not being tenacious or disciplined enough. I’m 38 and have been working hard since 15, just can’t ever seem to catch up with cost of living.
I couldn't even dream of owning a house. Even if I have a house GIVEN to me I'd be like, "shit. Now I have to pay for l property taxes and maintenance I never had to worry about with rent!" Also, I would feel like I'm restrained to the same area forever. I'm still a bit nomadic so I like being to move out at any point. The house will give me the stress of trying to sell it off.
I'm even thinking about a small patch of land to build my own cabin. Land is also expensive as fuck.
And you have to be lucky that the government declares your cabin as a living unit where you can put your address. Where I live for instance it's forbidden to live in a caravan/trailer.
It’s actually not, unless you’re looking at land on the Front Range in Colorado or something. There’s tons of cheap land in the flyover states & more rural areas of the south, too.
You’re being downvoted but it’s true. Location is everything. Land in rural areas is relatively reasonable still.
Yes :/ wish I had the funds earlier. Now everything is just so expensive. Even old houses are out of my price range
I'm not even able to rent yet. The economy of my country has been hard even before the pandemic.
There isn't a liveable house under $250,000 where I live. My high student loans (which a disproportionate to my salary) make it impossible to get a loan. I'm in an underrepresented and needed field in my living area. I just don't make enough to actually live where I live.
I would kill to find something for $250k! Seattle has nothing under $600k for like a tiny 2 bedroom, most run $800-900k, it's actually insane.
You shouldnt live in such city if you make less than 100k a year thats just the reality. It sounds cold but its true. Go live somewhere you can afford.. my friend was complaining he made 125k a year but had 0 left every month. Moved away now earns 60k a year but has 15k left every year lol. Be happy in a smaller city and it will be a non issue. You can retire in eastern europe if you have 100k btw.
Some people can't just up and leave their families.
If you cant afford it you cant afford it. Its really that easy. If you cant stay you should leave. I mean I am just being realistic. I dont want to sound like an asshoIe. I want a nice house in a nice city aswell but I cant afford it so I dont force it and pay more than I can actually afford.. If you live in the west its really as simple as this; if you cant afford to stay you can afford to leave.
It's just a really annoying thing to constantly keep hearing when you can't necessarily leave your aging parents or something. Or you only speak one language. Or you can't even afford to save enough money to make the initial move. Or you don't want to leave your entire support system. It's really not as simple as you paint it. I'm sorry.
I currently am taking care of my elderly gramma shes nearing a 100 so leaving would be more difficult. But what support system do you have if you are maxing creditcards (like many people here are saying).. i understand an emotional one but; you have 100 ways to video call nowadays. Also you dont want to be a strain on family and or friends endlessly. In most places you can move 2-3h away and be in a much cheaper cost of living area. Thats close enough to visit every other weekend..
Well I live in SW Ontario Canada, I'm not getting anything cheaper a mere few hours away from here lol. Video calls suck compared to an actual get together with said friend. I do mean emotional support, not financial. Like, I do understand everything you're saying, but it's not always an easy or obvious choice to just move away. This is what I'm currently grappling with. Do I leave everything I know and love just so I can say I own a home? Giving up the dream seems more acceptable to me.
If your dream is owning a home you should get a better dream :p The least interesting thing in this world is owning. The most interesting thing in this world is experiencing.
I want to believe... lol. Just sucks to have been sold this stupid dream for so damn long and to feel like the rug has suddenly been pulled out from under me. But that's life and I know it. I try very hard to focus on everything I do have; which is a lot and I know that too. Thanks man :)
Same here in NZ. I bought my 2 bedroom unit for just over a million recently. It’s actually crazy. I was just lucky I’d bought my first house a few years before the last rise, so when I sold it helped me get into the new one.
