Boomers cant afford they houses. boo hoo

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DurangoCy

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Jul 5, 2010
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I think this same problem is going to bite the younger generations down the road too when they are getting into more house and mortgage debt than they really need to be. I look around at all this new construction in the metro and wonder who the heck is able to afford many of these houses. We know of someone right now that built a new home but can't close on it until they get out from their current home they've had on the market for a year now listed somewhere in the upper 300k or possibly around 400k I think. Their empty new home which surely costs more must not have a ton of demand either to have not been sold by now as the builder has been showing it while waiting on them to get their house sold so they can close on it.

We live in a pretty modest house for our income level. I wish we had an extra bedroom and a little more square footage but we're living comfortably within our means and have adequate space and amenities in our home so there is no need to go further into debt just to have a nicer home.


I know a guy (40m), who told me totally straight faced that he's doing a "rent to own" on a $950k house, but it's a great deal, because it should be a $1.2M house. He, his wife, and two kids have been living in one of our other friends 2 million dollar houses/ranches because his business was tanking (had to sell his house) and the other two (who are actually loaded) moved out of town. So rather than sell their mansion, they let them live there at reduced rent for the last couple of years. The dumb guy said, "they just always really loved this other home when they'd drive by it." ...no ****, it's a million dollar house.

He's done some dumb stuff in the past financially, but this one actually made me sad for him. He's been a high income earner in the past and if he get's his business turned around (I don't think it is yet), he could probably swing it, but the chances he's bankrupt in 2 years just went from 5% to 50%.
 
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2forISU

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Oct 8, 2008
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I know a guy (40m), who told me totally straight faced that he's doing a "rent to own" on a $950k house, but it's a great deal, because it should be a $1.2M house. He, his wife, and two kids have been living in one of our other friends 2 million dollar houses/ranches because his business was tanking (had to sell his house) and the other two (who are actually loaded) moved out of town. So rather than sell their mansion, they let them live there at reduced rent for the last couple of years. The dumb guy said, "they just always really loved this other home when they'd drive by it." ...no ****, it's a million dollar house.

He's done some dumb stuff in the past financially, but this one actually made me sad for him. He's been a high income earner in the past and if he get's his business turned around (I don't think it is yet), he could probably swing it, but the chances he's bankrupt in 2 years just went from 5% to 50%.
Is this guy on the BiggerPockets podcast? That story sounds familaiar....
 

BoxsterCy

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Sep 14, 2009
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I am not saying your are right or wrong, but it was just a slower life style. My in-laws had 2 cars, but they both did not drive them everyday. A gardening was a hobby my FIL enjoyed.
My in-laws grew up in the Great Depression, my FIL was in WW2, so they only used cash to purchase anything. They basically bought nothing on credit, their idea was if we want it, we will save for it. When he died, we found thousands of dollars that he had squirreled away in the basement and in the freezer, he had purchase quite a few CD's and never told my MIL. He grew up poor, had seen what it was like to have banks close and wipe people out, and he was not going to let that happen to him.

I always tell my wife, her dad died the best way possible, he had just finished eating Sunday Dinner, rolled back in his chair and they think he was dead before he hit the floor. Massive heart attack. Hopefully they had sex in the morning.

My FIL, a quiet but very likeable guy, and man he loved to talk about his time in the army. Not in a bragging way, but just what he had seen and done.

Damn, you could totally be describing my parents except the depression influence was my mother who was poor during the depression. My dad's family did okay since his dad had a steady job as a railroad depot agent. Even so, that old world German ethic was to only buy what you could pay cash for.
 

NWICY

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Sep 2, 2012
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Augustus and Tiberius were cautious, prudent men who built up substantial gold reserves "in case of a rainy day" over the course of 2-3 generations.

Caligula spent it all on wine and orgies in a few years.

Doing the right thing takes time and discipline. Doing the fun thing does not.

I see how a young man could be tempted by wine and orgies. ;)
 

BCClone

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Not exactly sure.
dude im a milllynneal what do u expect. enjoy ur lawerance welk tonight oldy

i have never cleamed such a thing. i am just repeted what is issued in the article. i cant help it if your small bank account cant aford a subscribe to the wall street j on ur dairy queen salary
 
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LincolnWay187

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I know a guy (40m), who told me totally straight faced that he's doing a "rent to own" on a $950k house, but it's a great deal, because it should be a $1.2M house. He, his wife, and two kids have been living in one of our other friends 2 million dollar houses/ranches because his business was tanking (had to sell his house) and the other two (who are actually loaded) moved out of town. So rather than sell their mansion, they let them live there at reduced rent for the last couple of years. The dumb guy said, "they just always really loved this other home when they'd drive by it." ...no ****, it's a million dollar house.

He's done some dumb stuff in the past financially, but this one actually made me sad for him. He's been a high income earner in the past and if he get's his business turned around (I don't think it is yet), he could probably swing it, but the chances he's bankrupt in 2 years just went from 5% to 50%.
Someone bookmark this page..when another bust comes along and people want bailouts..just come back to this post to make yourself feel better for saying **** off..shoulda lived within your means.
 

Sigmapolis

Minister of Economy
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Less valuable in regards to helping you stick out. More valuable that without one, good luck.

It is usually within individual interest to pursue the degree, yes. It is also often within a individual interest to dump toxic waste in the river, you might say, too.

Both are a huge market failure from a societal/collective standpoint. Just because something benefits the few does not mean it is ultimately good for the many.

People running a rat race against each other for increasingly ornate, time-consuming, and expensive credentials (when they and the taxpayer have to pay dearly in terms of time and money) when the degrees are ultimately just sorting people into cruddy entry-level jobs is a pretty inefficient system. "Good jobs" are zero-sum. Much education after Grade ~6 just determines the distribution of those jobs between the haves and have-nots.
 

madguy30

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Nov 15, 2011
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I think my grandmother's era it wasn't so much about the cost, it was that they were a single car household so she couldn't run to the store to purchase stuff and have dinner on the table when grandpa came home.
The deep freezer and cold cellar dictated a lot of dinners I'm sure.

And not sure where this sat financially but my grandma was the same way and I think it also sets the tone for being content with and using what you have as opposed to now where everything has to taste great instead of being valued for its nutrition.

My gf watches cooking shows and it's amazing how much ****** (by nutritional standards) food they showcase.
 

isufbcurt

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Apr 21, 2006
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Most of the value of the degree is sorting on the labor market, anyways.

When everybody has one, they stop being as valuable as they used to be.

The real value of a degree is determined years from when you receive it. Meaning

1. You are less likely to have a manual labor job with a college degree so when your older your body won't have been abused by the work you performed.

2. Although there are many jobs that pay as well or better in the short run than one with a college degree, in the long run the degree will prove to be more valuable.