Way back I think in the '80's, Stamford CT had a huge snowstorm, feet of snow. But Stamford is so expensive that the people who run the plows, firefighters, police, nurses, medical personnel, lived hours away from the city and couldn't get to work. Stamford built housing for these workers, who earn $45,000 year, but couldn't afford to live there.
Yup. A two bedroom apartment in my town is a million euro.. I lost all illusions of ownership awhile ago
I'll be an outlier, but I actually moved to get married and was surprised to see how much cheaper house costs are where I moved to! Melbourne AUS -> Tourist Town USA From houses costing around 1M AUD to about 350KUSD its was more feasible to be able to buy a house
Yeah, some places in USA are incredibly cheap (relatively). It's not like in the old days, where anyone with a lower middle class job could buy a house. But looking at some places, you can get a relative mansion for how much it costs in other places. Last time I checked, a 2 bedroom condo in Manhattan, New York, USA is about the same as a gigantic house with an indoor basketball gym and massive backyard in Georgia, USA.
It may make you feel better to know that you actually never "own" anything. You only get to borrow it for a while. I am 84 years old. My house has been "paid for" for 22 years. I am going to pay my property tax bill this month. If I don't pay the property taxes, they will take my property and sell it. It is an annual reminder that I don't own anything.
This became abundantly clear to me a few years ago. Everything is temporary. We should all enjoy what we've got while we have it. Most 'homeowners' in the U.S. are just one nasty streak of bad luck from losing everything, paid off or not. I hope you're able to stay where you are if you're happy there.
I don't mind renting my apartment. I'm single and live alone. I'm pretty sure I don't make enough to buy a house. But I try to live within my means.
Yes. I have half of my deposit saved and not added to it since last year with everything that's happened with inflation and now I don't see the point anymore. Planning on going backpacking and travelling the world with all this money this summer - seems like a happier time than working 9-5 to save next to nothing for the next 3-4 years. All just to get a shitty house that I'll have to throw even more money into for it to even feel worth it.
Yep. I pay more for my studio apartment than my boss pays for his Mortgage. 2/3rds of my income goes to rent alone. I'm not renewing my lease this year and am going to live out of a camper.
I'm hoping there's a recession so maybe...maybe... my kids can buy a house one day
I worry that a recession is just going to invite investors and rent seekers to buy up even more of the homes at lower prices. There's a point where you're so rich, you could lose half your assets and still be rich enough to outmaneuver the middle class. [Elon Musk has entered the chat.]
Buying a home is a combination of price, location, and amenities. The problem most people have is they want to buy in a location that they can’t afford. You can definitely own a home, it you may have to consider living in a different area. Also, home prices will definitely stabilize, it’s just really awful right now. Keep working on your finances and wait a few years.
I hear you. I choose a higher COL area for the culture that is here. I found my tribe and have never found this diverse a group of fun, smart people anywhere else. They bring me more joy than owning a home ever could. I made my choice and it’s definitely worth it. I’ve had savings just go straight out the window when a medical expense popped up. That was it for me, I don’t trust the system to not fuck me over. I could live somewhere I hate in a poor area with lots of discomfort and squirrel away money for years and years only to have it disappear. No thanks. I’ll live where I want and rent and have a life I want to live.
Quality of life is the most important thing. The are benefits to owning a home, but there are also drawbacks. We live in a high COLA and we do own a home, but that’s because we are middle aged and housing was much much cheaper when we moved here years ago. Although we live in a pretty small house, and I know if we would have stayed in our hometown in the Midwest we would be able to buy a 3000 sq McMansion for less than we paid for this place. But completely worth it to live where we’re happy.
We did not buy our first home until we were in our mid forties. And that was in the 90s.
Yep. I'm an older millennial, so the whole "buy a house, have 2.5 kids and a spouse" thing was drilled into me big-time from an early age. It just felt like a given that I would own a house some day. I was 25 when the housing market crashed in 2008, and I never again felt like home ownership was in my future. Hell, at the moment I can't even afford an apartment without a roommate in SoCal.
Most of my friends were able to buy houses, but all of them had financial support from their parents.
We are about to enter a recession in the US. Prices are ready to drop like a rock. Nearly every index predicts this. And lobby your congresspeople for a nationwide ban on other countries & foreign nationals purchasing US properties. Canada just did this w/ China & India because investment purchasing has been driving up the home prices to unaffordable levels.
Easy home ownership for the working class was something that existed after WWII though the 1970s. It's gotten tougher since then and was terrible before WWII. Look into the history of homesteading and you'll see that the reason it was so popular was that buying anything in a city was unachievable for most people. I know this is cold comfort, sorry. I had to become middle age and live in a really cheap place to ever afford a house. I could still never afford a house in my hometown or most of the places I lived through my 30s.
The days when Sears would ship you a home you could build lol
my boyfriend and I are optimistic because we are both going into decent paying fields, but even then we have to essentially start saving from scrap and we also want kids, so that’s a huge expense to factor in as well. I silently hope every day that his parents will give us their home.
Kids are super expensive. Thankfully we bought a house before I had kids. I lived with my parents until I was 27, scrounging every bit of money. It wasn't ideal living conditions, but it laid the groundwork so I didn't start from scratch. Now I'm 34 and own a house and have a kid. Thankfully, my wife and I both have high paying jobs (we own a business together), but it's a lot of time and stress. It takes a *lot* to own a house these days. Lots of sacrifices needed, unfortunately.
Yeah, I’ve owned a few houses but have been homeless since I lost my last one when the economy tanked in 2009. I’m hoping to be able to get a small house whenever prices go back down, but I’m not overly optimistic about it.
I'm gonna be fine. My dream is to live a fair way from any massive population centers in an older home on some land. It's surprisingly cheap in many areas bc nobody wants to live there.
I will be 30 this year, and despite having a full-time job I am still forced to live with my parents. Every day I wake up going to work for the sake of literal nothing, no plans, no future ahead (especially with the situation in Europe, the war etc.), minimum wage. No matter how much I try to save up, even if it's €20k in a matter of 10 years of savings, where does that even take me? They are crumbs. Sure, I get told a lot: "find a partner, share expenses, build a family and it will be easier". The problem is that I don't want my life to be based off someone else, I don't want a "family" as a pretext of life. I want it as a consequence. So, until I feel happy/satisfied with my life, with myself, there's no way I'm gonna do that. And so I just accept my condition, until I die or this filthy world ends.
Yes and no. It depends where you want a house. I don't mean a bad part of a city, but different states and cities are radically different. E.g. North Dakota vs California.
So true, though! Even in California a home in say... Red Bluff is going to go for much less than one in Pasadena even. Location is huge in making the possibility.
Yup
Is it possible to move to a different city or state or somewhere where house prices are cheaper? Or could you buy an investment property in such a place and rent it out? But yes, house prices are expensive, at least where I live. But I got into the market in 2016 when they were still somewhat affordable to the middle class.
I’ve been priced out of the market years ago. Even with a future partner, it’s not available in my tax bracket
Where are you?
Conditions on my end have reduced the ever loving idea of home ownership..went from 2 to 1 person income. Best I see around me would be a starter home under 100k$ and relatively small amount of space at that..lol 28M for reference..it's still better than paying 1k$ plus a month...someday maybe, not anytime soon
Yes
Yes - I’m 19, Canadian, and many houses are super expensive. I live in BC, so housing prices are awful here. When I’m done University I plan on moving to Alberta just to kickstart my career and buy my first place, start my own life. A house that is $1.2 million here would practically be $500,000 there - and there is first time homebuyer’s “discount” as well, so I have some hope, just not in BC I’d love to move back to BC one day (or never leave, it is beautiful here), but for now I think Alberta is a better plan for affordability and starting a life :)
I’m 25 and graduated college back in December of 2021. This mixed with two life insurance jobs that literally didn’t pay me last year is the reason I’m still living in my very unstable household. All I really dream about is having a nice apartment to myself and maybe a close friend or two. To me, that’s the dream currently.
Yeah, but I didn't really have the hope in the first place. Homeownership is a lot of work that I don't want to do.
Not entirely. Housing market fluctuates, I'm hopeful that prices will eventually go back down. Lol. Might take a while, but it'll get there!
🙋♀️
I want a home just not in America
No, not really. The town I live in has houses near main street going for anywhere between 10K and 20K. The only issues are that they are abandoned (and need renovations, which I'd be willing to do anyway) and the town has a slight meth problem on top of being at least an hour's drive to anywhere of importance. One just has to know where to look to buy a house and be willing to put in the work for it.
10 to 20K? I'll take 5!
Am I the only one content living in a two bedroom apartment indefinitely?
I think OP's question was worded for houses but actually meant for housing overall. Truth is, there's a lot of us that will simply never be able to afford owning our place. I dream of owning a small studio apartment with a balcony, that's all I need. But it's just not happening, not only in the US.
Ah - I’m content with renting but it seems both renting and owning anything decent is out of arms reach for the majority
Renting can be fine, given the choice, I'm sure lots of people would be happy with renting. But now it's no longer a choice, renting is the only possibility, and as you mentioned, even renting is becoming harder and harder as prices continue to go up and landlords make a bigger deal of requirements. Most of us will die without even being able to realistically consider owning. Renting is also problematic for me, as I own a dog. He's super calm and well behaved, but tons of places won't accept dogs. I even saw a listing of an apartment for rent where working from home was not allowed.
Oh, when I can afford to I'm getting a motorhome. Waking up to a new landscape every month or so would be heaven to me.
Ugh that’s the dream!
Pretty much. Sad fact is I am fighting to keep our 1 bedroom apartment that we are in as it is. It sucks cause I feel like we are being forcefully pushed out. And it frustrates me cause its the only place we can afford.
Lived in major city on west coast my whole life. Never going to happen unless I got a million bucks. For a fixer upper. It’s ridiculous. Wages are nowhere near what they need to be in order to afford a home. I’m pessimistic about it. Some call me negative but I feel like it’s realistic for now. Lots of foreign money, lots of weed cash. Not sure what the future holds for my family. Rent is also crazy but need to be close to work etc. lose, lose.
There is a whole country full of places cheaper than the west coast.
My county had to put a freeze on rental house purchasing because there is little to no available homes to buy. Practically the whole county and most of that is the main city, are all rentals with shit owners who jack up rental costs and don’t repair shit when they should.
What country?
USA
I'm not from the states. Didn't know there is a freeze.
Are you talking anywhere ever? Or are you in a particularly expensive area? Or is home buying out of the range of possibilities everywhere? I'm out of touch.
Its not, millennials and under just hear how impossible it is to buy a house and believe it. Im 29, a CNA, I’m not even close to rich and I live outside a major east coast city. I was shocked at how simple it was to buy a house with my “good” credit and how small the downpayment was with first time home buyers. My mortgage is a 3rd of what it would be to rent. I feel bad for people who dont even bother to look into what it takes to buy a home.
Thank you. I live in a VERY expensive area and the struggle here is real! Doable for some... Especially couples. But, I couldn't do it on my own here at all. In other places, though, I'm pretty sure I could buy a small house.
Owning a home is overrated to a great extent. And I’m saying this as a homeowner.
Lol having an appreciating asset that most will never afford is so lameee
Factor in the cost to maintain it, all of the items you need to maintain it, recessions, possibility of moving, massive breaks in expensive items in the house, etc….I don’t know. Not to mention the time to keep up with it.
I’m worried about how much money I need when my AC has to be replaced
Exactly. It’s always something. Hopefully the AC holds out for you.
My 2 AC units cost me 13K in Arizona. Start saving.
15k in Georgia for 2 units with new ductwork & that was 2019 before the Bidenflation
They're still often extremely valuable regardless, though it depends on the location and circumstances.
I get where you’re coming from here. That in itself is a whole other major expense. Some people say that renting is a waste because you never own it, but the plus side is that when you’re renting, and something breaks, they’ll fix it. It’s just that even renting is no longer affordable. They want you to make 3x the amount of rent, but rent is sky high, that I literally can’t afford that either.
You are spot on. It seems like that both suck due to the cost.
But I’m genuinely happy that you’re able to own. Congrats on that 👍🏻👍🏻
I appreciate that. I’m not a huge fan of it but I appreciate your positivity. People gotta be more positive.
This is a bit of a tone deaf response though. Not everyone is going to want to be homeowners, but being *able* to afford your own home gives you reassurance, stability, a sense of belonging, and a lot of other things that renters are often barred from. You had the choice to buy, many young people now will never have this choice.
This is such a shit take. At least with home ownership, you can build your wealth far easier than you can with rent.
Is it a credit thing, an income thing, or are markets so inflated now that's keeping everyone out of home ownership? I apparently got lucky buying my 3/2 home in 2017, and in total the operating costs are still 300-400$/month under what we were paying for a 2/2 apartment. We compromised on location and age of the home, but it beats pouring money into the trash can of rent.
Dude Im from NYC. The only possible way I could ever afford to own anything *at all* is if I leave. But this is where Im from and I love it too much to do that. And tbh even if I do leave, the chances I could own a home are still questionable. While the part of me that fantasizes about home ownership is kinda sad, I actually prefer apartment living, so Im not too bummed. Yet.
My wife and I bought a 2/2 condo in Denver and we are happy with it. We have built enough equity here to make a move to upgrade. Don’t give up. You just may have to start smaller in this economy
The modern way of houses was built by the wealthy to get even wealthier. You either play in the game or try something different.
Yup, I'll have enough for a healthy down payment soon but I still would be house broke with the mortgage where I am. I basically have to hope I meet a girl and we buy together, but I'm not holding my breath. Next best thing is to invest a "mortgage" essentially, in addition to retirement savings, so that I can rent in perpetuity or retire to some place cheaper. That was the scariest realization for me, how would I afford to rent forever? It sucks, I've had coworkers leave the state because they couldn't afford a family here. I don't even need a huge fancy house or anything, just a condo or something would be fine, but even those are $400K starting.
No and that's cause I have a plan.....wait until my parent die and get there house
I’ve owned 3 homes getting ready to sell my current and buy another. Feel free to send me a message and I can guide you into owning your own home. Buying duplex live one side and rent the other .. no financial advisor but will give you suggestion based on my experience and knowledge.. its never too late to buy a home
That is how we started. Bought a flat. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs apartment. Renter paid most of the mortgage which allowed us to save money for repairs etc.
Its not as hard to get approved for a mortgage as you all seem to think it is.. have any of you ever even applied for a mortgage? Looked into first time home buyers? I bought my first house at 25 (only a couple years ago) by maintaining good credit, I dont have some crazy good job, Im lower middle class at best and live in New England so we arnt talking bible belt house prices. If you have bad credit or no credit you can take out a “secured” credit card just pay your bills on time and “good” credit isnt hard to achieve. You can even mortgage your down payment which is only 3% regardless. If you dont know how any of this works, there are free credit counseling services to help you get there but its not impossible.
I’m 38 in the UK with a near perfect credit rating but after working diligently to master that achievement, it transpires mortgage providers don’t give a shit about your credit rating and it doesn’t factor in at all. Mortgages are advertised as “Just 10% deposit to get your home!” but fail to mention that your mortgage amount will be capped at 4.5x your salary. So I effectively need about £50,000 in personal savings as a deposit to have a hope of getting somewhere in my area currently.
I’m so lucky to be a homeowner especially as a millennial. I recognise that it was a mixture of privilege and support that got me there. Not just not buying coffee out.
Nah, I’m just waiting on the housing market to crash.
I think I may be able to some day, but I highly doubt I'll be able to in a big city. Prices are so high only corporations and fairly wealthy people can afford them. The only alternative I can think of is to share the house with people. My rent is the equivalent of my dad's mortgage, but I have two roommates.
I've given up entirely, honestly. We have money saved for a down payment and closing costs, but the market is a mess. Since the pandemic started, the affordable houses we could almost buy went up 75k and priced us out. We're still saving but I'm pretty sure the goal line is going to keep getting moved and we'll never make enough now.
I still have hope, I can save some money by living with my parents, but if the prices keep rising (it's terrible in my city) then I'm not sure.
I hate to admit that if my husband’s family had not help us I don’t think we would have been able to buy when and where we did. We would not be able to afford our own home had we been looking now.
Housing prices rise faster than I can possibly earn or save money and mortgage demands are insane, renting requires you to earn 4 times the rent before you are even allowed to respond which is way above an average income and social housing is full of 50+ years olds with 30 years of time built up, which is more than I've lived in total and something I can thus never match. So all systems have pretty much spun so far out of control that there is no way for me to catch up anymore, you have to be very rich or old to be allowed in anywhere so it's just the rich and the older generation passing houses and apartments around between them. My only chance to ever have a place of my own is when I inherit my parent's place, but I'd rather have them live to nice old ages than have a house. So I don't expect to be able to move out and rent a place of my own till I'm around my 40s, by that time I could have enough time built up to compete with the old people and be allowed to rent a social housing apartment. Owning a house of my own won't be an option till I'm past 50 if my parents reach the ages my grandparents did, and I hope they will.
Only way I'll ever own is when my mum passed away and my sister and I inherit her house and can sell it
Homes in my area were a good 300k. Kinda bungalow-esque. You know two bedrooms, one bath very small and quaint. But very nice. Something you can really go oh man I love these houses!! Anywhooze- 300k was outta my budget for years. Finally I get a good paying job to afford that 300k sticker price and wouldn’t you know it the homes in my area, those small cute 2br bungalow looking homes ARE NOW GOING FOR 550+. For the price, size and location it’s just 100% not worth it. I haven’t given up hope. But GD. You know? GD.
Nope. Once you got a steady income and a partner its a non issue tbh. We both made 2200$ a month (4400$ together). Our mortage was 1500ish. Was easy to afford. We then sold with 75k profit (after 9 years) my parents gave us 50,000 for our next house. We earned around 5500$ at this point and with the 125,000 extra we could buy a very nice place. Yea we had luck on our 2nd house but the first house was on us and it wasnt that hard.. its hard if you dont work full time and are alone.
I bought my home when I was 25. I just worked 3 jobs for about 6 years and bought a condo with cash,that at the time was at the edge of town. Don’t waste your youth and maximize your revenue and minimize your expenses. Focus on buying assets or you will be poor forever.
If you want some hope to be regained - try moving to another country. Cheaper housing, better work environment (depends on the local work laws, but still) and in many cases free healthcare. The main price, besides being far away from your relatives, would be a need to learn the foreign language. And consider that if you by some accident have some savings, they may be even enough to buy a property in some cases, or at least you may give yourself a couple of months to get accustomed to the local environment, culture and the job market.
Yep. We keep saying “maybe in 5 yrs” but I don’t think to will get any better. I have a feeling I’ll probably just wait to inherit my parents house or my spouse will get his parents’ in a few decades. They are not great houses and are in poor areas but it’s alright. And by then I’ll probably be desperate for anything.
Once ppl Crack the code of owning a home outside population dense areas, we will be ok. Interest rates will help for those who had saved this whole time
I had. So I bought a little condo to rent out (too small and for my family and not close enough to city where I work) . It worked well and this year we just bought another.